Rating: 
Summary: Earlene Fowler is maturing as a writer
Review: Earlene Fowler has dealt with the thorny issue of bigotry throughout her Benni Harper Mystery Series, but usually as a subplot for the main character's Hispanic husband, Gabe. In "Arkansas Traveler" she faces traditional Southern bigoty head-on and does not flinch. No wonder it made the L.A. Times Bestseller List!She deftly juggles numerous characters and their individual stories, both new and established. Now I can't wait for the upcoming weddings! Write faster, Earlene!
Rating: 
Summary: I hate to be the one to mention this, but . . .
Review: I found this Fowler's weakest attempt. The plot worked; typical Fowler. The characters, however, have begun to grate. I searched in vain for a non-disfunctional personality in the book. Gabe and Elvia came the closest, but Gabe is playing the same role in each book now, like a sitcom. Elvia at least was allowed to move forward, but this isn't Elvia's series. Benni bounced around with the usual mix of stubborn/stupid/doormat/smartmouth--it's getting old. And I felt preached at. The heroine is a Baptist, fine. But, I don't buy these books because I want to read Christian fiction, and Arkansas Traveler moved in that direction. Bottom Line: I started skimming a third of the way through, and ended by only reading the pages that contained Emory's name. Emory and Elvia have taken over, are the most interesting, and our hero and heroine no longer appeal. This was a looser for me.
Rating:
Summary: I hate to be the one to mention this, but . . .
Review: I found this Fowler's weakest attempt. The plot worked; typical Fowler. The characters, however, have begun to grate. I searched in vain for a non-disfunctional personality in the book. Gabe and Elvia came the closest, but Gabe is playing the same role in each book now, like a sitcom. Elvia at least was allowed to move forward, but this isn't Elvia's series. Benni bounced around with the usual mix of stubborn/stupid/doormat/smartmouth--it's getting old. And I felt preached at. The heroine is a Baptist, fine. But, I don't buy these books because I want to read Christian fiction, and Arkansas Traveler moved in that direction. Bottom Line: I started skimming a third of the way through, and ended by only reading the pages that contained Emory's name. Emory and Elvia have taken over, are the most interesting, and our hero and heroine no longer appeal. This was a looser for me.
Rating: 
Summary: My first Benni Harper, but not my last
Review: I picked up Arkansas Traveler while on vacation. Having read all the books I packed, I went to the hotel lobby store to pick up something quick and easy. I found Arkansas Traveler, and it sounded like the perfect book for vacation. What I didn't know is that the book was part of a series. I settled down to read and became quickly enraptured with Benni, her lovable and quirky friends and family. Unfortunately for me, now I will need to start the series at the beginning!
The mystery almost seems like a side event to the cooking, visiting, church going and interaction among all the family and friends presented here. I love 'Southern' flavored books, and this one does not disappoint. Lots of local color and eccentric people to keep one entertained. There is a murder, of someone it appears nobody liked. Toby Hunter is a wanna be white supremacist, and the son of Sugartree's mayor. When Toby is found dead, and the suspicion seems to be aimed at Benni's friend Amen's nephew, Benni decides to investigate. The final revelation of the murderer and the motives seem almost a sideline to everything else. The issure of race in the South is shown from both sides, and no simple and satisfactory conclusion is given to the complex questions raised, and for that I am thankful. I loved the writing, and the reverence for both small town life, and places like the Dairy Queen and Piggly Wiggly, and the love of good cooking. I cannot wait to start this series from book one!
Rating:
Summary: Characters spring to life!
Review: I was so drawn into the town of Sugartree, Arkansas, and what was going on in everyone's lives that when there was a murder, I had to sit back and remember that it was a murder mystery. Earlene Fowler sure can bring the characters to life. Gabe is, well, better than ever. So, if you are in love with him already, be prepared to fall even deeper! And, it's wonderful to really get to know Elvia better. You'll feel her emotions right along with her! Dove and Aunt Garnett are always a source of fun and once again, they don't disappoint. Thank you Earlene for another top-notch book! I loved it! Is there a higher rating than five stars?
Rating:
Summary: a reminder that the Civil War isn't quite over
Review: I've read all of the Benni Harper mysteries to date, and this one is a good sample of Earlene Fowler's work. So if you haven't yet ventured into Benni's life -- if you don't know anything about San Celina, California, or about its folk art museum or its police department or about Southern roots running deep in the life of a 30-something woman and her father and grandmother -- _Arkansas Traveler_ might be a nice place to start. When Benni and her cousin Emory return to Sugartree, Arkansas, for a big church reunion (with their Hispanic partners by their sides), they find out that racism still lingers under the small-town surface and that the Civil War isn't quite over. The black Baptist church and the white Baptist church in town are considering a merger but run into a few stumbling blocks along the way. A black woman and childhood friend to Benni and Emory is challenging a white male incumbant in a local mayoral election. Blood pressures are already being pushed to their near-limits when a young white man is murdered and fingers are pointed to a young black counterpart. And Benni's inclination is to ask questions and find out the truth, and her inquisitiveness can only lead to possible danger, of course. Food plays a major role in this offering, and I'm happy to say that when I finished the book, I walked to our local Dairy Queen and bought a cone in honor of Benni, Gabe, Elvia, and Emory. Aw heck, I did it for myself as well. Enjoy the reading!
Rating:
Summary: curiousity killed the cat - but not Benni Harper!
Review: Ms. Fowler doesn't sugar coat the racism issue and the ugliness of it angered me. I say to live and let live. It's sad to think that such treatment of people still happens today. There is so much more to focus on than race. There are no answers found in her book but we can only hope that it will make people think before acting. Words can be more hurtful than physical abuse. With each book Earlene Fowler got better and better. I thought I might get tired of them by the time I read all 8 books. But that didn't happen. I've grown attached to Benni and will miss her antics...but not for long, Ms. Fowler is due to release, Steps to the Altar, in April 2002. I look forward to reading it. Though Mariner's Compass won the Agatha Award for Best Novel in 1999 I believe this last book, Arkansas Traveler, proved to be her best. I felt the emotions, the good and the bad, and the end brought tears to my eyes. Ms. Fowler, keep up the great work!
Rating:
Summary: curiousity killed the cat - but not Benni Harper!
Review: Ms. Fowler doesn't sugar coat the racism issue and the ugliness of it angered me. I say to live and let live. It's sad to think that such treatment of people still happens today. There is so much more to focus on than race. There are no answers found in her book but we can only hope that it will make people think before acting. Words can be more hurtful than physical abuse. With each book Earlene Fowler got better and better. I thought I might get tired of them by the time I read all 8 books. But that didn't happen. I've grown attached to Benni and will miss her antics...but not for long, Ms. Fowler is due to release, Steps to the Altar, in April 2002. I look forward to reading it. Though Mariner's Compass won the Agatha Award for Best Novel in 1999 I believe this last book, Arkansas Traveler, proved to be her best. I felt the emotions, the good and the bad, and the end brought tears to my eyes. Ms. Fowler, keep up the great work!
Rating:
Summary: The best so far...
Review: The author has provided pure reading pleasure in Arkansas Traveler. The character backgrounds are complete. Really like the tie in with the E.R. missing quilt. I was glad Benni was able to see Gabe do his job so well. The homecoming was a wonderful setting for the book. I felt the author did a wonderful job with Amen and her family. You can feel the love throughout the whole book with all that were involved.
Rating:
Summary: You Can Go Home Again, But Most Things Have Changed
Review: The books in this series are all named after real patchwork quilt patterns. Benni Harper is the curator of a folk art museum in San Celina, California who was raised by her father and grandmother on a ranch. She married at a very young age and ranched with her husband for 15 years. After her husband was killed, she moved to town, where she met and later married her second husband, police chief Gabriel Ortiz. I like the way the author explores class and cultural differences through relationships: Benni's husband is a Latino man who can be very macho; her best friend Elvia is a sophisticated Latina bookstore manager; Elvia is dating Benni's wealthy cousin Emory, who moved from Arkansas to San Celina so he could woo Elvia. Arkansas Traveler is the eighth book in the series. Benni, Emory, Elvia and Gabe travel to Benni's hometown of Sugartree, Arkansas for the Sugartree Baptist Church?s Homecoming. The book is an excellent exploration of life and race relations in a small Southern town, but it is not strident. Benni is angry and embarrassed by the hostility and prejudice some of the townspeople show toward Gabe and Elvia; a black church and a white church need to merge to survive but both congregations are against racial mixing; Benni's childhood friend Amen, the first black woman to run for mayor, is having trouble with white supremacists, one of whom is her opponent's son. The son is killed, Amen's nephew is arrested and Benni gets involved in trying to solve the murder. Secrets and lies abound, but leavening the mix is a comic subplot involving a long-simmering feud between Benni's grandmother and the grandmother's sister that erupts into a cooking battle. This is a thought-provoking book and it's the best in a good series. You will want to run out and get all the other Benni Harper books.
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