Product Description

In the tradition of Jennifer Chiaverini and Emilie Richards, a debut quilting mystery

Nell Fitzgerald is thrilled when she receives a gorgeous handmade quilt in a lover’s knot pattern from her grandmother Eleanor as an engagement gift. Her joy is short-lived, however, when her fiancé announces he’s calling off the wedding. Heartbroken, 25-year-old Nell flees New York City for her grandmother’s home in quaint Archers Rest. In this small town Eleanor’s life revolves around her quilt shop, Someday Quilts, and the members of the shop’s quilting circle.

When the body of a local handyman known for his flirting is found in the quilt shop, murdered with a pair of quilting scissors, Nell finds herself drawn into the case— and drawn to the handsome police chief. As a pattern of clues begins to emerge, one of the prime suspects is Nell’s ex-fiancé, whose arrival in Archers Rest seems suspicious. The ladies of the quilting circle continue to piece together their quilts as Nell unravels the mystery. For quilters and mystery lovers alike, The Lover’s Knot is a delightful and promising debut.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19254 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-30
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
A stitch above most craft cozies, O'Donohue's sweet debut introduces Nell Fitzgerald, a Manhattan publishing professional whose broken engagement leads her to the Hudson River town of Archer's Rest, where her grandmother, Eleanor Cassidy, runs Someday Quilts. After her grandmother takes a nasty fall, Nell decides to help Eleanor recuperate and expand the store with the assistance of Marc Reed, a handsome handyman. The unexpected arrival of Ryan, Nell's ex-fiancé, during a tender moment with Marc causes a major fight. Things get worse after Marc turns up at Someday Quilts scissored to death. Local police chief Jesse Dewalt, an attractive widower, has a roster of suspects, including Ryan. Ryan offers to reconcile, but first Nell must clear Ryan's name by helping Jesse solve Marc's murder. O'Donohue sensitively depicts Nell's romantic quandary of Ryan vs. Jesse within a solid smalltown whodunit. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
O’Donohue debuts her Someday Quilts Mystery series with a promising story about women’s friendships and quilting. It is a pleasant, even a gentle read—except for the cheating boyfriend and the murder. Nell Fitzgerald is excited to receive a beautiful, handmade lover’s-knot quilt as an engagement gift from her grandmother, Eleanor. But then things begin to go horribly wrong. Her fiancé, Ryan, suddenly decides to call off the wedding. Nell leaves New York to visit her grandmother in the small town of Archers Rest. As the grieving Nell becomes acquainted with her grandmothers’ quilt shop, called Someday Quilts, and her circle of friends, two more unfortunate events take place: her grandmother breaks her leg, and the body of a flirtatious handyman is found in the quilt shop. Nell turns her attention to solving the mystery, while the quilters begin to teach her about their art. Fiction about quilting is popular right now, and fans will make the connection to Jennifer Chiaverini’s Elm Creek Quilts books and Emilie Richards’ Shenandoah Album series. Mystery readers will also think of Earlene Fowler’s terrific Benni Harper series. Look forward to Nell’s further adventures in Archers Rest. --Judy Coon

Review
“O’Donohue debuts her Someday Quilts Mystery series with a promising story about women’s friendships and quilting. It is a pleasant, even a gentle read—except for the cheating boyfriend and the murder. Nell Fitzgerald is excited to receive a beautiful, handmade lover’s-knot quilt as an engagement gift from her grandmother, Eleanor. But then things begin to go horribly wrong. Her fiancé, Ryan, suddenly decides to call off the wedding. Nell leaves New York to visit her grandmother in the small town of Archers Rest. As the grieving Nell becomes acquainted with her grandmothers’ quilt shop, called Someday Quilts, and her circle of friends, two more unfortunate events take place: her grandmother breaks her leg, and the body of a flirtatious handyman is found in the quilt shop. Nell turns her attention to solving the mystery, while the quilters begin to teach her about their art. Fiction about quilting is popular right now, and fans will make the connection to Jennifer Chiaverini’s Elm Creek Quilts books and Emilie Richards’ Shenandoah Album series. Mystery readers will also think of Earlene Fowler’s terrific Benni Harper series. Look forward to Nell’s further adventures in Archers Rest.”
—Booklist

Customer Reviews

Pieced, Sewed, Solved!
For a novice quilter like me, The Lover's Knot was a happy discovery. The latest trend in the "cozy" mystery genre is to write a series of books based on a particular career or hobby. There are mystery novels set in the world of knitting, scrapbooking, cross-stitch, bridge and dogwalking, with some of the best of these reviewed at StoryCircle Book Reviews. I love them all, but this was the first quilting mystery I've read. It was a welcome treat.

The story begins when Nell Fitzgerald, a young layout artist for a Manhattan publishing house, has her heart broken by a fiancé with cold feet. She heads for the Hudson Valley town of Archer's Rest, New York to seek the comfort of her grandmother, Eleanor, owner of the Someday Quilts shop. The lovers' knot of the title is the pattern on the quilt Eleanor has made for her granddaughter's wedding. In a very short time, Nell falls in love with the town and the art of quilting.

Meanwhile, her fiancé Ryan tries to win her back and becomes a suspect in the murder of Marc, a local handyman known for his flirting. A fistfight occurs, a child's paternity is questioned, someone greases the shop stairs with quilter's hand cream and a load of money is found hidden in the shop. The women of the Friday Night Quilt Club, Barney the golden retriever and the handsome widowed police chief round out the cast of characters. (Barney has his own stash of five small quilts with dog fabrics or appliquéd bones lining his bed!)There is enough going on in this story to keep you guessing until the very end.

Quilting jargon like UFOs (Unfinished Objects), stash and fat quarter (twenty-two inches by eighteen instead of a quarter yard) are scattered through the book like fabric scraps on a cutting table. O'Donohue is an avid quilter herself and former producer of the HGTV program "Simply Quilts." She's also skillful in piecing together the ordinary things that can make life difficult: mother-daughter clashes, the death of a spouse, and the shaky steps to recovery after rejection by a lover. She cleverly leaves a few of the personal issues unresolved, so that the reader wonders what the main characters are doing after the novel ends.

I've read a lot of "cozies." They are the books I'm most likely to pick up at the end of a long day or take with me on vacation. The Lover's Knot went in my travel bag on a recent weekend, and was as much fun to read as I hoped it would be. I look forward to my next visit to Archers Rest and the women of Someday Quilts.

by Linda Wisniewski
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Dinner was late!
I read this book in 3 days and dinner was late on the last day. *grins* Definitely 5 stars.

I found all the characters -- even the "bad" ones -- likeable, and I enjoyed the way they interacted with each other. I found "meeting" each of the characters fun. Just as in real life, the author allowed the reader to unfold little scraps of information about each character as the story progressed; and by the end of the story I felt that I "knew" each of the main characters. I also liked the way the secondary story was interwoven into the main story, and the way both stories were resolved -- leaving some things to the readers imagination.

If you enjoy a light/cozy mystery but aren't a quilter, don't shy away from this book. There is much more here than quilting. The author wove together family relationships, the death of a loved one, broken relationships and how we struggle with the decision to mend them or not, plus a mystery, and yes, some quilting talk.

Clare has a writing style that is fresh and welcoming. Every chapter ended on a "turn the page" note -- and usually that's what I did. It was difficult to put down.

I hope this lady writes more books. My own desire would be that we move on to new characters, but I know that the publishing world is hung up these days on serials. *Sigh*

Personally, serials can become boring unless the characters change and grow. In this case, growing would mean that Grandma Eleanor, Barney the dog, and the members of the Friday night quilting club would advance in age; and given their present ages, it would mean taking the reader through their deaths -- and that's not why I read non-fiction. I read as a diversion from the stress of life and would rather not have to deal with the "emotional" loss of beloved characters; but that's my own personal preference. Still, if the next book continues with these wonderful characters, I'll likely read it -- and keep reading the series until I can't take it anymore.

Entangle yourself in the Lover's Knot!
As an amateur quilter I found myslef longing to be part of a quilting circle. I could connect with the characters and had fun trying to unravel the mystery. All you will need is a rainy day, a cup of tea and you will not put the book down until it was finished. I hope there are more books to follow!