The Devil's Puzzle

Someday Quilts Mysteries #4

by Clare O'Donohue

Nell and the crafty Someday Quilters undertake their first cold case in the latest addition to this bewitching series.

After their quilting retreat upstate, the Someday Quilts ladies return to Archers Rest to prepare for the town's big anniversary celebration. But their plans are unexpectedly derailed by the discovery of a human skeleton in Nell's grandmother's backyard-making Eleanor the prime suspect in a murder. But a skeleton isn't the only thing that's long been buried. When a wave of vandalism raises fears that the town's bygone history of witchcraft has been reawakened, secrets are unearthed that could change life in Archers Rest forever. In addition to a thrilling mystery and the warm camaraderie of the ladies, The Devil's Puzzle is full of the quilting lore and techniques that Clare O'Donohue's readers adore.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Quilting, Chick Lit, Romance

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2011

About the author

Clare O'Donohue was born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of four children. Her parents, John and Sabina O'Donohue, were both born in Ireland. They met in London and moved to the US and settled on Chicago's South Side where she was raised.

She always knew she wanted to be a writer and in fact wrote her first novel when she was 15. It was a mystery. After college she worked as a newspaper reporter and writing teacher before moving to LA and getting her first job in television. That was on the HGTV show, Simply Quilts. she had already been quilting for about five years, which was why the producer hired her, but she really got an education in quilting from that show.

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Reviews

[Susan Mallette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clare O'Donohue is my favorite new to me author. I read the first three novels in this Someday Quilt series this summer and was anxiously awaiting this fourth installment of Clare's cozy mystery featuring Nell Fitzgerald as the sleuth. I love mysteries, especially cozies and when I found this series I was thrilled it featured quilting. But you don't have to be a quilter to like this series, Clare knows how to write a mystery. The murder keeps you guessing, the red herrings are believable, the Archers Rest town folk are characters you want to know more about and Nell, the main character is easy to identify with. I like that she doesn't do stupid things, like walk into the dark woods at night trying to discover the source of the crunching leaves she starts to of course, but thinks better of it. I appreciate an intelligent sleuth. I also like that Nell questions her curiosity, she senses her busy body ways, which help her solve cases, are also not her most attractive quality. Who wants to be known as the town gossip, certainly not the role anyone would aspire to. I also like that Nell is an art student, she quilts, yes, it's a huge help to her in her life, sewing creates much needed down time to think about things, but Nell is not only a quilter. If you are looking for a easy read, written well don't miss out on this series.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 4th Someday Quilts book returns Nell to her home in Archer's Rest. Nell is plotting with Oliver to make a grand surprise for his engagement to her grandmother, Eleanor by redoing the rose garden at her house. Unfortunately, the digging uncovers a skeleton, which puts those plans on hold. Also, Nell gets volunteered to run the quilt show for the town's anniversary celebration. Things begin to get strange when random acts of vandalism begin to occur, and suspicions begin to mount about who the body belonged to and how it ended up there. Nell initially tries to stay out of it, but is drawn in when her grandmother is potentially implicated, and she is also trying to puzzle out Eleanor's reluctance about possibly marrying again. It turns out that this small town has many hidden secrets, from the town founder, up to the current residents. Nell's digging will lead to the unveiling of several big secrets before she is done. She is aided by her friends at the quilting group and by her boyfriend, Jesse, the chief of police. This was an interesting mystery that played out more coherently than the prior book which was set outside of the town.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twenty-six-year-old Nell Fitzgerald, formerly of New York City, now lives in Archers Rest with her grandmother Eleanor, owner of Someday Quilts. Now a resident for seven months, she is railroaded into being in charge of a quilt show July 4th to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the founding of Archers Rest. She has been dating Jesse, the police chief who has a young daughter, and her grandmother has been dating Oliver White, celebrated artist. A skeleton is discovered buried in the rose garden of Eleanor’s home, which used to belong to Grace Roemer, and rumors fly. A strange run of vandalism in the town and sightings of the town recluse, rumored to be a witch, add to the stress Nell feels as she tries to find out why her grandmother is against getting married again.

In this last book of the series, the reader gets to meet more of the town people and find out why the quilt shop is named Someday Quilts. A new baby and an engagement fill out the series as the July 4th festivities wind down.

[Lynda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a mildly entertaining series but the characters never really catch you as some other series do. Nell is the granddaughter of Eleanor who runs Someday Quilts. Nell is also the girlfriend of Jesse the town's police chief. They investigate a long buried body found in Eleanor's back yard while preparing for a celebration marking the 350th anniversary of their town Archer's Rest. All the regular characters make an appearance but you don't care what happens to any of them except perhaps Eleanor. There are too many red herrings and possible storylines that when the murderer is revealed it is a let down.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, this is edging close to four stars, and seems to be getting a bit more realistic than the other quilting mysteries I've read. A skeleton is discovered in Eleanor's backyard, and her granddaughter Nell decides this is one case she won't investigate. But all the information that local police chief, and Nell's significant other, Jesse discovers seems to point to Eleanor. What's worse is that Eleanor is keeping secrets--even after they find the identity of the dead person, Eleanor won't tell Nell about what happened between them.

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a fairly good mystery, however one thing spoiled the book for me. The author relied on a process of having too many characters holding onto secrets for the same reason - it would make another character look bad. The secrets would not make these characters guilty, but they would lose some sort of standing in the town. I think using that as a plot device is a little lazy.

The idea of a cold case is a good one, and the mystery opened up a lot of things from the past. This means we get to learn more about some of the characters, which is always a good thing in a cosy-mystery series. I have a problem with the blurb on the cover eluding to witchcraft in the town, as this hardly makes a mention and is not significant to the story.

I didn't really believe the character, Molly. It came across as a rushed character, and the behaviours and actions didn't seem real to me. Which is a shame, as Molly is a central character to this novel. There was a small continuity moment in this novel I thought was odd - a police officer, Greg, is mentioned as a favourite officer on the force. However, I recall a previous novel where Greg makes a lot of mistakes and is basically demoted.

As cosy-mysteries go, this series is a good one to get stuck into, and you don't have to like quilting to get into the story.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of a series and should be read in order. It will help everything fall into place with the characters. In this story, Oliver is planning on proposing to Eleanor. He is fixing her rose garden and finds human bones. This story is about finding who it could be from years ago. The town is planning a 4th of July festival. Glad is a know it all busy body who is in charge of the town festivities. They end up figuring out who the body is but the clues as to who killed him take the whole story to figure out. And yes, it is one of the small town’s own.
You learn a lot more about the small town in this story as they try to solve the death.
Everything falls into place in the end. There is a happy ending. I can’t wait to read the next book to see how it ends.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my reading goals for this year is to finish this series, so I pulled out the next in the series. This involves a cold case that reaches into the life of Nell's grandmother, Eleanor. The quilt ladies pull together to investigate the skeleton found in her backyard, but there are old secrets in town & not everyone wants to dig into the past. But Nell and Jesse, the police chief & her significant other, are busy working the case, looking into a string of vandalism attempts around town, & helping put on the 350th anniversary of Archers Rest. All in all, a busy summer. This is not a heavy series but more character driven with tidbits about quilting thrown in for fun.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delightful premise of a granddaughter living in a Victorian home the grandmother bought when its owner died. The two have similar personalities and gentlemen friends. Eleanor has never been good at keeping up the garden from the previous owner. In preparing a new garden, a corpse, probably forty years in the ground surfaces as the town prepares for a celebration. Delightful story. Good characters who are well-developed. Proofing could have been better. More than once early in the novel, a character has a bright yellow BMW. At the conclusion she and her sister drive off in a bright yellow Mercedes.

[Mhowland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry to be the party pooper, but this book just didn't do it for me. I am a sucker for a good quilting story. Just not this one.

Firstly, I hated it when the grandmother was called both grandma and Eleanor. You're her granddaughter not her friend. That threw me off.

Second, there were just way too many characters introduced in the first 50 pages. They were just thrown in. I won't be continuing this series

[Susan Sarabasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms O’Donohue’s love and knowledge of Quilts is amazing and shines throughout the book.
However this story was waaaay too convoluted. Too many friends might be the murder. And too many people to dislike.

[Ashtyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An delightful, fun binge read that I finished in basically a day! This book is a fun twist on a murder mystery with both a cold case and a group of quilting/town gossip sleuths. Definitely worth a read!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent cozy mystery!

[Massanutten Regional Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawn, Central patron, July 2017, 5 stars:

Really enjoy Clare's books. Little progressive in relationships but still overall great reading and great mystery!

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the series...this one dug up decades old mystery of jealousy, pettiness, love and money.

[Joyce Ziebell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first of Clare O'Donohue's books. Nice cozy mystery that prompts me to read others in the seroes.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is everyone nell cares about going to be a suspect in a murder?

[Gale Penton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. This was a great read. Lots of twists and turns. I could not see how it would end. Love the description of quilts and quilting.

[Tracy Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun “who done it” and story the whole book long! Archers Rest is a small, close knit community. I’d love to have the friendships these gals have!

[Joyce Shutts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 4th in the series and they keep getting better!

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Devil's Puzzle is the 4th book of the Someday Quilts mystery series by Clare O'Donohue, set in a present-day fictitious small town in upstate New York.

Protagonist Nell Fitzgerald lives with her aunt Eleanor in Archer's Rest, where Eleanor owns the quilt shop Someday Quilts. Eleanor and her quilter friends warmly welcomed Nell into their group, and she has many close and supportive friendships with town residents. Nell has earned the reputation of town snoop by unofficially investigating several crimes in Archer's Rest. Nell (with assistance from her quilt group) usually uncovers information that is useful to police chief Jesse. Nell and Jesse are romantically involved. Most of the town, including Eleanor, expects Jesse will propose soon.

The mayor and prominent citizens of Archer's Rest want to showcase the town's history in a July anniversary celebration, attract tourists and earn revenue. Eleanor volunteers Nell to organize a quilt show. Nell clashes with Glad, the bossy woman in charge of the celebration who considers herself one of the town's elite, and considers Nell too young and inexperienced to be in charge of a quilt show.

Eleanor's artist boyfriend Oliver plotted with Nell to romantically surprise Eleanor: he will reinstate her former rose garden and propose. Unfortunately the landscapers uncover a skeleton from decades past.

Glad knows immediately who was discovered, when she hears Nell's description. Jesse is more cautious, and waits for evidence to identify the corpse. A young woman shows up in town eager to help with the celebration plan, but Nell suspects she's up to something.

Acts of vandalism break out all over town, each hinting a different town resident may be the killer. Nell is busy with quilt show arrangements as well as learning the backgrounds of many residents, including her aunt's early days in Archer's Rest. Eleanor explains why she named her shop Someday Quilts, and reveals a dark secret.

Nell plans an outdoor quilt display, modeled after the famous annual outdoor quilt show in Sisters, Oregon. Archer's Rest quilters generously provide their antique heirloom quilts to the display. Nell reflects on the enduring history of quilting through the generations, and how quilters' personalities are revealed by their quilts.

Nell meets the town hermit and receives sage advice. She solves the cold case by process of elimination, and with Jesse orchestrates a showdown with the killer.

The Devil's Puzzle is a satisfying read celebrating the relationships between close-knit friends and family. Recommended for quilters who enjoy cozy mysteries

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a lot going on in Archer's Rest.

First, Nell and Oliver are planning a huge surprise for Eleanor. They are going to replant the beautiful rose garden in her backyard and bring it back to the way it was before Grace, the previous owner died. But the surprise turns out to be on them as while digging up the garden they discover the skeleton of a human body. The mystery is started as Nell and her Chief of Police boyfriend, Jesse, start to gather clues to determine who the deceased was and how he came to be buried in rose garden.

Archer's Rest is also planing a a big anniversary celebration for the town. There will be a parade, a carnival, a quilt show, and fireworks to mark the 350th year since John Archer had founded the town that bears his name.

Add to that, someone is vandalizing everything from the school to the cemetery, and the rumors are flying around town about ghosts and witches.

As the clues and many secrets are revealed the job of sewing them all together may be too much for Jesse even with Nell's help. Thankfully they have many friends willing to assist them in solving this mystery.



My Thoughts
Visits to Archer's Rest are like a trip to visit friends. Friends that understand perfectly my overwhelming fabric stash and my vast collection of quilting books and magazines.

My favorite passage from this book, "We are all joined by needle and thread, by the usefulness and beauty of a quilt, and by the friendships that form because of it."

I love the way Clare writes, she describes the scene, makes her characters shine, threads together a complex plot with so many suspects, and keeps it all tight and real. This time there were so many pieces I didn't know how they were all going to come together but she sews everything up with missing a stitch.

This is the perfect story to cozy up with as the weather turns cooler. Sit back and enjoy as Archer's Rest works together to not only pull off a fine festival but uncovers the real "devil" behind this mystery puzzle.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Plume, A Division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another beautifully written, well thought, and plotted cozy.
I went into this wondering how I was going to stay awake reading about the obviously boring subject of quilting in New England. I was already stifling a yawn when suddenly the skeleton showed up and suddenly no one in the town of Archers Rest was boring anymore.
O'Donohue carefully manipulates the small town folklore with the modern day gossips, and using the cliff-hanger approach leaves us at the end of each chapter with a little tidbit of new information that makes you have to read just one more chapter.
Nell, grand-daughter of the towns quilting shop owner, Eleanor, is the town's nosy snoop. She gains a little insider information into the curious goings on in town through pillow talk; her boy-friend in the town's police chief. When the skeleton is discovered in the grandmother's rose garden she has to fight to defend Eleanor from the rumors that she was the murderer. It turns out that everyone in town is harboring a secret and one-by-one Nell overturns the rock that everyone has hidden that secret under.
When she receives written threats on her own safety, and discovers that someone is secretly following her around town Nell turns up the heat. Not known for her tact, she treads on more than one person's toes on her way to the undeniable truth. When an attack on the niece of the dead man leaves her unconscious, lying in a pool of blood, the amateur sleuth realizes that the murderer is still alive.
In the fashion of a modern day Jane Marple on steroids, Nell puts together the final piece of the puzzle just in time to stage the quilting display for the town carnival and have the suspect arrested simultaneously.

[Marlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nell Fitzgerald and Oliver White, her grandmother's "beau" are trying to surprise Eleanor by re-landscaping her flower garden. Their plan is stopped short when, while digging a hole for a rose bush, the gardener finds a skeleton, turning the yard into a crime scene.

Because Eleanor has volunteered Nell to plan a quilt show to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Archers Rest, Nell tells police chief Jesse Dewalt (who just happens to be her significant other) that she'll be too busy to "help" with the case.

But despite Nell's intentions, she's drawn into the investigation, first to discover the identity of the skeleton, and then to catch the person responsible for the incidents of vandalism that are occurring throughout the town. Unlike many amateur detectives, Nell is refreshingly realistic about her "nosiness", although she calls it "collecting information".

The introduction of the skeleton allows both Nell and the reader to learn a great deal about the history of Archers Rest and its populace, including Eleanor Cassidy. And, as always, O'Donohue educates us about the development of the art of quilting.

One small quibble: there are so many characters in the book that a cast list would be helpful. Apart from that, Nell and her friends are a delightful group to spend time with.

*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in my farming days I loved to quilt! Actually still love to quilt, it is just my quilting/computer room has become the storage zone for our unpacking after our recent move out of state. I will be back to quilting eventually, but for now I find great joy in reading about quilters! Couple that with a mystery and I am golden
Nell had melded into life in Archers Nest , working for her grandmother Eleanor at Someday Quilts and now volunteered (by said grandmother) to organize a quilt show for the 350th anniversary of the town.
When a skeleton is discovered in Eleanor’s garden, and strange happenings start up, the town wonders if old John Archer is causing unrest from the grave. He did practice witchcraft after all. Now fingers are pointing to Eleanor as the killer.. how can that be?

Now I am not big into reading about witches, vampires or the like. I was drawn to this book because of it’s quilting theme, and Devil’s Puzzle is a quilt block. It doesn’t have all those things I mentioned either, just a set up to consider in the beginning. So as Nell is looking for who dun it, the author throws in romance and intrique to the mix! For Eleanor and Nell. The mystery kept me guessing till the end. I loved the twists and turns as Clare O’Donohue organized the mystery, but also kept the characters growing in their relationships with each other. I loved the closeness with Eleanor and Nell and despite their differences they were able to come back to each other.

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be careful where you plant your roses...you might find a decades old skeleton! This is exactly what happened to our sleuth, Nell Cassidy, and her Grandmother, Eleanor's Boyfriend, Oliver, when they plan on gifting Eleanor with a new rose garden.

Nell is committed to staying out of the Police investigation, but, the skeleton was found in Grandmother's back yard, and persons seem to be trying to blame her Grandmother, and Nell keeps being referred to as a 'snoop'... well you can understand why she just had to become involved!

The entire town is involved this go round. It seems the ancient remains aren't ancient at all, and that the Mayor wants to use this unfortunate event as a publicity gatherer for the 350th Anniversary of the founding of Archer's Rest....

Mysteries compound upon mysteries in this book and secrets long left to moulder come to light. I found this book the best one in the series yet. I hope to hear of a new one coming out soon.

[Sandybear76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nell and her grandmother's boyfriend Oliver want to surprise her grandmother Eleanor by restoring the garden to its old glory. But the surprise is on Nell and Oliver when a skeleton is found in the old garden. Eleanor is being secretive about the past when she worked for Grace, the former owner of Eleanor's house. Family secrets are exposed but not just Eleanor's. Nell is trying very hard to stay out of the mystery of the skeleton as she is trying to put together a quilt show for the town's big 350years anniversary on July 4th weekend.

[Vennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clare O'Donohue's Devil's Puzzle is well written and it was a fun read. I would call this book a cozy mystery. The characters were well defined and the town, Archer's Rest, is small with quite a few legends...was the town founder a witch?
There's a skeleton found in the ground under an old rose garden and the town is very concerned about who this old skeleton might belong to. It is a lovely book and I would recommend it to any reader who enjoys this genre.

[Shelton TRL · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cozy mystery. Quilt-themed who-done-it.

A body is discovered in Nell's grandmothers rose garden. Nell helps her boyfriend, Jesse, (who is also the chief of police) piece together the clues to unravel the crime. While the mystery is playing out Nell is also in charge of putting together a quilt show to be displayed at the towns 350 year anniversary celebration. A fun read with enough twists and turns to keep reading to the end to discover who commited the crime and why.

[Claudia Cheyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #4 in the Someday Quilts mystery series starts out with the discovery of a skeleton buried in Nell's Grandmother's back yard. Plans are being made for a huge 4th of July celebration in Archer's Rest. Our favorite characters from previous books as well as some new ones help to make it an interesting read. It's been fun reading these, I'm looking forward to the next one which may feature a wedding (or two).