Welcome to Fiber Arts Fiction Friday! This week we’re kicking off a new quilting fiction series: The Benni Harper Mystery series by Earlene Fowler. The first book in this series is Fool’s Puzzle.
Synopsis (Story Details Below, But No Major Spoilers)
Benni Harper has just begun rebuilding her life after the death of her husband. She’s left the family ranch and moved to the small California town of San Celina where she’s accepted a new job as the director of a folk art museum and co-op. Although she’s still struggling to adjust to life as a widow, Benni has started to embrace her new life and new job.
Benni is excited about the exhibit of handmade quilts that is currently being set up at the museum and is also looking forward to the accompanying fundraiser event that will hopefully bring in not just money, but more interest in the folk-art museum and co-op. She heads back to the museum late one evening only to find the dead body of one of the artists! The stab wounds and the pool of blood make it immediately clear that this wasn’t a natural death. Even more alarming, is that Benni saw a younger member of her own family fleeing the scene right before she discovered the body!
The local police arrive, including a new police chief who is immediately suspicious of Benni. He knows she’s holding back important information, but isn’t sure what she’s hiding! He definitely doesn’t approve of her sassy attitude and makes it clear that he expects her to leave the detective work to his police force and to stay out of trouble. Benni, of course, has no such intentions and finds herself hot on the trail of the killer.
Benni pursues leads left and right, including a trip out of town after she discovers a mysterious newspaper clipping in the bedroom of the murder victim. Why would the victim have a newspaper article about the tragic accident that took Benni’s husband’s life?
Benni knows she’s going too far when someone takes shots at her while she’s going home one night, causing the police chief to spend the night at her home to ensure her safety. Eventually, the truth comes to light and Benni is faced with upsetting information about how her husband died, including small-town lies and family secrets that had all been kept from her.
My Review
Benni is a relatable character, especially in the context of the small-town atmosphere and the need to rebuild life on her own terms after the death of her husgand. I think the author did a great job giving enough background information about Benni, her extended family, and the family ranch to help the reader understand where Benni’s coming from, while not bogging down the plot line with too many details.
I enjoyed reading about her job as the curator at the folk art museum; it reminded me of my visits to the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky (even though Benni’s museum has a much wider variety of folk art on display). The idea of a folk art co-op was also really intriguing, especially in a small town.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this first book in the Benni Harper mystery series, and I’m excited that there are so many more books in this series to read! Benni Harper is a fun character with a lot of sass and spunk who doesn’t take anything from anyone, even the chief of police! I’m looking forward to seeing how her character develops even more in the next book, Irish Chain.
Ready to get started with the Benni Harper series? Grab your copy of Fool’s Puzzle on Amazon here!
Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
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