The Lover's Knot: A Someday Quilts Mystery [Paperback] Review

For a novice quilter like me, The Lover's Knot was a happy discovery. The latest trend in the "cozy" mystery genre is to write a series of books based on a particular career or hobby. There are mystery novels set in the world of knitting, scrapbooking, cross-stitch, bridge and dogwalking, with some of the best of these reviewed at StoryCircle Book Reviews. I love them all, but this was the first quilting mystery I've read. It was a welcome treat.

The story begins when Nell Fitzgerald, a young layout artist for a Manhattan publishing house, has her heart broken by a fiancé with cold feet. She heads for the Hudson Valley town of Archer's Rest, New York to seek the comfort of her grandmother, Eleanor, owner of the Someday Quilts shop. The lovers' knot of the title is the pattern on the quilt Eleanor has made for her granddaughter's wedding. In a very short time, Nell falls in love with the town and the art of quilting.

Meanwhile, her fiancé Ryan tries to win her back and becomes a suspect in the murder of Marc, a local handyman known for his flirting. A fistfight occurs, a child's paternity is questioned, someone greases the shop stairs with quilter's hand cream and a load of money is found hidden in the shop. The women of the Friday Night Quilt Club, Barney the golden retriever and the handsome widowed police chief round out the cast of characters. (Barney has his own stash of five small quilts with dog fabrics or appliquéd bones lining his bed!)There is enough going on in this story to keep you guessing until the very end.

Quilting jargon like UFOs (Unfinished Objects), stash and fat quarter (twenty-two inches by eighteen instead of a quarter yard) are scattered through the book like fabric scraps on a cutting table. O'Donohue is an avid quilter herself and former producer of the HGTV program "Simply Quilts." She's also skillful in piecing together the ordinary things that can make life difficult: mother-daughter clashes, the death of a spouse, and the shaky steps to recovery after rejection by a lover. She cleverly leaves a few of the personal issues unresolved, so that the reader wonders what the main characters are doing after the novel ends.

I've read a lot of "cozies." They are the books I'm most likely to pick up at the end of a long day or take with me on vacation. The Lover's Knot went in my travel bag on a recent weekend, and was as much fun to read as I hoped it would be. I look forward to my next visit to Archers Rest and the women of Someday Quilts.

by Linda Wisniewski
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

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The Runaway Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series #4) [Paperback] Review

This was truly a book that I could not put down. It is the first of the Elm Creek books that I read and now I have purchased the rest to enjoy. The flow of the story was wonderful. And I easily moved between the days of Gerda and the modern day Sylvia.It is at once a mystery and a tale of adventure and romance.
Through Ms. Chiaverini's skillful writing, we feel equally at home in either the 19th or 21th centuries. So skillful and artistic are her desceiptions, that we, the readers are front and center with our two leading ladies at all times.
The cast of extras, from Hans and Andrew to Dorothea and Grace, all add to the rich tapestry that makes up this story.
Whether you are a quilter or not, this book puts us in touch with the past and reminds us to look back and see the fiber from which we are all made. If you are not a quilter, it certainly is an inspiration to try it out as a hobby
We are never quite sure of the answer to the questions in Sylvia's mind, but that does not matter.What we do know however, is that in her past were brave and daring people who stood for what was right in a time when so much was wrong.

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The Christmas Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series #8) [Hardcover] Review

After five decades away from Elm Creek Manor, the estranged Sylvia Compson returned home too late make any amends with her deceased Bergstrom relatives.Now Christmas is coming, but the septuagenarian does not feel like celebrating her first Yuletide in her family home in fifty years.

Her quilting camp partner Sarah McClure and the youngster's spouse orchards gardener Matt plan to celebrate Yuletide at Elm Creek.Sarah feels some guilt that she is not going to visit her family, but believes the fault lies with her mother who overtly displays her loathing of Matt.Sarah persuades a reluctant Sylvia to go into the attic to look at the holiday ornaments where they find an unfinished Christmas quilt and the memories of the joys in spite of the Depression; the depression of loved ones dying during World War II, and much more.Sylvia regrets her stubbornness that is too late to mend fences and pleads with Sarah to square things with her mother.

Though fans of the Elm Creek Quilt series might be a bit confused as to the timing as this entry occurs before Sylvia marries Andrew (see last year's THE MASTER QUILTER), long time readers will enjoy the latest tale.The somewhat sugary story line contains a deep message that there is no time in life to hold grudges.Sarah is terrific as the attic mementos have her looking back on the joys, tragedies, and mistakes in her life.Though suited for those in the audience who have read most of the previous novels (memories will mean much more) because some newcomers might have some problems with what happened to whom, Jennifer Chiaverini provides a warm holiday tale that adds to the Elm Creek manor saga.

Harriet Klausner

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The Aloha Quilt: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel [Hardcover] Review

Hawaii is about as far away from Pennsylvania as you can get.And in this book, that's exactly where Elm Creek quilter Bonnie Markham is headed.(Avid readers will recognize Bonnie as the one-time owner of the Grandma's Attic quilt shop, as well as being one of the founders of the Elm Creek quilt camps.)Bonnie and her husband Craig are in the middle of a contentious and stressful divorce.When Claire, Bonnie's old Penn State roommate, invites her to spend the winter on the island of Maui in order to help establish an Aloha Quilt Camp, Bonnie takes her up on the offer.Why not exchange a few months of Northeastern snow for a warm and sandy beach in Paradise?

Bonnie soon finds herself in the unique position of being perched in a vacation destination, where she is neither tourist nor resident.With her friends Claire and Eric, she explores some of the tropical landscape.But at the same time, she and Claire must hunker down and do all of the planning for creating a brand-new quilt camp, based in Claire's large, restored inn.Claire's savvy native assistant Midori introduces Bonnie to the intricacies of crafting Hawaiian-style quilts.Midori's nephew, Hinano, serves as a native guide and historical expert for Bonnie as well, even though the two of them often end up arguing about something.One question continues to linger throughout the storyline:Will Bonnie really return to Elm Creek Manor when her consultation duties are done?Or will she instead decide to relocate to Maui and teach full-time at the Aloha Quilt Camp?

The best fiction is enlightening as well as entertaining.Purists scoff whenever Ms. Chiaverini dares to move her plots away from the safe cocoon of Elm Creek Manor in central Pennsylvania, either geographically or historically.But that's exactly the way Life works.Rarely does a group of individuals remain static.Its members have obligations far and beyond their affiliations with one another.Following those threads away from the center gives these characters (and us) a chance to learn more about their personalities.It also helps us discover the various traditions of quilts in other places and at other times.Kudos to Ms. Chiaverini for once again providing another interesting insight into the universal heritage of intricate stitchery.

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Product Description:
Another season of Elm Creek Quilt Camp has come to a close, and Bonnie Markham faces a bleak and lonely winter ahead, with her quilt shop out of business and her divorce looming. A welcome escape comes when Claire, a beloved college friend, unexpectedly invites her to Maui to help launch an exciting new business: a quilter's retreat set at a bed and breakfast amid the vibrant colors and balmy breezes of the Hawaiian Islands. Soon Bonnie finds herself looking out on sparkling waters and banyan trees, planning quilting courses, and learning the history and intricacies of Hawaiian quilting, all the while helping Claire run the inn.
As Bonnie's adventure unfolds, it quickly becomes clear that Claire's new business isn't the only excitement in store for her. Her cheating, soon-to-be ex-husband decides he wants her stake in Elm Creek Quilts, which threatens not only her financial well-being but her dearest friendships as well. Luckily she has the artistic challenge of creating her own unique Hawaiian quilt pattern to distract her-and new friends like Hinano Paoa, owner of the Nä Mele Hawai‘i Music Shop, who introduces Bonnie to the fascinating traditions of Hawaiian culture and reminds her that love can be found when and where you least expect it.

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