A fancy private school. A student murdered. We jump into this mystery through the character of Madeline, a first-year teacher at Armitage Academy in New England. Her relationship with the deceased Claire, an aloof senior, was shallow enough that she has no idea of what could have possibly happened — and she’s not the only one who’s anxious to know how and why a privileged and brilliant girl could end up dead in her dorm room.

I hate having any details of a mystery divulged, so I won’t say any more about the plot. I will say that part of what made this book interesting was the setting — a school full of kids who have never had to wish for anything. Suddenly one of the creme de la creme is murdered and the whole academy is turned upside down while the police investigate and speculation runs rampant. As we watch the story evolve through different narrators — Madeline, an art teacher, a janitor and a cop, pieces slowly fit into place in a way that I didn’t expect.

Not so gripping I couldn’t put it down, but not boring either, A Twisted Thread is worth picking up if you enjoy trying to guess whodunit and especially if you are intrigued by the lives of the privileged and how, even with all their money and power, tragedy can still find them.

Rated: High for strong language (one cop really loves the f-word), a sexual scene and other milder language.