Summary
15th in series.
There are two mysteries at play in this Benni Harper Ortiz tale. one is who is the sniper attacking police officers in San Celina: the other is who is the mysterious woman probing into Benni's personal life while lying about her own. Both mysteries will keep readers guessing until the end.
Review
I love Fowler's books - especially the way she acknowledges faith in her stories in an authentic, non-preachy way. She also portrays the romance between Benni and Gabe with passion - and good taste. Interesting information about post-traumatic stress disorder, war veterans and the realities of war as part of the story.
4 out of 5 stars
Recommended for: cozy mystery fans, fans of previous books in the series or other books by this author
Cautions: mild language, one graphic description of war which is completely appropriate in context.
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New releases for May! A few cozy mysteries I am looking forward to reading this month.
I love a new cozy mystery and this one didn't disappoint!
Eleanor Swift runs a pizza joint called A Slice of Delight - something she and her late husband started together. While he has been gone for two years, she is still clinging to the wonderful life they had together, and the pizza business is one of the ways she stays connected to her husband's memory.
But all they built together is put in jeopardy when a late-night pizza delivery leaves Eleanor looking at a dead body and a murder charge. She and her sister Maddy will have to do some serious sleuthing to get Eleanor off the police chief's list of suspects. Includes recipes for pizza crust and sauce.
The sisters in this book were a breath of fresh air. While they bickered at moments, it wasn't the contentious relationship you see in a lot of books. They back each other up and have a great give-and-take relationship. There were plenty of suspects, so I was guessing at the murderer right up until the end, which I like in a mystery (although, I also love figuring it out before the end, too!). There's another book already coming out - Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder (A Pizza Lover's Mystery)
which is going to be in hardcover on August 1. I enjoyed this one enough that I would buy the next in hardcover (although it is a little annoying because they don't look right together on my shelf that way!).
One side note about the author - on page 12 of A Slice, Maddy says she has been reading Earlene Fowler's quilting series and then the narration says that Maddy likes mysteries and has "devoured mysteries on candle making, card making, soap making, and more." The Earlene Fowler reference caught my attention because I just finished her latest book. Because of that, I paid more attention to that paragraph than I might have otherwise. I know from the flap that Chris Cavender is a pseudonym, and I wonder if the author is actually Tim Myers - who wrote a soap making series, a candle making series (among others), and a card making series (under the name Elizabeth Bright. Maybe this reference was a clue to careful readers and Myers' fans. Who knows? If you haven't tried one of Myers' series, check them out - they have great characters, settings and themes.
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Benni Harper Ortiz and the gang are back again for mystery #14 after a bit of time since #13 - it was well worth the wait.
Benni and her family and friends are passing time at the Mid-State Fair. There's a special exhibit of African American quilts and black cloth dolls. In case you didn't guess, race plays a big role in the story. One of the characters is the first manager of the fair to be black and some folks don't like it much. Benni learns a lot from her husband (who is Hispanic) and her African American friends about what it's like to be a minority in America.
In this story, Benni juggles her grandma, Dove, Dove's sister, Garnet (who is keeping a secret from everyone - and who's been watching a lot of CSI lately and loves helping Benni with the case), the racial tensions in her community, and the murder of a boy - a white boy who had been dating a mixed-race girl, the daughter of the black fair manager.
I enjoyed the latest entry in the series. It was easy to fall back into rhythm with the characters and the mystery kept me guessing until the end.
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This is a long-time favorite series for me staring Benni Harper, a widow, who is the director of a folk-art museum in California. Fool's Puzzle is the first in the series and Tumbling Blocks is the most recent, #13. The author has written a couple stand alone books in recent years (The Saddlemakers Wife - which I read and enjoyed - and Love Mercy which I reviewed here), but according to her website, a new Benni Harper book should be out in May of 2010 (State Fair). In the Benni Harper series, you get to enjoy Benni's ranching family, a love interest, and a whole bunch of cozy mysteries! Each book is named for a quilting pattern, and quilts and other crafts are featured through Benni's work at the folk-art museum.This is a series I enjoy re-reading. You can bet I will be first in line for the new book when it releases!
Love Johnson has recently lost her husband. She lost her only son soon after the birth of his third daughter who would now be a teenager, and Love is estranged from her daughter-in-law. So as far as family is concerned, Love only has her inlaws in her life. But she has surrounded herself with good friends who are like family and who help her adjust to life without her precious husband. Then one day, unexpectedly, her middle granddaughter, Rett, shows up in town. Why has she traveled across the country to see a grandmother she barely knows? What is she looking for? What is she hiding from?
Among other books, Fowler writes the Benni Harper mystery series that takes place in the 1990s. Love Mercy takes place in 2008 in the same community with Benni and her family as fringe characters. It was fun to see Benni and other familiar characters in Love's story, which was very good all by itself. Fowler hopes to tell more stories about Love and her friends and family in the future and I look forward to reading them.
