Product Description

Benni's friend and her husband have opened a dude ranch that's about to go belly-up. So Benni helps out, tempting vacationers with a Western extravaganza. Soon, she's cooking and quilting with a slew of tenderfoots. But the fun turns sour when a dog finds a human bone on the property and Benni uncovers the remains of a man murdered outlaw-style.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #179330 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-03
• Released on: 2005-05-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In Fowler's 11th Benni Harper mystery (after 2003's Sunshine and Shadow), one of the best yet in this well-written cozy series, quilter Benni comes to the rescue of Shawna and Johnny Abbot, the new owners of the Broken DIS (aka the Broken Dishes) cattle ranch, now converted to a guest ranch. The opening of the retreat goes smoothly, until a makeshift grave is discovered during the ladies' first trail ride. Finding a dead body, albeit skeletal, around Benni is nothing new, and neither is the arrival of Detective Ford "Hud" Hudson—their paths have crossed before, and not to the liking of Benni's luscious Latino hubby, Police Chief Gabe Ortiz. Gabe's presence at the Broken Dishes insures more testosterone-fueled battles than the ones already boiling between Johnny and head wrangler Whip. Rumors that a syndicated travel critic is secretly among the ranch's first guests add to the staff's already abundant distress, and tempers and tensions stretch to their absolute limits. Plenty of exciting PG-rated action—some mild flirtation and innuendo is as sexy as it gets—will keep the reader turning the pages, while Fowler's sense of humor crops up in character names like Kitty Katz and Bunny Hopp, as well as in Benni's wise and witty personality.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
This satisfying series, in which the titles all come from quilt patterns, takes a different turn as Benni Harper spends a couple of weeks on a guest ranch in California. It's not for fun: the young couple, Shawna and Johnny, who own the ranch are the daughter and son-in-law of a recently deceased friend of Benni's dad, who asked her to help them out. And she does so with gusto, enlisting recalcitrant relatives, her feisty grandmother and her new photographer husband, a quilting acquaintance, and various others to offer classes and services to get the ranch off to a solid start. But accidents happen, including earthquakes, and a decades-old skeleton turns up on the property. While the denouement feels tacked on, Benni's warmhearted openness and her deep faith make her an engaging companion, indeed, and her handsome cop husband and his Latino endearments don't hurt, either. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Each Benni Harper mystery is better than the previous. -- Midwest Book Review

Fowler offers another delightful entry into a strong series. -- Mystery Reader

Satisfying. -- Booklist

Customer Reviews

M.I.A. Regulars but still enjoyable
"Broken Dishes" is another example of talented writing with no distasteful innuendoes or violent interludes that curl the hair and curdle the stomach. With each installment Benni Harper gets pluckier, saucier but still has an undisguised vulnerability toward friends, family and especially her husband police chief, Gabe Ortiz. Arriving at a cattle ranch converted to a guest ranch(called The Broken Dis(hes), Benni encounters a group of liberated ladies attending a quilting seminar,a young married couple in financial straits, a head wrangler who is an emotional timebomb, and (why are we not surprised ?) a skeletal dead body.
An additional complication is Detective "Hud" Hudson, a combination of professional nemesis with a begrudging admiration and affection for Benni, who is assigned to investigate the mystery. The anxiety over an unknown "Mystery Traveller", a travel critic who could make or break the ranch financially could present another distracting ingredient.The writing is breezy without being cloying, the bantering is clever without being caustic and the characterization is droll without being outlandish. My one main criticism is how many times does Benni and Gabe's marriage have to be tested? There is a slight element of personal tension between Hud and Benni that obviously creates a jealous atmosphere with Gabe. It seems that Ms Fowler has driven down this road before and perhaps it is time to inject in their relationship a different approach. I also missed Dove, Benni's grandmother and her tried and true ,loving wisdom which keeps Benni's spirit and emotions in necessary balance. "Broken Dishes", while not being the strongest installment in the series will maintain readers' enthusiasmm but make them long for the more familiar, regular characters whose appearances are minimal in this book

Earlene Fowler never fails to satisfy.
I have followed this series from the very beginning and the characters just get deeper and more like real friends. I look forward to each book for a new visit with old friends. This book throws Benni together with several old acquaintances and a group of new people who are great fun. But the real fun is the continuing back and forth with Hud. The setting is a Dude ranch that is an attempt to save a family cattle ranch by the younger generation. Old bones are found by the ranch dog and an investigation into who they are and why they are there and if there was a crime insues. In with that is the tensions among the ranch folks, the guests, Benni's family who are helping and of course, Hud. The addition of Hud's grandfather is a wonderful one and getting to know the new characters and catching up with the old ones is what her readers look for. Add possible arson, a crazy goose and lots of color and you've got a great, fun book.

I want more!
I have read all of the Benni Harper books written by Earlene Fowler and have enjoyed every single one of them. When I finish one of Earlene's books I always feel a little sad knowing that these characters I have read about have almost become friends and I want to continue to learn more about them and their lives.
I love the fact that Earlene keeps quilts as a theme and find it amazing that she can weave a mystery with so many threads! Great job Earlene! Until we meet again.! Watch out for the duck!