Rating: 
Summary: Completly real characters, straight from the Heartland
Review: What struck me about The Perisan Pickle Club was the amazing similarities between the women in the book, and the women I know who have roots in America's Heartland - like me. I wasn't even born until 1958, currently live in California, and have never owned a farm. So my roots are pretty deeply buried. But there I was, in those pages, none the less. I'd recommend it as an enjoyable way to better understand our heritage as Americans, and as American woman in particular.
Rating: 
Summary: Farm wives as I remember them ...
Review: My Mom and the other "hired men's wives" never solved a murder mystery (that I know of) but this book brought back the cameraderie I sensed among them during my childhood. "You can choose your friends but you can't choose your relatives," but the relative isolation of farm women made it a good idea to be on good terms with everybody in the neighborhood. The little gossipy asides - not necessarily "catty" - made it realistic : no Jerry Springer - just an honest interest in the others' lives because of the all-too-human connection. All the sewing details just made it more authentic ! A quiet little gem of a book.
Rating:
Summary: This book is no "Fried Green Tomatoes."
Review: This book was recommended to me as similar in feeling to "Fried Green Tomatoes." It's not. It's an enjoyable read, but there are too many minor characters to confuse you, and the "solution" to the mystery is something you've seen countless times before. I really did enjoy all the quilting explanations and folklore references, however! This book is definitely better than another one of Dallas's, which I just read: "Buster Midnight's Cafe."
Rating: 
Summary: Who did it?
Review: My book club just read and discussed this book. All enjoyed it. Some of us weren't exactly sure about the identity of the murderer. I'd appreciate other readers' thoughts about this issue. So as not to spoil it for first time readers, please e-mail me at the above address.
Rating:
Summary: A predictable, light mystery
Review: This book was a quick and easy read. I would have liked more character development, but I suppose there were too many characters for that. The sense of place wasn't really there, it could have been Anytown, USA. I had to keep reminding myself that the action was taking place in Kansas. The plot and its outcome were predictable, even with the red herring thrown in. A pleasant diversion for a few hours, but nothing I'd reread or recommend to friends.
Rating:
Summary: Nice book about nice people who could be your neighbors.
Review: Queenie Bean, the central character, is a farm wife who values the important things - family, friends and the land. Every week she attends the Persian Pickle Club and quilts with other women who are varied in age, interests and financial status. Times aren't great in depression era Kansas, but Queenie and husband Grover make do and willingly lend a hand. They are the kind of thougtful people you would love to have as neighbors. Grover's friend Tom marries a girl who is different than the rest. Rita, his wife, becomes a Pickle and is welcomed into the quilting circle, but she has other goals. Rita wants to get out rural Kansas by publishing a newspaper article and is bound and determined to find out who murdered a local ne'er do well. The book is the story of life in depression era, dust bowl Kansas while this murder mystery is solved. A good easy reader with a happy ending for characters whose deserve to be happy
Rating:
Summary: Definitely an undiscovered gem
Review: Before reading this book, I had never so much as sewed a button on fabric. I so loved the descriptions of the community quilting bee, I was inspired to try needlepoint and cross-stitch, to some success. I'm still working my way up to quilting, and I'm determined to some day create my own handstitched treasure!
In many ways, this book is itself a handstitched treasure. The relationships are so real, I could not put the book down. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It's more than a story of small-town life, more than a sideline mystery ... it's a poignant tapestry of life, from birth to death.
Rating:
Summary: An exceptional read, characters you care about,& a whodunit!
Review: Persian Pickle lets us look into small-town life in Kansas
during the depths of the depression. We meet a close-knit
circle of women who meet to quilt and gossip. But more
than that, they are so close that they share a secret that
wou
ld have dire consequences if it were revealed!
Rating:
Summary: Another great by Sandra Dallas...
Review: I thought this was a really pleasant read. It was one of those books that you can't put down (and I didn't) till you've finished it. You think you've picked a nice little book about quilting...which you have...but you also get a little mystery on the side. I must say that it wasn't a wonderful as 'Alice's Tulips' or 'The Chili Queen'...but a good book nonetheless. Sandra Dallas is one of my favorite authors, and I recommend everything she writes...this book being no exception. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Two books in one -- and only one was great
Review: There are really two books here. First, there's the warm, funny and at times poignant story of people living through the despression in drought-striken Kansas. This is the good book, filled with wonderful observations of life and friendship. Then there's the "murder mystery" which is far fetched and totally unnecessary. Frankly, I couldn't have cared less "who done it" and would have been much happier having the entire book devoted to the everyday life of these intriquing characters. It didn't need a mystery to "liven" things up.
The mystery doesn't totally ruin the book, but it does weaken what would have been an insightful character study.
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