Product Description

New in the Agatha Award-winning series!

With Christmas just a few weeks away, Benni's queenly boss, Constance Sinclair, demands that she investigate the death of a local socialite. It's not long before Benni recognizes that there may be some deadly truth to Constance's suspicions. But with a famously reclusive artist about to put Benni's quilting museum on the map-and her daunting mother-in-law and her "surprise" new husband visiting-Benni's holiday is already hectic. Nevertheless, she'll need to crack the exclusive circle of suspects before one more gourmet goose gets cooked.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #538524 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
With the imminent arrival of her mother-in-law, unfinished Christmas shopping and unexpected dog-sitting responsibilities, Benni Harper, amateur sleuth and folk art museum curator in San Celina, Calif., has enough on her hands even before she looks into a suspicious death in Fowler's delightful 13th entry in her Agatha Award–winning series (after 2006's Delectable Mountains). When Constance Sinclair, Benni's boss, can't get help from Benni's police chief husband, Gabe, the art patroness demands that Benni investigate the death of her friend Arva "Pinky" Edmondson. Pinky apparently died of a heart attack in her sleep, but Constance is convinced she was murdered by one of the local socialites vying for admittance to the exclusive 49 Club. Benni delves into the secrets of the town's elite with her usual flair, unraveling a plot that is as dangerous as the bulls on her father's ranch and as cozy as the quilts she reveres. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Benni Harper Ortiz, curator of the Josiah Sinclair Folk Art Museum, watches her stress level rise as she prepares for a major new exhibition of California Outsider Art, its centerpiece a gift from famed painter Abe Adam Finch. Of course, the fact that her mother-in-law is coming for Christmas isn't helping the stress problem, either. When museum patron Constance Sinclair demands Benni investigate her good friend Pinky Edmondson's death, Benni is ready to decline. However, her husband, police chief Gabe Ortiz, asks her to pretend to investigate to keep Constance off his back. Meanwhile, Gabe's mother arrives with a surprise or two of her own, leaving Gabe angry and withdrawn. While looking for a killer, Benni tries to mediate the mother-son issues, babysit a cute puppy, and prepare for the prestigious art exhibit. The mystery here is weak, but the relationships between the characters are explored in some depth, providing insights into Benni's and Gabe's pasts. The rich cast of secondary characters, plenty of humor, and details about the "outsider art" phenomenon enrich this thirteenth in the long-running series. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Earlene Fowler was raised in La Puente, California, by a Southern mother and a Western father. She lives in Southern California with her husband, Allen, a purple pickup truck, and a semi-obedient Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Boudin.

Customer Reviews

A Christmas visit with our old friends, Benni and Gabe
Each time we meet Benni Harper Ortiz, she's one busy lady, and this encounter is no different. With Christmas just around the corner, Benni is eagerly preparing the folk art museum for a new exhibit of California outsider art that includes a featured painting by known recluse Abe Adam Finch. The museum's primary benefactor, Constance Sinclair, demands that Benni simultaneously investigate the death of her friend Pinky Edmondson, one of the members of the prestigious and elite 49 Club of San Celina. Hud, a local policeman, asks Benni for the favor of puppy-sitting over the holidays while he and his family visit relatives in Texas. And then there's the impending visit of Benni's mother-in-law from Kansas, Kathryn Smith Ortiz, who arrives for the season with a few surprises of her own. Anyone would be stressed out in a similar situation; but resilient Benni gives it her all. As if her plate weren't full enough: she also has to deal with the many moods of her best friend Elvia, who is two months pregnant and is in the midst of a crisis of her own -- even if it *is* merely wardrobe related. With Gabe in a close-mouthed and sullen mood invoked by his mother, Benni is left to attend to her responsibilities on her own. As usual, the mysteries she gets tangled up in threaten in the end to tangle her up for a good long time. Was Pinky murdered, or did she die of a heart attack? Will Abe Adam Finch move to San Celina or Cambria and become a local artist for the museum? Will Gabe and his mother ever patch things up? Can Benni get a decent photo taken of Boo on Santa's lap?

The mystery lines might be a tad thin in this installment of the series, but that doesn't mean the book isn't a worthwhile and entertaining read. I had suspicions of my own early on, and they proved to be close to the truth. But I also have to admit that I laughed out loud at the developments on three separate pages -- once in delight, and twice in astonishment. And any animal lover will melt at the literary introduction of Ms. Fowler's own pooch, a little Corgi nicknamed Boo, to the scene. Unlike one reviewer, I cannot recommend skipping this entry; the interaction of Gabe with his mother is a crucial stepping stone to understanding both characters.

Here's hoping that we can continue to share in the lives and adventures of Benni Harper, now Ortiz, and her circle of friends.

Not the greatest
What a disappointment! Not only did she not develop any characters in this book, she nearly left out most of the old ones, namely Dove, Isaac, Sam, Elvia, Emory, and even Gabe. These characters all played their steriotypical roles in the backround, never really getting involved with Benni in any meaningful way. Dove and Isaac were wise as usual but hardly around to give any advice or any comfort, Sam was funny and cute and nowhere to be seen unless babysitting the dog, Elvia is apparently now a neurotic pregnant clothes-horse (Please. That's just not in jive with her character), Emory is hardly around except now he's afraid of his neurotic pregnant clothes-horse wife, and Gabe is angry. All these characters put in their cameo appearances, and disappeared right after. Was there really anyone else in the book who could be called a main character besides Benni? Oh wait, yes there was. The puppy, Boo. Give me a break.
Ms. Fowler backed down from any and all emotional moments that could have developed in this book just by having Benni not want to get involved because Dove would tell her not too. I agree with another reviewer who called Benni a doormat. This is getting ridiculous.
On the whole, the "mystery" was way too easy to figure out, and the ending of the book was forced and formulaic. Could Benni fall down and get hurt any more times? Could there be a major "emotional" breakthrough at the very end AGAIN? All in all, the book was pretty bad. I think this is the end for me with this series.

Tired of Gabe
I think I have read the last Benni Harper book I ever will. I got so tired of listening to Gabe moan, groan, and generally be a pain in the neck to everyone around him. The mystery plot was too thin and not really a mystery at all. Actually the series might be a whole lot better if Gabe were to disappear. He adds nothing to a book or to Benni's life other than a thorn in her side and mine..