Pieces of the Past Patchwork Mysteries, Vol 6)

by Susan Page Davis

NEW Hardcover DEN-WMC

Genres: Christian Fiction, Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Christian

269 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2010

About the author

FROM AUTHOR'S WEBSITE: I'm a native of central Maine, and grew up on a small farm with a wonderful mom and dad, three sisters and a brother. Most of my books take place in small towns, many of them in Maine.

My husband, Jim, and I moved to his birth state, Oregon, for a while after we were married, but decided to move back to Maine and be near my family. It allowed our six children to grow up feeling close to their cousins and grandparents, and some of Jim's family have even moved to Maine!

Our children are all home-schooled. When Jim retired from his vocation as an editor at a daily newspaper, we moved from Maine to Kentucky.

I've always loved reading, history, and horses. These things come together in several of my historical books.
Another longtime hobby of mine is genealogy, which has led me down many fascinating paths. I'm proud to be a DAR member! Some of Jim's and my quirkier ancestors have inspired fictional characters.

For many years I worked for the Central Maine Morning Sentinel as a freelancer. This experience was a great help in developing fictional characters and writing realistic scenes. I also published nonfiction articles in several magazines and had several short stories appear in Woman's World, Grit, and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah makes a quilt using her father's old shirts, when she takes it to the nursing home she meets another veteran she decides to make him a quilt also. He has a woman he went to high school with who he would like to find. She sets out to find her leading to a good plot twist in the end. Her minister has been laid up and while they are taking over the things he did, they find out he did a lot more than they thought.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the coziest of cozy mysteries. The series, called Patchwork Mysteries, is Christian fiction, which I usually don't care for, but I love this series. The books are written by various authors and yet feel like they are cohesive. The series follows the life of widow Sarah Hart, an expert on heirloom quilt repair, who has a penchant for solving mysteries, most of them from the past.

Set in a deep New England snowy winter, Sarah meets an elderly man named Vern who is in rehab at the nursing home where her father resides. Vern wants to find a long-lost love and friends from his youth and Sarah puts her detective skills into gear. Sarah is rather perplexed, as she uncovers clues, that Vern can tell her so much about the War and yet seems so forgetful about his high school days. Eventually she reunites old friends and uncovers a very old secret. This book was more about mystery and less about quilting but it was nevertheless very enjoyable.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had more to do about the mystery and not so much about quilting. The others have balanced the two and the quilts were more historical. The mystery shows how many people's lives can be impacted by one person's actions.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Patchwork Mystery published by Guideposts. This one really is a mystery from the past. Sarah meets a gentleman when visiting her father in the nursing home. He asks her to find his high school sweetheart. OK story line.

[Sharyl Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good plot twist- I guessed the ending, but not until the last few chapters.

[Amy J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good gentle read.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series published by Guideposts. The books are from a variety of well-known authors, the cozy mysteries are all clean, sweet and connected to quilts/quilting. In Pieces of the Past (by Susan Page Davis), Sarah (the main character in all of the mysteries who is a professional quilter and quilt restorer) is trying to help a elderly fellow resident of her dad's nursing home reconnect with a lost love from high school. But as Sarah tries to find this lost high school friend, she finds more and more inconsistencies in Vern's story. With diligent research, Sarah unearths the lost past for 3 different people and reconnects Vern to his past and the truth. The theme of second chances and forgiveness for past hurts as well as truth threads it's way through this wonderful Christian cozy mystery.

[Dina · Rating 5 out of 5]

2/5/14-2/8/14
This is book 6 in the Patchwork Mysteries published by Guideposts. I have loved each book so far and can't wait to continue on with the series. All of the books feature vintage quilt restorer Sarah Hart and son and his family. Sarah is a widow who rents part of her house out to boarders. She has a knack for piecing both quilts and piecing mysteries together. In this book, Sarah takes on the task of helping her father's friend find a long lost love. Vern is in his 90's and in the rehab section of the nursing home where Sarah's father is a resident. Sarah uncovers a huge secret that Vern has carried most of his life, and reunites him with friends from his past. Touching story that made me teary-eyed.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love mysteries, especially mysteries that involve looking into the past. In this story Sarah, who is good at quilting and solving mysteries meets a new resident at the nursing home where her father stays. He tells her about a picture he carries of his high school sweetheart that he never saw again. Sarah takes on the task of finding out if she is still alive but the more she looks the more questions she has.

I thought this book was "ok." I quickly figured things out well ahead and that took the fun out of it for me. This book was a quick read but not one of those "can't put down" stories. The book uses very simplistic language but also doesn't contain any cursing.

[Darlene Torday · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure if I'd like this but the author did a good job of fleshing out the main characters and weaving their story into the mystery she was trying to solve of what happened to Alice. Vern a man she met at the nursing home her father is in wants to find Alice but he lost track with her in WW II, or did he? Sarah makes quilts and while working on one made from Vern's old flannel shirts she searches for the woman he says he needs to find. Soon she figures out all is not as it seems from Vern's answers to her questions but not one to turn away from a mystery that needs to be solved she continues to search and make his quilt.

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was book #5 in the cozy mysteries series from Guideposts about the adventures of sleuthing quilt-restorer Sarah Hart. I did not enjoy this story as much as the previous four. Sarah tries to solve the whereabouts of a woman from pre-WWII friendship of a gentleman in Sarah's father's assisted living facility. The plot "twist" can be solved by the reader not even halfway through the book, which is why I only gave it 4 stars. How the author ties up the plot twist and throws in a few more is what "saved" the book and made it a still-enjoyable read.

[Jacquie Stricklind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah meets Vern a friend of her father who is a veteran has a picture of a woman named Alice who was his girlfriend before World War II. Also, Scott, Vern's grandson notices the quilt that Sarah had made for her dad and asked her if she could make his grandfather one just like it. Meanwhile, Pastor John falls and breaks his ankle and needs help from the people of the church. Read the book to follow Sarah's journey and see what she finds Alice. Very good book.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

So Sarah Hart looks into finding and old friend for a new resident at the home where her father lives. Vern Pickett is looking for Alice and his memory is a bit fuzzy. Sarah made a quilt for her father of his old flannel shirts and Scott, Vern's grandson, asked Sarah to do the same for Vern. Alice is not the only mystery here!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Quick Easy read with an interesting mystery. If you’re looking for a nice story after a reading a complicated, intense book then this is a good refreshing read. WWII mystery of a veteran looking for a long lost love. The investigator is an elderly quilter who likes to solve mysteries.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah makes a quilt for her father to take to the nursing home for him. When the roommate of her father tells his story of his past, it just doesn't ring true. What is he hiding? This was the first book of this series I read. I have enjoyed #1-5 and #7-8 now and have passed them along to several friends to read. Everyone like them as they are Guideposts mysteries so not violent or x rated.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked heroine Sarah Hart a great deal, especially that she helped an aging WWII veteran with memory problems. She was dogged and that was fine with me.

The only thing was the cooking for the pastor went on too long and got boring.

But over all a very good read.

[Elizabeth Meadows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting story. Pretty good twist in the end, although I've read a book with this scenario before. I think this is an older book though, so maybe this author had the original idea.
I really do like the historical mysteries found in this series.

[Jewett · Rating 3 out of 5]

not great but pretty much anything about quilts is okay.

[Kathleen Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a combination of a quilting hobby, and figuring out the past. It was clean...no swearing or immorality...hard to find these days. It's read for entertainment.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story that shows how a community come together to help. Also a story of sorrow , lies and love that last a life time. Curl up with this book, a cup of coffee ,a warm blanket and remember.

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series. Nice and simple story lines and a breeze to read and stay in tuned too.

[Kathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

a quick read without violence and a feel good ending. no Sex a bit of a mystery

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series. As a new quilter and a book lover I have a lot in common with Sarah Hart the main character.
Nice, cozy mysteries.

[Tambra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and story, I am loving these books.