Bits and Pieces

St. Rose Quilting Bee Mystery #3

by Annette Mahon

When Kate Upland and her five-year-old twin daughters perish in an explosion at their Scottsdale, Ariz., house, the police are certain Kate's missing husband, Kenny, an Iraq veteran who suffers from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), is responsible. It's up to quilter Maggie Browne to vindicate the accused.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Annette Mahon writes sweet Hawaiian romances and quilting mysteries. She loves to quilt and tries to put quilts into her books wheneveer possible. She is from Hilo, HI, and now lives in Scottsdale, AZ, with her husband and a spoiled Australian Shepherd.

Reviews

[Sara Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this one. A group of senior women quilt at their Catholic Church as part of their community activities. One of the women reads "cozies". When they are involved in a mystery, the others try to remind her that life isn't like the mysteries she reads. And, of course, that's pretty much what the book is. I'll read others in the series.

[Marlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to be one of the recipients of the ARC of this book, the third book of the St. Rose Quilting Bee mysteries, whose protagonists are the members of a church group for the retired. Most of the story is told from the point of view of Maggie Browne, a widow with four (if I remember correctly) adult sons, one of whom is a police officer.

The story begins when Maggie receives a phone call from one of her friends and Bee compatriots, Clare Patterson, who believes she has spotted a wanted felon in their local big box store. The young man she thinks she's seen is Kenny Upland, a veteran suffering from PTSD, whose wife and twin daughters were killed when their home exploded six months earlier. Kenny had been off on a solo camping trip at the time, and when he was not found in the house's rubble, the consensus was that Kenny had killed them as a result of some trauma-induced hallucination or nightmare.

Maggie calls 911 for Clare, but Kenny leaves the store before the police get there, and Clare follows him up a mountainous road, where she has an accident.

When she returns home, she insists that Kenny Upland saved her life, that he's innocent, and that it's up to the Quilting Bee members to clear his name.

Through a fascinating combination of common acquaintances, Google and "little grey cells", the women manage to determine the identity of the true culprit.

I don't know how the earlier entries in this series slipped past my radar, but I'm going to have to rectify that error.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maggie Browne is one of the members of the St. Rose Quilting Bee and Senior Guild at her church. When Clare, another member of the group, phones Maggie to tell her she has spotted a fugitive from the police in the Big-Mart store, Maggie instructs her to call 911 immediately. Clare does call 911 but when the police fail to appear Clare decides to follow Kenny Upland, the man the police need to interview.

Kenny is a war veteran and has a hard time adjusting once he returns to the states. Kenny’s house in Scottsdale exploded and the bodies of his wife and children are discovered inside. Kenny’s whereabouts were unknown and he became the most likely suspect.

Members of the guild had mixed emotions regarding Kenny’s guilt. When Clare finally returns to report to the group Clare declares that they must get to work and prove Kenny innocent. Clare is firmly convinced that Kenny was not involved in the death of his family.

To please Clare, the other members of the group begin their investigation and it is amazing what facts they uncover and still manage not to get behind on their quilting projects. This is an interesting cozy with good characters and some interesting quilting information.

[Janice]

This is the third in the St. Rose Quilting Bee Mysteries by Annette Mahon and the first that I have read. Working on quilts for their church’s bazaar they have time to talk so when one of their members, Claire declares that the Keith Upland ,who is missing and a chief suspect in his family’s death, is innocent they get pulled in. Keith, a soldier who is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is believed to have caused the explosion of his home that killed his wife and two daughters. He saves Clare in a car accident and on hearing his story she believes him.Maggie, Clare’s dear friend is not sure of Keith’s innocence and just wants to keep Clare safe. Some members of the quilting bee also waver but they agree to help investigate.

Mahon writes an interesting cozy centered around the friendships these women have made as they work on quilts for their church. You see the interworkings of a small town and how everyone knows each other. There is also a feel for the relationships these women have forged through the years of growing up in the same church. If you like Miss Marple type mysteries, you will enjoy this one.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The senior quilters at St. Rose church are as shocked as anyone else when Kate Upland and her children are killed, and like everyone else, they reluctantly decide that Kate's husband Tim, who disappeared after the killings, must be the murderer. But when Clare is in an accident months later, Tim comes out of hiding to save her life. She returns convinced that he is innocent, and begs her friends to help her prove it.