Art's Blood [Mass Market Paperback]

Vicki Lane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2006

North Carolina’s hills are a crazy quilt of old farmsteads and new beginnings, of locals, strangers, artists, and new age wanderers….Here Elizabeth Goodweather has made her life, a still-young widow who moves easily between the gentrified world of Asheville and old-timers in their hollows. But when a flamboyant performance artist is murdered, and Elizabeth learns the amazing history of a magnificent piece of folk art, she gets caught between her two worlds–and in the middle of an agonizing mystery.

A young woman, taking her artwork to the breaking point, has brought a history of unexplained deaths and dangerous liaisons into Elizabeth’s life. Courted by an ex-cop, trying to protect her love-struck nephew, Elizabeth knows that danger has entered her peaceful world. But she can’t guess how deadly the threat is–nor how masterfully a killer can hide....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lane's sharp eye for detail gets put to good use in this second installment of her Appalachian series. At 53, Elizabeth Goodweather has been a resident of Asheville, N.C., for more than two decades, operating a small farm with her nephew Ben. This is a time of transition for the rural community, where older residents who still churn their own butter live side by side with hip young artists looking for inspiration. Three such artists, Kyra, Aidan and Boz, known collectively as The 3, have moved into the house across the road from Elizabeth's and are planning a performance art piece for the new wing of Asheville's Museum of Art. When Boz is found dead, and The 3's house burns to the ground, Elizabeth gets drawn into a dangerous mystery that may lead her to share Boz's fate. The widow Goodweather is a wonderful character: plucky, hip and wise. The dialogue sparkles with authenticity, and Lane generates suspense without sacrificing the charm and mystique of her mountain community. (July)
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Review

" The widow Goodweather is a wonderful character: plucky, hip and wise. "—Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Dell (June 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440242096
• ISBN-13: 978-0440242093
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The Elizabeth Goodweather series is inspired by the beautiful rural mountain county in which I live -- its present and its past. We have lived here on our farm in North Carolina since 1975 and I wanted to tell some of the wonderful stories I've heard, as well as to record a way of life that is fast disappearing. What began as a lark has turned into something very real to me as I watch Elizabeth and those around her take on lives of their own.

Please visit my web site for more information. www.vickilanemysteries.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine piece of work, July 31, 2006

By 

C. Craig "SnowBears" (Arlington, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Art's Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

"Art's Blood" is the second book in Vicki Lane's Elizabeth Goodweather series and every bit as satisfying as the first.

As the characters grow and develop, the reader feels one's own roots begin to sink into the fertile mountain soil.

When Elizabeth agrees to set up a quilt show at the library, she gets to meet Phil Hawkins' Aunt Omie and finds a beautiful quilt that ties in to the stories of several generations.

The plots are as intricately woven as a fine piece of embroidery and as complex and dazzling in their entirety as a hand-stitched Lone Star quilt.

When I finished this book, I was as sated as Elizabeth after dinner at Aunt Omie's and I look forward to her third book in the series as eagerly as an invitation to visit with an old friend. With the myriad of people living in North Carolina and the ever-changing scenery of the Applachians, there is definitely enough material to create many more in what will hopefully be a long-lived series. And Vicki Lane is exactly the right seamstress to keep on creating these works of art! Thank you, Vicki, for sharing your talent with the rest of us!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is what a mystery book should be like ..., July 18, 2006

By 

Patti Weaver "dawgfancy" (east tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Art's Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

From the first page to the last, Vicki Lane has done it again. Many twists and turns that keep you wondering who/what/where/why until the last few pages of the book. It's an amazing read ... one of those that you keep reading to find out what happened, yet when you're done it's sad because all her wonderful characters/settings are gone til her next book. She is truly a gifted writer that will be around a long, long time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flavor of Asheville, N.C. included!, May 14, 2007

By 

Chrissy K. McVay "Writer" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Art's Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

Vicki Lane's novel 'Art's Blood' is another great installment in a series that mixes generations' stories and history. The intelligent Elizabeth Goodweather solves another mystery, and still has plenty of time to tend to her garden. When she's suddenly entangled in the background of a mixed up young girl, two male artists and an elderly woman (who may not be as harmless as she appears), Elizabeth lifts the shadows on buried secrets, sometimes by seeking and sometimes by accident. Readers familiar with the atmosphere of Asheville, N.C., especially the downtown area, are in for a special treat. Lane has highlighted much of the artistic culture and unique individuals of the area in this wonderful story. (Vicki Lane will be in Burnsville, N.C. for the 2007 Literary Festival, Sept 2007!).

Chrissy K. McVay
Author of 'Souls of the North Wind'