Castle of Whispers

Annie's Secret of the Quilt #1

by Elizabeth Penney

Sofia is still unraveling the secrets of the heirloom trunk she received with a quilt and diary. For years she has heard stories of the quilt including one of knowing the true identity of the Mona Lisa.

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Elizabeth Penney lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where she pens novels and tries to grow things. Elements that often appear in her novels include vintage summer cottages, past/present mysteries, and the arts. After spending early years in England and France, she grew up in Maine, settings that are reflected in her books.

Elizabeth is the author of the Apron Shop Series and Cambridge Bookshop Series from St. Martin's as well as over twenty novels, short stories, and hundreds of business articles. A former consultant and nonprofit executive, she holds a BS and an MBA. She's also written screenplays with her musician husband.

She loves walking in the woods, kayaking on quiet ponds, trying new recipes, and feeding family and friends.

Reviews

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished the new cozy mystery Castle of Whispers by Elizabeth Penney. It is the first book in Annie’s Secrets of the Quilt series. Sofia Parker’s grandmother is passing away. She gives her daughter a warning before her death. Sofia figured it had to do with her grandmother’s medications. At the reading of Elena Baresi’s will (her grandmother) Sofia finds out that she is to become the new guardian of the family quilt and the cassone (an Italian wedding trunk) that it is kept in. The cassone and quilt have been in the family for a long time (longer than Sofia’s or her sister’s know). Sofia’s sisters are shocked at the news. Rosa and Gina are the seamstresses in the family and they thought one of them would get the quilt. The 500 year old cassone is delivered to Sofia’s house that day along with a letter from her grandmother. There is a journal inside the cassone that will explain more about the quilt.

As Sofia reads the journal we go back to 1503 in Italy with Caterina Vasari (Sofia’s ancestor). Caterina is a seamstress who is making the wedding dress (along with her mother, Vedette) for Lisabetta Donati (sixteen). Lisabetta is being forced to marry Bertrando Strozzi (her father feels it will be a good alliance). Caterina designs and sews beautiful dresses. She is also an artist. Caterina gets to meet Leonardo da Vinci who is at the castle to paint Lisabetta’s portrait.

The first square of the quilt is reputed to a piece of fabric from the dress of model for the Mona Lisa. If it is true, the quilt could be worth a lot of money. It could also be why someone keeps trying to get into the Parker’s house to get at the cassone and quilt. Sofia looks into the history of her ancestor as well as the Mona Lisa to find the truth. Will Sofia prove herself to be a good guardian of the quilt by keeping the quilt safe? Did the fabric of the first square really come from the dress of Mona Lisa (the model)? You will need to read Castle of Whispers for the answers.

I received an email about this new series (Annie’s Secrets of the Quilt). I immediately purchased the book and read it that night. What a wonderful book. I liked the characters as well as the interesting mystery. I give Castle of Whispers 5 out of 5 stars. I eagerly anticipate more books in this series (it is a big quilt with a lot of squares). If you like cozy mysteries, you will enjoy reading Castle of Whispers.

[Angel (Bookn.All.Night) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently started reading more cozy mysteries and find that I love them. They are a nice, quick break from my usual reads.

This is book 1 in the Secrets of the Quilt series and was a very fun read. Sophia inherits a family heirloom when her grandmother passes away. She starts reading a diary that is associated with the quilt she received and so begins the unraveling of a mystery. Mona Lisa has been scrutinized for many years and this was such a creative way of revealing her "true identity".

I love the idea of a quilt being a family heirloom and can't wait to read further books in this series that will reveal the story behind each piece added to the quilt by Sophia's ancestors.

[Judy Rancourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining light read for coronavirus days. Looking forward to more in the series.

[Laura Michael]

This was a very sweet story, with a fun 'what if' of history.
I found some of Sofia's actions to be irresponsible until finally, they were explained better. Otherwise, this was a fun, quick read!

[Millie Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book in the mail as one of those "Since you've ordered from us before, why not try this?" type of things. I finally got around to reading it and it was kind of hard to get into. I mean, I didn't expect much from it, but it was kind of bland at first. It reminded me of a cheesy Hallmark movie.

The story is that Sofia Parker inherits an antique quilt and chest from her grandmother. There is a bit of mystery because as she's dying, her grandmother says, "Danger! They're coming!" and of course dies before she can say anything else. It flips between present day with Sofia and her friends trying to figure out the mystery around the quilt and 1503 Italy, where Sofia's ancestor is a seamstress hired to make the dress for the Mona Lisa.

After about half of the book it started to get a bit more interesting, but it was still predictable. The characters were a little flat, though the parts set in Italy were a bit more interesting. Sofia and her family were enjoyable, but I wish I could have seen more of them. It's like they were just kind of there with no real purpose.

Overall, it was a decent book. I've got the next book in the series, but I'm not sure if I'm going to read it just yet. I'm hoping that since there are different authors, they'll be able to bring more life to the characters while still keeping their personalities from the first book intact.

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter 1 had me hooked! I was so excited immediately to be on this journey with Sofia -- and seen the secrets of the quilt unraveled. The story suddenly throws us all the way back into the 1500s, Italy, for that is where the story begins.

I expected more of a light, "fun" mystery with this series, but boy, was I wrong. It definitely has a lot more depth to the plot than I first imagined, and it is so incredibly rich with historical detail. This volume lays bare the story behind Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the Mona Lisa.

A fairly "clean" book. Still, there is various conversations about illegitimacy, etc. As a conservative reader, I would suggest it for adult readers. Or at least 15 and up.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read. Sophia Parker is given an old quilt after her grandmother passes away. There's not much special about that except that this quilt has a swatch of cloth from the Mona Lisa. There is a diary that goes along with the quilt dating back to the 1500's. Through out time, pieces are added to this quilt that mean a lot in history. The story goes back and forth between present day and the 1500's. I enjoyed this story and the author did a good job of creating memorable and supportive characters as well as adding little twists to the plot here and there that kept me thinking.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the first book in the series and it was very interesting to read ..Sofia inherits an anciet quilt and diary which is full of details about the quilt that has been handed down for over 500 yrs..in this book it is the tale of the first patch on the quilt being a piece of dress from Mona Lisa's dress that Caterina Vasari a 17 yr old artist/seamtress hand made for Lisabetta Donati who is supposed to be the mysterious Mona Lisa and the daughter of Leonardo da Vinci..anyways it's a very cool story don't know if any of it is truth or if all is just fiction but who knows lol

[Mary McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a fun read. I love the premise of the plot. As I understand, each book in the series covers a different part of history switching back and forth with the present time and characters. This first in the series, centers around the true identity of the Mona Lisa. I will definitely be reading more in the series Annie's Secrets of the Quilt.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting interweaving of historical and current-time stories that highlight individual women and their talents, characteristics, challenges, courage and achievements. I would categorize this as a lighter-weight mystery and book, not meant as a slight, but simply to help potential readers be encouraged to give this a try if they don't typically care for mysteries.

[Miki Markofski · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the clever modern day and historical back and forth. maybe it was just me in a very stressful season, but I had a hard time following this book. I felt like the characters weren't introduced very well for me to keep them straight and the dialogue was hard to follow for some reason. It was a cozy mystery! That's a success.

[Shirley Haas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this cosy mystery in 2 days. It normally would have taken one day, but my son was sick and needed more attention than normal. I loved it and am glad I have series two thru seven. Am going to start series two right now. Can't wait to get started.

[K Lynn S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Book

[Emily Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, sweet cozy mystery. I liked the family dynamic and the yummy food always being present, would have loved a recipe in the back. I can't wait to read more of the series.

[Becky Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading, I wasn't sure about how I liked it. The setting for the historical story is not a favorite & I was concerned about the present day mystery being carried over through many books. I was happy when the present day mystery was wrapped up neatly. It surprised me that the farther I got into the historical story the more I liked it. Am looking forward to the rest of the books in the series.

[Cherie Waggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another book that went back and forth from the past to present. The past story I felt was stronger than the present, and I found it hard to keep up with what was going on in the present because of all the switching.

[Peggy Zeigler]

It was a good read.