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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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Summary: Mystery Story with a Quilting Angle
Review: This is the eighth story in the Benni Harper mystery series. Benni and Gabe return to Sugartree, Arkansas with her family for a long overdue visit. Benni's thrilled to be back home and delighted because her best friend, Elvia Aragon is also along for the trip. The romance between Elvia and Benni's cousin Emory is at a turning point, but which way will it go? Gramma Dove is still fighting with her sister Garnet and they drive the entire family crazy by their dueling. The kitchen is their battleground. All foods are made twice.... Dove's version of a pie versus Garnet's version of the same kind of pie and so on. Sugartree also seems to be changing. Two popular churches are considering a merger, but the church members are divided about having a racially mixed congregation and various instances of racial violence take place. This does not seem to be the lovely and sweet small town that Benni has kept alive in her memories. When a young white supremacist is murdered, the residents of Sugartree are forced into seeing that more potential problems could be facing the town. Benni is heartsick over the turn of events. She wants to help, but is afraid of what else might happen in her hometown. Gabe is understanding and very helpful to his troubled wife and he's not acting as macho as he has been in the previous Benni Harper Mysteries. After two years of marriage, maybe they're beginning to understand each other. The author makes her characters so interesting that the stories seem to be about people whom I've actually met. It's also fun to see the characters grow in different ways.
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Summary: --Going home is never the same--
Review: This is the eighth story in the Benni Harper mystery series. Benni and Gabe return to Sugartree, Arkansas with her family for a long overdue visit. Benni's thrilled to be back home and delighted because her best friend, Elvia Aragon is also along for the trip. The romance between Elvia and Benni's cousin Emory is at a turning point, but which way will it go? Gramma Dove is still fighting with her sister Garnet and they drive the entire family crazy by their dueling. The kitchen is their battleground. All foods are made twice.... Dove's version of a pie versus Garnet's version of the same kind of pie and so on. Sugartree also seems to be changing. Two popular churches are considering a merger, but the church members are divided about having a racially mixed congregation and various instances of racial violence take place. This does not seem to be the lovely and sweet small town that Benni has kept alive in her memories. When a young white supremacist is murdered, the residents of Sugartree are forced into seeing that more potential problems could be facing the town. Benni is heartsick over the turn of events. She wants to help, but is afraid of what else might happen in her hometown. Gabe is understanding and very helpful to his troubled wife and he's not acting as macho as he has been in the previous Benni Harper Mysteries. After two years of marriage, maybe they're beginning to understand each other. The author makes her characters so interesting that the stories seem to be about people whom I've actually met. It's also fun to see the characters grow in different ways.
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Summary: You can go home
Review: This most recent Earlene Fowler takes us back to Benni's roots and lets us in on the childhood secrets. Ms. Fowler does an excellent job of revealing Benni and her family slowly through all her books, dripping out little tidbits of their earlier life. In this most recent book we get to know what Benni's Arkansas life was like all while she is yet again using her intuition and gentle prying to solve yet another unfortunate murder. I can't wait for the next Earlene Fowler book and I hope this is is Wedding Rings to celebrate the marriage of Elvia and Emory, can't wait for their nuptials to take place.
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Summary: Not just a book for quilters!
Review: This was a great book for anyone who likes a good puzzle. You don't need to be quilter to appreciate or like this book. The way the book comes togeather is lke the making of a quilt, piece by peice and ittle by little. Although maybe not a classic I would read again, I am certianly glad I read it once and would certainly read it again, as well as others in the series.
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