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Chloe Ellefson Mystery #6
Death on the Prairie
Chloe Ellefson and her sister, Kari, have long dreamed of visiting each historic site dedicated to Laura Ingalls Wilder. When Chloe takes custody of a quilt once owned by the beloved author, the sisters set out on the trip of a lifetime, hoping to prove that Wilder stitched it herself.
But death strikes as the journey begins, and trouble stalks their fellow travelers. Among the "Little House" devotees are academic critics, greedy collectors, and obsessive fans. Kari is distracted by family problems, and unexpected news from Chloe's boyfriend jeopardizes her own future. As the sisters travel deeper into Wilder territory, Chloe races to discover the truth about a precious artifact—and her own heart—before a killer can strike again.
But death strikes as the journey begins, and trouble stalks their fellow travelers. Among the "Little House" devotees are academic critics, greedy collectors, and obsessive fans. Kari is distracted by family problems, and unexpected news from Chloe's boyfriend jeopardizes her own future. As the sisters travel deeper into Wilder territory, Chloe races to discover the truth about a precious artifact—and her own heart—before a killer can strike again.
334 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
30 people are currently reading
393 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen Ernst
57 books379 followersI grew up in Maryland, in a house full of books! Both of my parents were avid readers, thank goodness. Before we traveled to a new area, my librarian-mom used to bring home historical novels set in that place. It was a great way to get excited about history.
I began writing stories when I was maybe 10 or 11. At 15 I wrote my first novel; I sold my first novel to a publisher 20 years later! Writing was my hobby, so during those two decades I just kept practicing, reading, writing some more. What a thrill to finally hold my first book in my hand! Still, I write because I enjoy the process (at least most of the time).
For years I wrote while working at other day jobs. I spent 12 years working at a huge historic site, which was a perfect spot for someone interested in historical fiction. I also developed and scripted instructional videos for public television. Finally, though, it got to be too much to juggle. I now write full-time, and consider myself enormously fortunate to do something I love.
I began writing stories when I was maybe 10 or 11. At 15 I wrote my first novel; I sold my first novel to a publisher 20 years later! Writing was my hobby, so during those two decades I just kept practicing, reading, writing some more. What a thrill to finally hold my first book in my hand! Still, I write because I enjoy the process (at least most of the time).
For years I wrote while working at other day jobs. I spent 12 years working at a huge historic site, which was a perfect spot for someone interested in historical fiction. I also developed and scripted instructional videos for public television. Finally, though, it got to be too much to juggle. I now write full-time, and consider myself enormously fortunate to do something I love.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
May 10, 2015
Against all odds, I have enjoyed all the previous books in this series about Chloe Ellefson, a curator at a Wisconsin museum of the immigrant cultures that settled the area from Northern Europe. My familiarity with the Midwest is almost as nonexistent as my knowledge of Norwegian and German immigrant culture. And yet I find myself looking forward to each new story about these genealogically obsessed midwesterners. Chloe's boyfriend, Roelke, is a small town cop, formerly a big city cop. Neither is a particularly easy-going sort -- Chloe's emotions are never far from the surface, and Roelke likes things neat, orderly, and law-abiding.
In previous books, Kathleen Ernst combined the present-day action with a parallel or complementary story from the past, and I love that element. The fifth in the series, Tradition of Deceit, was the best so far. Death on the Prairie didn't quite reach that level for me, but that may be because the theme in this one was the Laura Ingalls Wilder series of books, Little House on the Prairie. I read a few of the books when I was young, but they weren't favorites of mine, and I never watched the TV series. Fans of either the book or TV series may enjoy this book more than I did.
Once again, Chloe and Roelke spend much of the book apart. Chloe is off with her sister to explore the sites of Laura Ingalls Wilder's history and to look for evidence that a quilt she has been entrusted with may have been made by Laura herself. It turns out to be a much more dangerous undertaking than anyone would have predicted. Back home, Roelke is exhibiting signs of wanting to settle down. Will Chloe welcome this development or will it scare her silly? I'll be staying tuned.
(Thanks to NetGalley and Midnight Ink for a digital review copy.)
In previous books, Kathleen Ernst combined the present-day action with a parallel or complementary story from the past, and I love that element. The fifth in the series, Tradition of Deceit, was the best so far. Death on the Prairie didn't quite reach that level for me, but that may be because the theme in this one was the Laura Ingalls Wilder series of books, Little House on the Prairie. I read a few of the books when I was young, but they weren't favorites of mine, and I never watched the TV series. Fans of either the book or TV series may enjoy this book more than I did.
Once again, Chloe and Roelke spend much of the book apart. Chloe is off with her sister to explore the sites of Laura Ingalls Wilder's history and to look for evidence that a quilt she has been entrusted with may have been made by Laura herself. It turns out to be a much more dangerous undertaking than anyone would have predicted. Back home, Roelke is exhibiting signs of wanting to settle down. Will Chloe welcome this development or will it scare her silly? I'll be staying tuned.
(Thanks to NetGalley and Midnight Ink for a digital review copy.)
October 17, 2015
From the moment I first heard about Death on the Prairie, I was eager to read this book. I am a lifelong Laura Ingalls Wilder fan - primarily the books, although I did enjoy the tv series as well. (I know the tv series took liberties, but I still enjoyed it, primarily because of the warm characterization of the Ingalls family.) I have to admit that I chuckled at the conversation in a book that included the line "Are you a book person, a TV person, or a truther?" One of my dreams is to visit all the Laura sites, so it was a joy to read a cozy mystery that involved Laura Ingalls Wilder history and the sites associated with her life.
I really liked the character of Chloe, with her kind nature and fascination with Laura history. I also enjoyed her relationship with her sister and her boyfriend.
The mystery started with a death early in the book and it deepened as the book continued, with mysterious happenings at the various Laura sites. It was very well written, and moved at a pace that seemed perfect for a cozy with rich historical details.
Of course, all the Laura lore was fascinating! I loved the details about the historical sites, the quilt, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder quotes that started each chapter.
I loved the conversation in the book about "WWLD?" ("What would Laura do?") That has always been something I've thought about in times like ice storms, power outages, etc. I was tickled to see a reference to others thinking the same way.
This is my first book in the Chloe Ellefson series. I enjoyed it and picked up with the characters easily. I did have some confusion about the time setting. There were a lot of references to pay phones (and no cell phones in emergencies), so I am assuming the books must be set in an earlier time.
I have already enthusiastically recommended this book to friends who are interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder, children's literature, and history. I am personally looking forward to reading the rest of the series as well.
I really liked the character of Chloe, with her kind nature and fascination with Laura history. I also enjoyed her relationship with her sister and her boyfriend.
The mystery started with a death early in the book and it deepened as the book continued, with mysterious happenings at the various Laura sites. It was very well written, and moved at a pace that seemed perfect for a cozy with rich historical details.
Of course, all the Laura lore was fascinating! I loved the details about the historical sites, the quilt, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder quotes that started each chapter.
I loved the conversation in the book about "WWLD?" ("What would Laura do?") That has always been something I've thought about in times like ice storms, power outages, etc. I was tickled to see a reference to others thinking the same way.
This is my first book in the Chloe Ellefson series. I enjoyed it and picked up with the characters easily. I did have some confusion about the time setting. There were a lot of references to pay phones (and no cell phones in emergencies), so I am assuming the books must be set in an earlier time.
I have already enthusiastically recommended this book to friends who are interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder, children's literature, and history. I am personally looking forward to reading the rest of the series as well.
January 16, 2016
Dollycas’s Thoughts
If you are a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder you know there subsets to the fan base. The group that loves both the books and the television show, those that love the books but not the television show, those that loved the show but probably never read the books. Chloe Ellefson and her sister, Kari are in the book loving group. A friend has just given Chloe a quilt that supposedly made by Little House author to authenticate. The timing is perfect because Chloe has been asked to speak during a tour around the Midwest visiting all the places Laura and her family lived. Chloe invites her sister along and they embark on the journey of there dreams. Both are so excited as they reach their first destination but one of the traveler has some sort of attack and dies before the event even gets started. Chloe tries to help and she soon realizes this death was no accident. The tour continues but trouble follows them. Soon Chloe is looking for more than provenance for her quilt. She is on the trail of a killer.
I am a fan of both the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and the television show. I loved the Olesons, especially when the Mr. stood up to the Mrs. :) I am also a fan of Chloe Ellefson Mysteries. It started because they are set in Wisconsin but grew because I love Chloe and all the drama she gets involved in. I also like how real her relational with Roelke is, they take one step forward and sometimes two steps back, but you know they truly love and support each other. This time he is dealing with something back in Wisconsin while she is traveling and since the book is set in 1983 there are no cell phones so communication isn’t easy. Kari is also dealing with something and even in the same room she and Chloe are not communicating.
What makes this story interesting is that that the group is traveling from state to state, so the crimes of murder and vandalism fall into different police jurisdictions so it is hard for law enforcement to bring all the clues together, but Chloe is putting them together and putting herself in danger.
Kathleen Ernst always blends history with fiction in a very entertaining way. The other travelers and those guiding the tours were very detailed and unique. I could picture them easily. The mystery is thoughtfully plotted and I was surprised by the ending.
I did not realize that all of these historic sites existed. Now I want to take the tour myself, no dead bodies please.
If you are a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder you know there subsets to the fan base. The group that loves both the books and the television show, those that love the books but not the television show, those that loved the show but probably never read the books. Chloe Ellefson and her sister, Kari are in the book loving group. A friend has just given Chloe a quilt that supposedly made by Little House author to authenticate. The timing is perfect because Chloe has been asked to speak during a tour around the Midwest visiting all the places Laura and her family lived. Chloe invites her sister along and they embark on the journey of there dreams. Both are so excited as they reach their first destination but one of the traveler has some sort of attack and dies before the event even gets started. Chloe tries to help and she soon realizes this death was no accident. The tour continues but trouble follows them. Soon Chloe is looking for more than provenance for her quilt. She is on the trail of a killer.
I am a fan of both the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and the television show. I loved the Olesons, especially when the Mr. stood up to the Mrs. :) I am also a fan of Chloe Ellefson Mysteries. It started because they are set in Wisconsin but grew because I love Chloe and all the drama she gets involved in. I also like how real her relational with Roelke is, they take one step forward and sometimes two steps back, but you know they truly love and support each other. This time he is dealing with something back in Wisconsin while she is traveling and since the book is set in 1983 there are no cell phones so communication isn’t easy. Kari is also dealing with something and even in the same room she and Chloe are not communicating.
What makes this story interesting is that that the group is traveling from state to state, so the crimes of murder and vandalism fall into different police jurisdictions so it is hard for law enforcement to bring all the clues together, but Chloe is putting them together and putting herself in danger.
Kathleen Ernst always blends history with fiction in a very entertaining way. The other travelers and those guiding the tours were very detailed and unique. I could picture them easily. The mystery is thoughtfully plotted and I was surprised by the ending.
I did not realize that all of these historic sites existed. Now I want to take the tour myself, no dead bodies please.
May 12, 2015
2 1/2.
I just don't know, guys. I have such a complicated relationship with this series. On one hand, I don't actually think that it's very good. The characters routinely bug the crap out of me (mostly for being so sanctimonious and convinced of their own rightness in any situation, but there's other stuff too) and they're are historical anachronisms all over the place and I'm not convinced they should set in the 1980s anyway.
On the other hand, I tend to find the historical bits in them really interesting, I tend to dig the setting and when there hasn't been a new one in a while, I find myself wondering when one will come along and gobbling it up almost as soon as it comes out. So: complicated.
Anyway, there is a new one coming out soon and this is it and it's pretty par for the course. Except that there is actually no historical parallel story, as Chloe and her sister are doing a Laura Ingalls Wilder tour so there's lots of facts about the family. Almost too much - near the end I kinda wanted to scream "Ugh, I don't care about Laura and her quilt!" And this from a girl who lived and breathed Little House once upon a time. I mean, mostly these bits - both the info about Laura and the parts where they are actually visiting the Laura sites - made me want to re-read, or at least re-skim, the Wendy McClure book. The relationship stuff between Chloe and Roelke is kinda meh and there is this whole side-plot with Chloe's sister which seemed just thrown in there. But the mystery is okay and only slightly eye-rolling. Um, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I'm even more lukewarm on this than I realized.
AND YET. I'm totally down for the next one, whenever it may come, so I've only myself to blame.
I just don't know, guys. I have such a complicated relationship with this series. On one hand, I don't actually think that it's very good. The characters routinely bug the crap out of me (mostly for being so sanctimonious and convinced of their own rightness in any situation, but there's other stuff too) and they're are historical anachronisms all over the place and I'm not convinced they should set in the 1980s anyway.
On the other hand, I tend to find the historical bits in them really interesting, I tend to dig the setting and when there hasn't been a new one in a while, I find myself wondering when one will come along and gobbling it up almost as soon as it comes out. So: complicated.
Anyway, there is a new one coming out soon and this is it and it's pretty par for the course. Except that there is actually no historical parallel story, as Chloe and her sister are doing a Laura Ingalls Wilder tour so there's lots of facts about the family. Almost too much - near the end I kinda wanted to scream "Ugh, I don't care about Laura and her quilt!" And this from a girl who lived and breathed Little House once upon a time. I mean, mostly these bits - both the info about Laura and the parts where they are actually visiting the Laura sites - made me want to re-read, or at least re-skim, the Wendy McClure book. The relationship stuff between Chloe and Roelke is kinda meh and there is this whole side-plot with Chloe's sister which seemed just thrown in there. But the mystery is okay and only slightly eye-rolling. Um, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I'm even more lukewarm on this than I realized.
AND YET. I'm totally down for the next one, whenever it may come, so I've only myself to blame.
July 5, 2018
3.5 This is a very fun summer read. Nothing too ground breaking here, I mostly(or only) picked it up because the mystery revolves around the historical sites of Laura Ingalls Wilder whose books I loved growing up. I haven't read any of the other books in the series but it didn't spoil the read for me. I recommend this if you are in the mood for a light cozy mystery.
February 4, 2016
Chloe Ellefson is excited to speak at the Laura Ingalls Wilder symposium. As curator of a living history museum, she understands that though fiction, the Little House books described the exact historical processes of daily life on a farm: milking cows, churning butter, sewing, etc. Knowing how much Laura Ingalls Wilder means to Chloe, Miss Lila, a family friend, shows her a quilt said to have belonged to Laura. If Chloe can prove it, she'll be beyond thrilled but she needs documentation. Sadly, Miss Lila meets with misfortune and is unable to help. Chloe will need assistance from Laura Ingalls Wilder museum curators. She has no idea there are so many but embarks on a road trip with her Laura-loving sister Kari in search of Laura. The sisters meet other Laura fans along the way, including Hazel, a sweet little old lady and her awful husband Wilbur, and Alta, the operator of Laura Land Tours. The trip gets off to a bad start when first Chloe overhears someone confronting Alta and Wilbur bullying Hazel. Next a man dies in front of Chloe! Then her boyfriend Roelke drops a major bombshell on her. Roelke is thinking about buying his grandparents' old farm and would love for Chloe to move in with him. That's more than she's prepared to think about at the moment. As the trip progresses, mysterious disturbing events occur with eerie similarities to the books. Chloe will learn more than she ever knew about the real Ingalls family, her own family and her dreams for the future.
I HAD to read this book. Like Chloe, I grew up obsessed with Laura Ingalls. Unlike Chloe, I was only 5 years old in 1983 when this book takes place and being too young to read, a fan of the TV show. Also, unlike Chloe I actually bothered to read a biography of Laura my grandparents brought me from one of the home sites. My biggest problem with the book is how little Chloe knew or wanted to know about the real family. I had to keep reminding myself that this was 1983 so Chloe doesn't have the Internet or any connection to any of the home sites. I didn't find this book as well-written as Kathleen Ernst's middle grades novels. Perhaps because of the setting - a road trip and year 1983. Her middle grades novels are all set before the end of WWII and she takes a lot of care to incorporate every day life details that may be unfamiliar to young readers. I found the constant search for payphones repetitive and a little annoying. The details are still there, lingering traces of the 1970s and of course the lack of cell phones and Internet. The road trip part didn't really appeal to me either. Not enough time was spent actually visiting the Ingalls home sites and not enough time was spent in examining the quilt. The mystery was the primary focus of this story. I did like the brief visits to each of the sites and the tantalizing promise of what was inside those museums. I would love to visit at least Mansfield one day.
Chloe sure would have benefited from a cell phone with 4G and Google as she attempted to figure out the mystery. The mystery kept me guessing and I could not put the book down. I just did not know who the villain or villains could be. One guess seemed to obvious and another guess took me in a direction I didn't want the characters to go in. I liked everyone on the LLT and the hangers-on except for those who were antagonistic. I was very surprised by the plot wrap up. What I didn't like about the mystery was Kari's problems. Her sister is dating a cop for goodness sakes! HELLO earth to Kari! I did feel bad for what Kari was feeling but her plot was too much on top of the other mysteries that needed to be solved. I also wasn't super crazy about Chloe's reaction to Roelke's plans. I would have preferred that the plot focus exclusively on the Laura Ingalls Wilder mysteries but this is a part of a series and other readers may be happy to catch up with their favorite characters.
Chloe is my kind of woman. Her response to stress and unhappiness is to binge on chocolate - the good Swiss stuff. She's a chocolate snob and I'm not really. I do agree that European chocolate is much better than American. Chloe isn't as stupid and clueless as cozy mystery heroines usually are and I appreciated that she's smart, dedicated to her career and of course, a Little House fan. I could relate to those aspects of her personality but she was hard to really like. There was just something about her that didn't quite make her a kindred spirit. She was a bit cold with her sister. Her constant jealousy was petty and annoying. Kari is also selfish and annoying at times too. I would never ever go on a road trip with my sister. We'd kill each other. Roelke sounds like the perfect boyfriend and she was kind of not very nice to him. He's a good guy, kind of quiet but he feels things deeply and cares about Chloe very much. He's a good cop and really wants to help the community.
The LLT tourists were mostly all wonderful. They were a diverse cast of characters who had individual personalities but united by a common bond. I especially loved Hazel and her personal journey. Alta grew on me a lot despite the brightly hued sunbonnets. Though Leonard was unpleasant. he did have a valid point about the novels but his argument doesn't hold up for the real Pa Ingalls. Jayne was very nasty and the character I loved to hate as much as Chloe did, though I have heard that argument before.
I think Chloe and other Laura lovers searching for their lost youth would like The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure. This novel is sort of the murder mystery version of that memoir.
I HAD to read this book. Like Chloe, I grew up obsessed with Laura Ingalls. Unlike Chloe, I was only 5 years old in 1983 when this book takes place and being too young to read, a fan of the TV show. Also, unlike Chloe I actually bothered to read a biography of Laura my grandparents brought me from one of the home sites. My biggest problem with the book is how little Chloe knew or wanted to know about the real family. I had to keep reminding myself that this was 1983 so Chloe doesn't have the Internet or any connection to any of the home sites. I didn't find this book as well-written as Kathleen Ernst's middle grades novels. Perhaps because of the setting - a road trip and year 1983. Her middle grades novels are all set before the end of WWII and she takes a lot of care to incorporate every day life details that may be unfamiliar to young readers. I found the constant search for payphones repetitive and a little annoying. The details are still there, lingering traces of the 1970s and of course the lack of cell phones and Internet. The road trip part didn't really appeal to me either. Not enough time was spent actually visiting the Ingalls home sites and not enough time was spent in examining the quilt. The mystery was the primary focus of this story. I did like the brief visits to each of the sites and the tantalizing promise of what was inside those museums. I would love to visit at least Mansfield one day.
Chloe sure would have benefited from a cell phone with 4G and Google as she attempted to figure out the mystery. The mystery kept me guessing and I could not put the book down. I just did not know who the villain or villains could be. One guess seemed to obvious and another guess took me in a direction I didn't want the characters to go in. I liked everyone on the LLT and the hangers-on except for those who were antagonistic. I was very surprised by the plot wrap up. What I didn't like about the mystery was Kari's problems. Her sister is dating a cop for goodness sakes! HELLO earth to Kari! I did feel bad for what Kari was feeling but her plot was too much on top of the other mysteries that needed to be solved. I also wasn't super crazy about Chloe's reaction to Roelke's plans. I would have preferred that the plot focus exclusively on the Laura Ingalls Wilder mysteries but this is a part of a series and other readers may be happy to catch up with their favorite characters.
Chloe is my kind of woman. Her response to stress and unhappiness is to binge on chocolate - the good Swiss stuff. She's a chocolate snob and I'm not really. I do agree that European chocolate is much better than American. Chloe isn't as stupid and clueless as cozy mystery heroines usually are and I appreciated that she's smart, dedicated to her career and of course, a Little House fan. I could relate to those aspects of her personality but she was hard to really like. There was just something about her that didn't quite make her a kindred spirit. She was a bit cold with her sister. Her constant jealousy was petty and annoying. Kari is also selfish and annoying at times too. I would never ever go on a road trip with my sister. We'd kill each other. Roelke sounds like the perfect boyfriend and she was kind of not very nice to him. He's a good guy, kind of quiet but he feels things deeply and cares about Chloe very much. He's a good cop and really wants to help the community.
The LLT tourists were mostly all wonderful. They were a diverse cast of characters who had individual personalities but united by a common bond. I especially loved Hazel and her personal journey. Alta grew on me a lot despite the brightly hued sunbonnets. Though Leonard was unpleasant. he did have a valid point about the novels but his argument doesn't hold up for the real Pa Ingalls. Jayne was very nasty and the character I loved to hate as much as Chloe did, though I have heard that argument before.
I think Chloe and other Laura lovers searching for their lost youth would like The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure. This novel is sort of the murder mystery version of that memoir.
May 18, 2016
Holy toboggans!
That's sort of the catch phrase for Kathleen Ernst's DEATH ON THE PRAIRIE, you see. Chloe Ellefson - the main character - never says it but goodness does her boyfriend Roelke McKenna seem to think toboggans are right up there with the Holy Grail.
It's not a bad summary of the story either.
Chloe is a recently returned expat historian/curator, and that occupation combined with the Laura Ingalls Wilder hook, well, hooked me, who considers herself a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She wants nothing more than to... commune with Laura? So she packs up a quilt (because that's the theme of the story... quilting) and her never-left-Wisconsin dairy farmer sister and sets off to tour the Laura Ingalls Wilder museums and sites, partly on the off chance said quilt might have been made by or belonged to Laura herself. And, holy toboggans, do things fall apart fast!
For one thing, somebody dies, or almost dies, at every site. Pepin, Burr Oak, DeSmet, Kansas, Mansfield... Chloe seems like a sort of Typhoid Mary, only deadlier. She doesn't kill anyone (not a spoiler) but, holy toboggans, does she take every death personally. So painfully personally. Because of the quilt. I suppose.
For another thing, Chloe is perhaps the worst "superfan" known to fans. The poor girl gets hit with one revelation after another, about Laura! Chloe, who thought she'd "feel" Laura on the Kansas prairie because she knew her so well, did not know that the Ingalls' lived in Iowa. She did not know that Laura was actually only two when the family lived in Kansas. She did not even know that Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder eventually settled in Missouri. And these bits of information Chloe collects on her trip shake her more than the deaths.
On a brief tangent, I have trouble understanding why Ernst felt the need to make Chloe so very uninformed about her passion. It was rage-inducing. They could have still tracked the history of the quilt to all the sites, though I suppose that would have made for a drier narrative if Chloe was constantly telling the reader things rather than Chloe and the reader being told together.
Maybe this wasn't the book for me since I knew those things...
I digress. Holy toboggans, could I digress on this but I won't.
Perhaps I would understand Chloe and her naivete better if I had read the first five books in this mystery series. I admit that. And it is why I stamped down my rage and finished the book. It worked out too, because the ending makes sense. It's not the happiest, though I suspect because there are more Chloe Ellefson Mysteries to come, but it is right for what happens in the story.
And, I didn't think I'd say this when I almost threw my Kindle across the room, there is a better than 50-50 chance that I will check out more of Chloe Ellefson.
(I received a copy of DEATH ON THE PRAIRIE through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and original review.)
That's sort of the catch phrase for Kathleen Ernst's DEATH ON THE PRAIRIE, you see. Chloe Ellefson - the main character - never says it but goodness does her boyfriend Roelke McKenna seem to think toboggans are right up there with the Holy Grail.
It's not a bad summary of the story either.
Chloe is a recently returned expat historian/curator, and that occupation combined with the Laura Ingalls Wilder hook, well, hooked me, who considers herself a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She wants nothing more than to... commune with Laura? So she packs up a quilt (because that's the theme of the story... quilting) and her never-left-Wisconsin dairy farmer sister and sets off to tour the Laura Ingalls Wilder museums and sites, partly on the off chance said quilt might have been made by or belonged to Laura herself. And, holy toboggans, do things fall apart fast!
For one thing, somebody dies, or almost dies, at every site. Pepin, Burr Oak, DeSmet, Kansas, Mansfield... Chloe seems like a sort of Typhoid Mary, only deadlier. She doesn't kill anyone (not a spoiler) but, holy toboggans, does she take every death personally. So painfully personally. Because of the quilt. I suppose.
For another thing, Chloe is perhaps the worst "superfan" known to fans. The poor girl gets hit with one revelation after another, about Laura! Chloe, who thought she'd "feel" Laura on the Kansas prairie because she knew her so well, did not know that the Ingalls' lived in Iowa. She did not know that Laura was actually only two when the family lived in Kansas. She did not even know that Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder eventually settled in Missouri. And these bits of information Chloe collects on her trip shake her more than the deaths.
On a brief tangent, I have trouble understanding why Ernst felt the need to make Chloe so very uninformed about her passion. It was rage-inducing. They could have still tracked the history of the quilt to all the sites, though I suppose that would have made for a drier narrative if Chloe was constantly telling the reader things rather than Chloe and the reader being told together.
Maybe this wasn't the book for me since I knew those things...
I digress. Holy toboggans, could I digress on this but I won't.
Perhaps I would understand Chloe and her naivete better if I had read the first five books in this mystery series. I admit that. And it is why I stamped down my rage and finished the book. It worked out too, because the ending makes sense. It's not the happiest, though I suspect because there are more Chloe Ellefson Mysteries to come, but it is right for what happens in the story.
And, I didn't think I'd say this when I almost threw my Kindle across the room, there is a better than 50-50 chance that I will check out more of Chloe Ellefson.
(I received a copy of DEATH ON THE PRAIRIE through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and original review.)
September 18, 2020
Well, there's a lot going on in this book and there are a lot of characters, pretty much all with personal problems and issues that get mentioned. There is also a ton of information about the life and works of Laura Ingalls Wilder including excerpts at the end of chapters. There is too much of all of this. Then to top it all off, the author mixes in a second story line featuring Chloe's boyfriend and his problems. Instead of having Roelke's (the boyfriend) portion in separate chapters, it's interspersed throughout the whole book with the transition in between the story lines very abrupt.
If you're a fan of LIW, you might like the detailed information about the books and the placed she's lived, but I thought there was too much and it detracted from the a mystery that could have been fleshed out more and made more believable. More than one of the group is killed and they're all allowed to travel on? It takes until 65% for someone (Chloe) to finally string together all the things that have happened and think there might be a connection? What the heck was the various law enforcement doing???
Two "What the heck???" items: Why is this series set in the 1980's? It serves no purpose I can think of and the only way you can tell is the use of public phones. Chloe thinks Roelke may need to look for someone younger...she's 4 years older than him!!!! Big deal!
I was able to finish, so I'll give this an OK rating. I know I read #5 Traditions of Deceit and gave it
slightly higher rating.
I got this book years ago from Netgalley (in exchange for my honest review) and I've decided I had to read and review all the books I have by this author. If I find #7, A Memory of Muskets, as dense as this one, I may not bother with the 3 remaining.
If you're a fan of LIW, you might like the detailed information about the books and the placed she's lived, but I thought there was too much and it detracted from the a mystery that could have been fleshed out more and made more believable. More than one of the group is killed and they're all allowed to travel on? It takes until 65% for someone (Chloe) to finally string together all the things that have happened and think there might be a connection? What the heck was the various law enforcement doing???
Two "What the heck???" items: Why is this series set in the 1980's? It serves no purpose I can think of and the only way you can tell is the use of public phones. Chloe thinks Roelke may need to look for someone younger...she's 4 years older than him!!!! Big deal!
I was able to finish, so I'll give this an OK rating. I know I read #5 Traditions of Deceit and gave it
slightly higher rating.
I got this book years ago from Netgalley (in exchange for my honest review) and I've decided I had to read and review all the books I have by this author. If I find #7, A Memory of Muskets, as dense as this one, I may not bother with the 3 remaining.
November 10, 2015
http://openbooksociety.com/article/de...
Death on the Prairie
Chloe Ellefson Mystery, Book #6
By Kathleen Ernst
ISBN 9780738744704
Author’s website: www.kathleenernst.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
Chloe Ellefson and her sister, Kari, have long dreamed of visiting each historic site dedicated to Laura Ingalls Wilder. When Chloe takes custody of a quilt once owned by the beloved author, the sisters set out on the trip of a lifetime, hoping to prove that Wilder stitched it herself.
But death strikes as the journey begins, and trouble stalks their fellow travelers. Among the “Little House” devotees are academic critics, greedy collectors, and obsessive fans. Kari is distracted by family problems, and unexpected news from Chloe’s boyfriend jeopardizes her own future. As the sisters travel deeper into Wilder territory, Chloe races to discover the truth about a precious artifact—and her own heart—before a killer can strike again.
Review:
I really enjoyed this wonderful mystery, it is ideal for this reader who would love to have been along for the Laura tour! Like most women of my generation, I grew up reading and re-reading most of the “LIttle House” series books. I didn’t begin to watch the old television show until the past few years and am an avid fan. Like many readers (or viewers), I had certain ideas about the Ingalls family based on the books or the television show. Meeting Chloe and Kari for the first time and taking this car trip with them has been a true adventure! It is the first Chloe Ellefson Mystery I’ve read, and it will not be the last. Among other things, I like the list of characters, the map of the tour, and the list of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Death on the Prairie is an exciting, engaging story, very well written. Any factual information is given almost as if it were part of a grand novel rather than what one would expect from a history tome, and the fiction appeals to a wide range of readers. Chloe Ellefson will give a presentation at one of the stops on the Laura tour, where people who are both part of a tour group and others who are traveling on their own are going to each of the site where Laura and/ or the Ingalls family lived. She invited her married sister Kari to join her. Chloe is also taking what might be a valuable quilt with her, given to her by Miss Lila, an elderly neighbor of Chloe’s parents, just before she was found dead in the course of a home break-in. The quilt may have belonged to Laura herself! Without the provenance, Chloe will do what she can to find clues about it along the way. She will work with curator at each home site/ museum to select the future home of the quilt, per Miss Lila’s request, as well.
At the very start of the tour, a man is found dead; Chloe learns later that he is an important member of the upcoming symposium. As the tour continues, Chloe sees and hears many disconcerting things – that the tour leader is keeping secrets with someone, and something is going on with her sister Kari that she refuses to talk about. Incidents occur that, taken separately, seem like accidents. It begins to appear that something more sinister is going on.
The setting is 1983, in the Midwest US. It is a time before cell phones and internet were widely available. Fax machines with curling thermal paper, telephones, and land or air delivery routes are the only means of communicating with one’s family or office when away from home. It may not be a gentler time, but it is definitely a slower-paced time where one could actually go into a restroom without texts, pagers, and cell phones ringing. But if one has a murderer or thief following them, they have fewer communication options!
Chloe is very well-defined, as is her boyfriend Roelke. Kari doesn’t easily share her thoughts with anyone until her family is endangered. The people who are the Laura tour are interesting; some are as eccentric as anyone who makes an idol of another person. They are as mysterious or as open as their role requires. Needless to say, some of these folks will surprise the readers! We will also see sufficient intricacies of relationships to consider our own.
The plot is multi-tiered and fascinating, beginning with the mystery of the quilt, then add who might have broken into Miss Lila’s and caused her death. Continuing on we see the mysterious deaths and incidents that occur throughout the Laura tour as Chloe’s mind is whirling with the possibilities. Today we could be hunting the internet for answers about the people and places involved, but Chloe had her logical, history-focused mind, phone calls to professional associates, and what she observes each day. This reader was surprised to find out some of the hidden layers of mysteries as well as confused from trying to guess who the bad guys / gals were. I confess that I was stumped, and definitely stunned to see the full outcome! The resolutions and conclusion were satisfying, however, and I would highly recommend this novel of mystery and suspense to those who appreciate well-written mysteries with interesting characters, history, and a little romance.
A word of caution is that I would not recommend this for younger teens due to a little of the content and if they are sensitive to finding out some of the truths about the historical characters who they might have on a pedestal. Earlier this year I listened to a novel about Laura Ingalls Wilder’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, and had the air sucked from a few of my illusions, and a couple more illusions were set aside in this novel. I wouldn’t have missed Death on the Prairie, however, and even with what I know now, I would still be eagerly reading it! As a result, I want to re-read the Little House series and appreciate more fully the scenes that Chloe and Kari could quote from the series of books. As the demonstrated, the series isn’t just for children!
Death on the Prairie
Chloe Ellefson Mystery, Book #6
By Kathleen Ernst
ISBN 9780738744704
Author’s website: www.kathleenernst.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
Chloe Ellefson and her sister, Kari, have long dreamed of visiting each historic site dedicated to Laura Ingalls Wilder. When Chloe takes custody of a quilt once owned by the beloved author, the sisters set out on the trip of a lifetime, hoping to prove that Wilder stitched it herself.
But death strikes as the journey begins, and trouble stalks their fellow travelers. Among the “Little House” devotees are academic critics, greedy collectors, and obsessive fans. Kari is distracted by family problems, and unexpected news from Chloe’s boyfriend jeopardizes her own future. As the sisters travel deeper into Wilder territory, Chloe races to discover the truth about a precious artifact—and her own heart—before a killer can strike again.
Review:
I really enjoyed this wonderful mystery, it is ideal for this reader who would love to have been along for the Laura tour! Like most women of my generation, I grew up reading and re-reading most of the “LIttle House” series books. I didn’t begin to watch the old television show until the past few years and am an avid fan. Like many readers (or viewers), I had certain ideas about the Ingalls family based on the books or the television show. Meeting Chloe and Kari for the first time and taking this car trip with them has been a true adventure! It is the first Chloe Ellefson Mystery I’ve read, and it will not be the last. Among other things, I like the list of characters, the map of the tour, and the list of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Death on the Prairie is an exciting, engaging story, very well written. Any factual information is given almost as if it were part of a grand novel rather than what one would expect from a history tome, and the fiction appeals to a wide range of readers. Chloe Ellefson will give a presentation at one of the stops on the Laura tour, where people who are both part of a tour group and others who are traveling on their own are going to each of the site where Laura and/ or the Ingalls family lived. She invited her married sister Kari to join her. Chloe is also taking what might be a valuable quilt with her, given to her by Miss Lila, an elderly neighbor of Chloe’s parents, just before she was found dead in the course of a home break-in. The quilt may have belonged to Laura herself! Without the provenance, Chloe will do what she can to find clues about it along the way. She will work with curator at each home site/ museum to select the future home of the quilt, per Miss Lila’s request, as well.
At the very start of the tour, a man is found dead; Chloe learns later that he is an important member of the upcoming symposium. As the tour continues, Chloe sees and hears many disconcerting things – that the tour leader is keeping secrets with someone, and something is going on with her sister Kari that she refuses to talk about. Incidents occur that, taken separately, seem like accidents. It begins to appear that something more sinister is going on.
The setting is 1983, in the Midwest US. It is a time before cell phones and internet were widely available. Fax machines with curling thermal paper, telephones, and land or air delivery routes are the only means of communicating with one’s family or office when away from home. It may not be a gentler time, but it is definitely a slower-paced time where one could actually go into a restroom without texts, pagers, and cell phones ringing. But if one has a murderer or thief following them, they have fewer communication options!
Chloe is very well-defined, as is her boyfriend Roelke. Kari doesn’t easily share her thoughts with anyone until her family is endangered. The people who are the Laura tour are interesting; some are as eccentric as anyone who makes an idol of another person. They are as mysterious or as open as their role requires. Needless to say, some of these folks will surprise the readers! We will also see sufficient intricacies of relationships to consider our own.
The plot is multi-tiered and fascinating, beginning with the mystery of the quilt, then add who might have broken into Miss Lila’s and caused her death. Continuing on we see the mysterious deaths and incidents that occur throughout the Laura tour as Chloe’s mind is whirling with the possibilities. Today we could be hunting the internet for answers about the people and places involved, but Chloe had her logical, history-focused mind, phone calls to professional associates, and what she observes each day. This reader was surprised to find out some of the hidden layers of mysteries as well as confused from trying to guess who the bad guys / gals were. I confess that I was stumped, and definitely stunned to see the full outcome! The resolutions and conclusion were satisfying, however, and I would highly recommend this novel of mystery and suspense to those who appreciate well-written mysteries with interesting characters, history, and a little romance.
A word of caution is that I would not recommend this for younger teens due to a little of the content and if they are sensitive to finding out some of the truths about the historical characters who they might have on a pedestal. Earlier this year I listened to a novel about Laura Ingalls Wilder’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, and had the air sucked from a few of my illusions, and a couple more illusions were set aside in this novel. I wouldn’t have missed Death on the Prairie, however, and even with what I know now, I would still be eagerly reading it! As a result, I want to re-read the Little House series and appreciate more fully the scenes that Chloe and Kari could quote from the series of books. As the demonstrated, the series isn’t just for children!
November 20, 2021
Ho deciso di leggere questa serie dopo aver letto la trama di questo libro, che ha al centro della storia un quilt e, soprattutto, la famiglia Ingalls. Sì, proprio quella del telefilm "La casa nella prateria". Da bambina non mi sono persa una puntata e solo molti anni dopo ho scoperto che si basava su dei libri per ragazzi, a loro volta ispirati dalla vera vita della scrittrice. Qui è stato quasi come fare un tuffo nella mia infanzia, come accade anche alla protagonista; oltrettutto la storia è ambientata all'inizio degli anni Ottanta, quindi altro tuffo nel passato. In più il mistero è risultato essere talmente complicato che non avrei mai immaginato l'intera soluzione. Quasi quasi mi viene voglia di leggere l'autobiografia di Laura Ingalls...
March 21, 2021
I really liked the tie-ins to Laura Ingalls Wilder, but this book turned out to be incredibly hokey. There were multiple uses of the phrase ‘Holy toboggans’ and once was too many. The mystery was OK, but not super believable.
October 26, 2017
This is my favorite Chloe mystery so far. Flawless as a mystery book, plus now I want to read all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books!
May 31, 2022
Sisters Chloe and Kari go on a road trip together to visit the home sites of Laura Ingalls Wilder. There was tension between the sisters, murder (of course), and some unpleasant people who were also on the same route as Chloe and Kari. This could be read as a stand-alone book since the author fills in the basics of the main characters’ backgrounds. I really like the well-researched books by this author and learning more about historical time periods of the upper Midwest.
February 28, 2016
Chloe Ellefson, a curator at Old World Wisconsin, is gifted with a quilt that possibly belonged to her most favorite author, Laura Ingalls Wilder. Chloe and her sister, Kari, both “Little House” devotees, end up traveling together to retrace Laura’s route west and to participate in a Laura Ingalls Wilder symposium. Chloe’s fondest dream is to prove Laura made the quilt, but as a museum employee, she knows she must be cautious. Plus, she so much wants it to be true on a personal level, that she doesn’t want to break her own hear.
Death and trouble follow the Ellefsons and the other travelers, including ademic critics, greedy collectors, and obsessive fans. Kari has her own reasons for going on the trip, and Chloe Kari is distracted by family problems, and Chloe faces some life changing decisions after her cop boyfriend, Roelke, hits her with some surprising news.
I am a huge fan of this series and recommend it every chance I get. The backstories are well-researched, the characters are complex and grow with each book, the plots are engaging, and I always end up thinking about the current read when I’m not reading it. And I’m sad when I finish because I want more.
Chloe struggles to maintain her relationship with Roelke while not losing herself. I find that very realistic. She and her sister have a less than perfect relationship, but she keeps trying, and I appreciate that struggle. The parts about her job also fascinate me, and ring true – having to work in “primitive” conditions because people don’t place the same emphasis on historical preservation as they do on everything else, a boss who’s a climber and a bean counter, and being blessed to work with brilliant co-workers who persevere despite all the other challenges. The books are set in the 1980s, so Chloe has to go old school to get anything done. I wish I could get her a cell phone and a decent computer.
This book was the best one for me so far. Chapters in the books are usually interspersed with historical stories that tie in with the current plot. I know this marks me as a philistine, but I generally page past those because I so intensely want to know what’s going to happen next to Chloe, Roelke, etc. In this book, the chapters start off with brief snippets about Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I liked those for the brevity – they added to the story, but didn’t slow me down from getting to the meat and potatoes. (And the Laura information was interesting – I read all those books as a child and remembered some of what was being talked about.) I eagerly await the next installment in this series.
Death and trouble follow the Ellefsons and the other travelers, including ademic critics, greedy collectors, and obsessive fans. Kari has her own reasons for going on the trip, and Chloe Kari is distracted by family problems, and Chloe faces some life changing decisions after her cop boyfriend, Roelke, hits her with some surprising news.
I am a huge fan of this series and recommend it every chance I get. The backstories are well-researched, the characters are complex and grow with each book, the plots are engaging, and I always end up thinking about the current read when I’m not reading it. And I’m sad when I finish because I want more.
Chloe struggles to maintain her relationship with Roelke while not losing herself. I find that very realistic. She and her sister have a less than perfect relationship, but she keeps trying, and I appreciate that struggle. The parts about her job also fascinate me, and ring true – having to work in “primitive” conditions because people don’t place the same emphasis on historical preservation as they do on everything else, a boss who’s a climber and a bean counter, and being blessed to work with brilliant co-workers who persevere despite all the other challenges. The books are set in the 1980s, so Chloe has to go old school to get anything done. I wish I could get her a cell phone and a decent computer.
This book was the best one for me so far. Chapters in the books are usually interspersed with historical stories that tie in with the current plot. I know this marks me as a philistine, but I generally page past those because I so intensely want to know what’s going to happen next to Chloe, Roelke, etc. In this book, the chapters start off with brief snippets about Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I liked those for the brevity – they added to the story, but didn’t slow me down from getting to the meat and potatoes. (And the Laura information was interesting – I read all those books as a child and remembered some of what was being talked about.) I eagerly await the next installment in this series.
February 24, 2017
I like this series. I have camped in the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest near Eagle, though I have never been to Old World Wisconsin. I should have.
I like the 2 main characters, Chloe and Roelke.
I have never read any of the Little House books nor watched the TV series. I did not know anything to speak of about Laura Ingles Wilder. (I had 2 boys) Still I found the book interesting. I am almost thinking of reading them now. Humm, maybe.
There is mystery and murder. It all fits into the plot.
I like the 2 main characters, Chloe and Roelke.
I have never read any of the Little House books nor watched the TV series. I did not know anything to speak of about Laura Ingles Wilder. (I had 2 boys) Still I found the book interesting. I am almost thinking of reading them now. Humm, maybe.
There is mystery and murder. It all fits into the plot.
October 19, 2015
Who quotes from the first few pages of a book? I do, dang it! Because I can totally understand the feelings engendered in someone (Chloe) who works for a historical society in Wisconsin, even the hint of a possibility of someday touching something belonging to Laura Ingalls Wilder!
What's kind of sad is that until well after the television show, I had no idea that Laura was a real person! I might have heard of the books, but probably thought it was coincidence or conspiracy that the tv show featured a girl of the same name.
That's why I love, love, LOVE it when historical fiction like Death on the Prairie comes along. And Ms. Ernst gives us a double historical whammy. The book is set in 1983 (good gravy, I was already in my 20s by then), and reflects back 100 years further to what I will dub the "Laura Years". You know writers are going to conduct thorough research to get the facts straight, and the ethical ones will let you know when they have taken liberties with the facts in order to flesh out the story. It is obvious that the author is both careful and ethical in her historical facts.
Aside from the historical significance and enjoyment, there is a 'dark side' to the world of artefacts. Greed is at the root of it - whether we're talking money or bragging rights or obsession. The buying and selling of artefacts can be a cut-throat business, ditto for the collection or over-the-top fans, so that the course of the tour does not go smooth is not a surprise.
So, I am a huge fan of historical fiction, thanks in part to reading challenges and my 'discovery' of virtual book tours. I love visiting places and ages which due to distance, physics or the space-time continuum (oh, dear, time for more coffee) would otherwise be out of bounds to me.
This is the first book of Ernst's that I have read, and the first historical fiction series that I have encountered that features a different time, place or focus person in each instalment. And I give her props for featuring the history of her home state. This is what historical fiction should be like.
Luckily, Ms. Ernst has 5 other Chloe books I can read before I have to start asking those annoying questions like, "So, where do we go next?"
(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.)
What's kind of sad is that until well after the television show, I had no idea that Laura was a real person! I might have heard of the books, but probably thought it was coincidence or conspiracy that the tv show featured a girl of the same name.
That's why I love, love, LOVE it when historical fiction like Death on the Prairie comes along. And Ms. Ernst gives us a double historical whammy. The book is set in 1983 (good gravy, I was already in my 20s by then), and reflects back 100 years further to what I will dub the "Laura Years". You know writers are going to conduct thorough research to get the facts straight, and the ethical ones will let you know when they have taken liberties with the facts in order to flesh out the story. It is obvious that the author is both careful and ethical in her historical facts.
Aside from the historical significance and enjoyment, there is a 'dark side' to the world of artefacts. Greed is at the root of it - whether we're talking money or bragging rights or obsession. The buying and selling of artefacts can be a cut-throat business, ditto for the collection or over-the-top fans, so that the course of the tour does not go smooth is not a surprise.
So, I am a huge fan of historical fiction, thanks in part to reading challenges and my 'discovery' of virtual book tours. I love visiting places and ages which due to distance, physics or the space-time continuum (oh, dear, time for more coffee) would otherwise be out of bounds to me.
This is the first book of Ernst's that I have read, and the first historical fiction series that I have encountered that features a different time, place or focus person in each instalment. And I give her props for featuring the history of her home state. This is what historical fiction should be like.
Luckily, Ms. Ernst has 5 other Chloe books I can read before I have to start asking those annoying questions like, "So, where do we go next?"
(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.)
October 7, 2015
Being a Wisconsin native, familiar both with Old World Wisconsin and the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and historical sites, I wanted to take my time and enjoy every aspect of this book.
Chloe and her sister Kari reminded me of my relationship with my sister, the two of us actually being a Laura and Mary pair. We even have some Norwegian blood.
I loved the terms used for fans of the Little House book series including Laura Lookers.
I was fascinated by the extra information about the Ingalls' family and being able to say "I knew that!"
I did not expect the murders to begin so soon or hit so close to home for Chloe.
This cozy was complicated and kept me working on clues.
I did not feel that the sisters' romantic and family issues distracted from my enjoyment of the book.
Chloe has an education and career in historical facts and preservation.
When her elderly neighbor presents her with a quilt from the 1800s allegedly made by the famous Laura Ingalls, Chloe is beside herself. She was fascinated with the Little House books as a child, even preparing a college paper on them to earn her degree. Recently she has been invited to present her findings at a scholarly gathering celebrating Laura Ingalls Wilder. This is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with her sister, from whom she feels she has drifted apart. Also to use her investigative nature to discover any connections this quilt may have to the beloved author.
Her investigative nature and undeveloped psychic senses get quite the workout on this trip when people around her turn up dead. She also learns things about her family and loved ones she was not expecting. She may not find exactly what she was looking for on her road trip but at the end I think we are all satisfied. The Ingalls family survived unexpected circumstances and extremely difficult times. Still, they made the best of what they had and what happened to them. Chloe tries to live up to their example, even if her life is still a work in progress.
I did receive this book in exchange for an honest review.
I will be reading the others in this series.
Chloe and her sister Kari reminded me of my relationship with my sister, the two of us actually being a Laura and Mary pair. We even have some Norwegian blood.
I loved the terms used for fans of the Little House book series including Laura Lookers.
I was fascinated by the extra information about the Ingalls' family and being able to say "I knew that!"
I did not expect the murders to begin so soon or hit so close to home for Chloe.
This cozy was complicated and kept me working on clues.
I did not feel that the sisters' romantic and family issues distracted from my enjoyment of the book.
Chloe has an education and career in historical facts and preservation.
When her elderly neighbor presents her with a quilt from the 1800s allegedly made by the famous Laura Ingalls, Chloe is beside herself. She was fascinated with the Little House books as a child, even preparing a college paper on them to earn her degree. Recently she has been invited to present her findings at a scholarly gathering celebrating Laura Ingalls Wilder. This is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with her sister, from whom she feels she has drifted apart. Also to use her investigative nature to discover any connections this quilt may have to the beloved author.
Her investigative nature and undeveloped psychic senses get quite the workout on this trip when people around her turn up dead. She also learns things about her family and loved ones she was not expecting. She may not find exactly what she was looking for on her road trip but at the end I think we are all satisfied. The Ingalls family survived unexpected circumstances and extremely difficult times. Still, they made the best of what they had and what happened to them. Chloe tries to live up to their example, even if her life is still a work in progress.
I did receive this book in exchange for an honest review.
I will be reading the others in this series.
September 11, 2015
Death on the Prairie gives readers not only an intricate mystery with interesting premise, lovers of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Little House Books will be thrilled with the setting as sisters Chloe and Kari tour the homes of the Wilder family and bodies start piling up. Historian Chloe Ellefson has some experience with mysteries, as her policeman boyfriend Roelke can attest. Taking the quilt she has recently inherited seems like a simple enough mystery to solve, especially with all the experts she will meet on the Laura tour of the Midwest, and inviting sister Kari along could help their currently awkward relationship. They don't expect to encounter a death at their first rest stop, nor all of the strange vandalism related to the Wilder homes as they drive across the prairie from Wisconsin to Missouri.
I found Death on the Prairie to be a very complex mystery for the cozy genre, with several truly viable potential killers, and a variety of different things happening to keep readers on their toes. In addition to murders, there is vandalism that only Chloe seems to notice. It makes both her and the reader wonder if it's related to the deaths. Kari is acting strangely and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the tension she and Chloe are going through, so that's a third mysterious element.
The Laura Ingalls information was wonderful for a Little House fan such as myself and I loved planning out a similar trip for myself and a librarian friend, hopefully next summer. I easily followed the back stories of Chloe and Kari's relationship and Chloe and Roelke, and I loved the Scandinavian references peppered throughout. Death on the Prairie is an excellent mystery and I will be sure to go back and read the other five books in the series.
I received Death on the Prairie from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
I found Death on the Prairie to be a very complex mystery for the cozy genre, with several truly viable potential killers, and a variety of different things happening to keep readers on their toes. In addition to murders, there is vandalism that only Chloe seems to notice. It makes both her and the reader wonder if it's related to the deaths. Kari is acting strangely and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the tension she and Chloe are going through, so that's a third mysterious element.
The Laura Ingalls information was wonderful for a Little House fan such as myself and I loved planning out a similar trip for myself and a librarian friend, hopefully next summer. I easily followed the back stories of Chloe and Kari's relationship and Chloe and Roelke, and I loved the Scandinavian references peppered throughout. Death on the Prairie is an excellent mystery and I will be sure to go back and read the other five books in the series.
I received Death on the Prairie from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
September 5, 2016
Author Kathleen Ernst has woven another interesting story around historical facts in this newest Chole Ellefson mystery. This one was especially fun for me, as it centers around Laura Ingalls Wilder sites that I have visited. Chloe's neighbor brings her a quilt thought to have belonged to or even stitched by Laura Ingalls Wilder with the request that Chole check out its authenticity. When the neighbor dies unexpectedly, Chloe needs answers for the woman's estate. Chloe and her sister, Kari, join a tour to Little House sites. Others on the tour range from avid fans of the Little House books to collectors to academics to--a murderer! Chloe and Kari's strained relationship comes almost unravels when Kari reveals her secret life. Chloe and Kari try to determine the murderer without becoming victims themselves. Miles away, Chloe's boyfriend considers his options--buy the family farm or go back to the city. Where does Chloe fit into that? Guessing the outcome to all of this kept me turning the pages. Quotations from the Little House books introduce and enrich each chapter. We get to visit the sites vicariously (and safely), and as always, Ernst writes with accuracy.
October 27, 2016
I liked this book. Not only could I relate to the search for the real story of Laura Ingalls Wilder and get into the whodunnit aspect of the book but also the emotional relationship between Chloe and Kari. Following the recent death of our mother, my sisters and I are trying to re-establish relationships with each other without her and it is not always easy. I could really relate to their struggle to understand each other as adult women. And as little girls we all read the Little House books and dreamed we were Laura traveling to new adventures across the prairie and what could be better than a pilgrimage to all the Laura sites
April 5, 2017
Chloe and her sister loved the Little house on the prairie books and pretended they were Laura and Mary as children so when Chloe is asked to speak at a convention she asks her sister to go with her and see everywhere that Laura had lived. Chloe has a quilt that may have been made by Laura that she takes with her. Both sisters have personal problems that are overshadowed by all the dangers that happen. One thing didn't seem real in the story , as a historian and Little house lover, was that Chloe didn't know anything about Laura except what was in the children's books and was constantly upset learning what Laura's real life was like. You would think she would've researched all about Laura.
July 1, 2016
Although this book was recommended to me, I had a hard time understanding why. The writer truly loves Laura Ingalls Wilder’s stories, but she tortured sections of the Little House books into this “mystery” to make it work. I cannot believe anyone would kill for an heirloom quilt, and therein lies the problem.
August 6, 2016
This is a mystery for those who love the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, which I have never read. Still I enjoyed it and found it amusing that the main characters drove a Pinto and a Rambler.(Book takes place in 1983). I drove 2 used Ramblers before I bought my first new car.....a 1972 yellow Pinto hatchback.
September 1, 2016
Kathleen Ernst has once again delivered us to both the recent and not so recent pasts in a way that captures both our imaginations and our hearts. "Death on the Prairie" reunites Ernst's readers with the loveable Chloe Ellefson as she takes us back further in time to our beloved Laura Ingalls Wilder and her "little House" books, weaving their stories together masterfully.
March 27, 2016
Speaking both as a Chloe fan and as someone who enjoyed the Little House books as a child, I enjoyed this story. The many references to the Laura Ingalls Wilder books may make me want to revisit them someday!
November 16, 2015
If you grew up reading the Little House books this cozy mystery is for you. I recommend reading "A Wilder Rose" by Susan Wittig Albert before you read this book.
February 16, 2016
The best Chloe Ellefson mystery to date! This one will have special appeal for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
April 7, 2016
I love this series but this book was extra special because of the focus on Laura Ingalls Wilder. Now I want to re-read all the Little House books!
September 27, 2018
3½ stars, but deserving of the round-up to 4
_________
This is the second Chloe Ellefson Mystery I've read; the first, « Tradition of Deceit », is not the start of the series but happens to be in my possession (reviewed here on Goodreads, also) and served as a sort of CEM 'Gateway Drug'.
As mentioned in my other review, I've been hoping to read « A Memory of Muskets »; the copy wasn't available, and I realised that this book comes between the two, so I decided to try to stick with the chronology from here.
* * *
Chloe Ellefson, aged early 30s, is the curator of collections at Old World Wisconsin, a real place located near the tiny town of Eagle. As the series title makes abundantly clear, Chloe continues to find herself in all sorts of sticky situations where thievery, mysteries, and even murders abound; despite her home base being Wisconsin, our unlikely heroine can more often be found at various Midwestern locales (at least, this is true in the two books I've read thus far).
Her significant other (she loathes the term 'boyfriend') is 29-year-old Officer Roelke McKenna*, former member of the Milwaukee PD & current officer with the tiny Eagle PD.
These stories take place in the early '80s, with the two titles I've read set in 1983, specifically. There are no references to mullets or neon-everything, and if it weren't for the occasional phone-booth and payphone mentions, it would be fairly easy to miss this detail altogether.
(In fact, I've noticed that other reviewers -have- missed this, so,...erm, here you go.
1983.)
In this particular tale, the historical focus - because all of these books appear to have one - centres round the beloved author & American icon Laura Ingalls Wilder. Chloe comes into possession of a quilt that may have been made and/or owned by Laura, herself, and she's an avid childhood fan of the « Little House » ('LH')series (the books, that is, not telly) and therefore becomes determined to help the legal owner discover the truth of its creation. Chloe has agreed to speak at a Laura symposium, and to meet & consult with directors of sites significant to the Ingalls family in order to corroborate the backstory of the quilt. She has invited her somewhat-estranged sister to make the trip with her, and they travel parallel with a Laura Land Tour, whose participants shape the journey in myriad ways.
Unfortunately, trouble pervades this road-trip even before the start, and readers find themselves learning about the darker side of historic fandom.
A concurrent subplot has Roelke finding himself in a rather difficult predicament - one that affects not only his own future, but that of his with Chloe. He has a lot of important decisions to make in « Death on the Prairie ».
There were a lot of twists & turns in this novel, and the resolution was not an obvious one; i e, even my correct predictions about 'whodunit' weren't without surprises.
I see Roelke as a very realistic character. He seems to be a man with a wonderful heart and great concern for others, but whose experience in law enforcement keeps him just a bit out of reach emotionally. We often see a very polarised version of positive love interests in books - infinitely patient, always perfect with words, alternately engaged and disengaged when necessary, etc - but Roelke feels -real-: that guy who clearly loves and adores his wife but isn't given to emotional or gratuitous displays, who is more patient than you'd expect but doesn't abide being taken advantage of, who is hardly a chatterbox but can always be counted upon to tell the truth, etc.
Chloe, however, whilst generally quite likeable, does seem to treat her 'manfriend' with a bit less kindness and patience than he deserves, though. From what I gather, it's somewhat early days of their relationship, and -both- characters seem to lack proper communication skills. There are references made to Chloe's painful past, so perhaps it's not fair to judge until I've read the first books in the series, but there are many times I've wanted to admonish Chloe for her treatment of Roelke.
SO.
Is this worth reading? Definitely, especially if you're a LH/Ingalls fan. It's even inspired me to add the places from this book to my American Road-Trip list. It was an intriguing read, and a good one. I've been sick with a particularly horrible cold, and this was a nice distraction from my misery.
_____________
*I am not a fan of the 'two surnames' naming trend, but this one was explained in the last book (and slightly so here), and people constantly pronounce 'Roelke' incorrectly, so I can forgive it here.
Also worth noting: Ms Ernst includes a 'Cast of Characters' list at the front of her books; and she includes photos from the sites visited and described in each title, along with further reading suggestions. I especially like the latter; it's nice to put an image to a place.
_________
This is the second Chloe Ellefson Mystery I've read; the first, « Tradition of Deceit », is not the start of the series but happens to be in my possession (reviewed here on Goodreads, also) and served as a sort of CEM 'Gateway Drug'.
As mentioned in my other review, I've been hoping to read « A Memory of Muskets »; the copy wasn't available, and I realised that this book comes between the two, so I decided to try to stick with the chronology from here.
* * *
Chloe Ellefson, aged early 30s, is the curator of collections at Old World Wisconsin, a real place located near the tiny town of Eagle. As the series title makes abundantly clear, Chloe continues to find herself in all sorts of sticky situations where thievery, mysteries, and even murders abound; despite her home base being Wisconsin, our unlikely heroine can more often be found at various Midwestern locales (at least, this is true in the two books I've read thus far).
Her significant other (she loathes the term 'boyfriend') is 29-year-old Officer Roelke McKenna*, former member of the Milwaukee PD & current officer with the tiny Eagle PD.
These stories take place in the early '80s, with the two titles I've read set in 1983, specifically. There are no references to mullets or neon-everything, and if it weren't for the occasional phone-booth and payphone mentions, it would be fairly easy to miss this detail altogether.
(In fact, I've noticed that other reviewers -have- missed this, so,...erm, here you go.
1983.)
In this particular tale, the historical focus - because all of these books appear to have one - centres round the beloved author & American icon Laura Ingalls Wilder. Chloe comes into possession of a quilt that may have been made and/or owned by Laura, herself, and she's an avid childhood fan of the « Little House » ('LH')series (the books, that is, not telly) and therefore becomes determined to help the legal owner discover the truth of its creation. Chloe has agreed to speak at a Laura symposium, and to meet & consult with directors of sites significant to the Ingalls family in order to corroborate the backstory of the quilt. She has invited her somewhat-estranged sister to make the trip with her, and they travel parallel with a Laura Land Tour, whose participants shape the journey in myriad ways.
Unfortunately, trouble pervades this road-trip even before the start, and readers find themselves learning about the darker side of historic fandom.
A concurrent subplot has Roelke finding himself in a rather difficult predicament - one that affects not only his own future, but that of his with Chloe. He has a lot of important decisions to make in « Death on the Prairie ».
There were a lot of twists & turns in this novel, and the resolution was not an obvious one; i e, even my correct predictions about 'whodunit' weren't without surprises.
I see Roelke as a very realistic character. He seems to be a man with a wonderful heart and great concern for others, but whose experience in law enforcement keeps him just a bit out of reach emotionally. We often see a very polarised version of positive love interests in books - infinitely patient, always perfect with words, alternately engaged and disengaged when necessary, etc - but Roelke feels -real-: that guy who clearly loves and adores his wife but isn't given to emotional or gratuitous displays, who is more patient than you'd expect but doesn't abide being taken advantage of, who is hardly a chatterbox but can always be counted upon to tell the truth, etc.
Chloe, however, whilst generally quite likeable, does seem to treat her 'manfriend' with a bit less kindness and patience than he deserves, though. From what I gather, it's somewhat early days of their relationship, and -both- characters seem to lack proper communication skills. There are references made to Chloe's painful past, so perhaps it's not fair to judge until I've read the first books in the series, but there are many times I've wanted to admonish Chloe for her treatment of Roelke.
SO.
Is this worth reading? Definitely, especially if you're a LH/Ingalls fan. It's even inspired me to add the places from this book to my American Road-Trip list. It was an intriguing read, and a good one. I've been sick with a particularly horrible cold, and this was a nice distraction from my misery.
_____________
*I am not a fan of the 'two surnames' naming trend, but this one was explained in the last book (and slightly so here), and people constantly pronounce 'Roelke' incorrectly, so I can forgive it here.
Also worth noting: Ms Ernst includes a 'Cast of Characters' list at the front of her books; and she includes photos from the sites visited and described in each title, along with further reading suggestions. I especially like the latter; it's nice to put an image to a place.
July 22, 2017
Kathleen Ernst first came on my radar when I became our school district's librarian. After teaching secondary students for 15 years, I had to quickly catch up on children's literature, which I had not studied much since college. Of course, I had kept up with my own kids' taste in kid lit. In those first months as librarian, I really immersed myself in all the levels and genres. With fourth graders expanding their reading to include more genres - mysteries, historical fiction, Wisconsin history, fantasy, I soon found that they also liked series books. Among the popular series for this age group (for girls at least) were the American Girl books that accompanied the dolls. Kathleen Ernst, a Wisconsinite, wrote some of those novels and also some of their special history-mystery books. Like I still do, back then, I always gave special attention to Wisconsin authors, so more than a few times I booked talked Ernst's history mystery titles. A few years ago, I stumbled upon her adult/young adult mystery series featuring Chloe Ellefson. DEATH ON THE PRAIRIE, her 33rd book and sixth in the Ellefson series,
all revolves around a trip Chloe and her sister take to see the sites which preserve the legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
There are so many reasons for me to like Ernst's gentle mystery series. First of all, Chloe Ellefson works as a museum curator/archivist for Old World Wisconsin in Eagle, WI, a living history museum which features re-enactments and a whole preserved village. One of those buildings - a town hall, I believe, is the actual building where my mother and her students would hold their Christmas program. Eagle itself is about 35 minutes from the community where I grew up, and my father's family settled in Eagle in the late 1800's. And then Chloe's choice of job is similar to what my daughter does, although my daughter's work as an archivist is for the Catholic church, not for a public museum. I also love that this series is set in 1980's so there are no cell phones or internet to mess up the mystery. I found it refreshing, especially in this book about Laura Ingalls Wilder fans, to remember the 80's and the first wave of Little House on the Prairie television viewers. If you read Ernst's biography, you will find out that she actually worked at
Old World Wisconsin in the the 1980's, so her take on that historical site and Chloe's job is based on
experience, not speculation.
This particular story features an inherited quilt (could it really have been made by Laura), a road trip between adult sisters (everyone knows that families create their own drama), and some mysterious ominous happenings. Meanwhile back in Eagle, Chloe's boyfriend, police officer Roelke is trying to decide whether to make a career move or buy his grandfather's farm to preserve that heritage. By the time I had finished the novel, not only had a series of mysterious happenings been cleared up, but I had vicariously visited the Laura historic sites (in real life, I have only visited Pepin's cabin in the woods) and had learned many interesting true facts about her, her daughter and the Little House books. If you like history and the world of museums, give Kathleen Ernst's writing a chance.
Check out her http://www.kathleenernst.com/index.php to learn more about her life and the books.
I obtained my Chloe Ellefson mystery book through the Winnefox Library Syst
all revolves around a trip Chloe and her sister take to see the sites which preserve the legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
There are so many reasons for me to like Ernst's gentle mystery series. First of all, Chloe Ellefson works as a museum curator/archivist for Old World Wisconsin in Eagle, WI, a living history museum which features re-enactments and a whole preserved village. One of those buildings - a town hall, I believe, is the actual building where my mother and her students would hold their Christmas program. Eagle itself is about 35 minutes from the community where I grew up, and my father's family settled in Eagle in the late 1800's. And then Chloe's choice of job is similar to what my daughter does, although my daughter's work as an archivist is for the Catholic church, not for a public museum. I also love that this series is set in 1980's so there are no cell phones or internet to mess up the mystery. I found it refreshing, especially in this book about Laura Ingalls Wilder fans, to remember the 80's and the first wave of Little House on the Prairie television viewers. If you read Ernst's biography, you will find out that she actually worked at
Old World Wisconsin in the the 1980's, so her take on that historical site and Chloe's job is based on
experience, not speculation.
This particular story features an inherited quilt (could it really have been made by Laura), a road trip between adult sisters (everyone knows that families create their own drama), and some mysterious ominous happenings. Meanwhile back in Eagle, Chloe's boyfriend, police officer Roelke is trying to decide whether to make a career move or buy his grandfather's farm to preserve that heritage. By the time I had finished the novel, not only had a series of mysterious happenings been cleared up, but I had vicariously visited the Laura historic sites (in real life, I have only visited Pepin's cabin in the woods) and had learned many interesting true facts about her, her daughter and the Little House books. If you like history and the world of museums, give Kathleen Ernst's writing a chance.
Check out her http://www.kathleenernst.com/index.php to learn more about her life and the books.
I obtained my Chloe Ellefson mystery book through the Winnefox Library Syst
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