A Thread So Thin

The disappointing latest in the Cobbled Court series focuses on temperamental artist Liza and her boyfriend, Garrett, who surprises her—and everyone else—with a marriage proposal. Though Liza's formidable aunt, Abigail, immediately takes charge of arrangements, Liza isn't sure what she really wants. Meanwhile, Garrett's mother, Evelyn, continues to rebuff a tenacious suitor and juggles the new responsibilities of a visiting mother who may be there to stay. While the book is full of the requisite quilting, it is also full of blandly indecisive women whose stories overlap with little to distinguish them. The narrative's narrowness gets very tiresome very quickly, and it reduces what could be rich characters to drones. (May)