Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer? For fans of Shirley Jackson, The Poison Thread is a spine-tingling, sinister read about the evil that lurks behind the facade of innocence. The story Ruth has to tell of her deadly creations-of bitterness and betrayal, of death and dresses-will shake Dorothea's belief in rationality, and the power of redemption. But when she meets one of the prisoners, the teenaged seamstress Ruth, she is faced with another strange idea: that it is possible to kill with a needle and thread-because Ruth attributes her crimes to a supernatural power inherent in her stitches. When Dorothea's charitable work brings her to Oakgate Prison, she is delighted by the chance to explore her fascination with phrenology and test her hypothesis that the shape of a person's skull can cast a light on their darkest crimes. every revelation, a new layer of doubt is cast Can Ruth be trusted Is she mad, or a murderer THIS BOOK IS TITLED THE POISON THREAD IN THE USA. So says Ruth Butterham a, poor 16 year-old orphan accused of a shocking murder and the heart of Laura Purcell’s (The Silent Companions) new novel, The Poison Thread. You can sew with tenderness, you can stitch yourself from panic to calm, you can sew with hate. Ruth Butterham is young, poor, and awaiting trial for murder. You can ply your needle with any emotion in the human heart and the thread will absorb it. Reminded me of Alias Grace.'-Kiran Millwood Hargraveįrom the author of The Silent Companions, a thrilling Victorian gothic horror story about a young seamstress who claims her needle and thread have the power to killĭorothea Truelove is young, wealthy, and beautiful. 'A romping read with a deliciously dark conceit at its center. Satisfying.' - New York Times Book Review

The poison thread by laura purcell