Broken Dishes [Audio Cassette]

Earlene Fowler (Author), Johanna Parker (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: RecordedBooks (2005)
• ISBN-10: 1419305344
• ISBN-13: 978-1419305344
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Greetings from a native Southern Californian!

I've been married 37 years to my high school sweetheart, Allen, who was born in Kansas. We met when we were fifteen. We don't have children, but are owned by a spoiled and extremely intelligent Pembroke Welsh corgi named Boudin. We call him Boo. Though I'm a native Southern Californian, my parents are not. My father was born in Colorado and grew up in a migrant worker family. My mother's family were cotton sharecropers in Arkansas. I've been writing since I was in my late-twenties. I published my first novel, Fool's Puzzle, when I was in my late thirties. I like to ride horses when I can (and luckily, have friends who own horses), walk my dog, travel with my husband, sometimes do scrapbooking when I have time. I have three sisters. I'm the number two sister.

I was named after my father and my grandfather. Both of them are named Earl. The first book I remember reading by myself was Curious George. I think it was the one where he went to the circus. My favorite fictional character is Old Yeller. He had courage and loyalty, two virtues I admire greatly. If I wasn't a writer, I'd love to be a dog trainer. Back in the 1980's, for a year and a half, I taught a weekly craft class at a retirement home in Covina, California. My youngest member was in her late sixties; my oldest was ninety-eight. Those fifteen women taught me way more than I ever taught them. I love strawberry ice cream and fried tacos. Together or separately. Doesn't matter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars M.I.A. Regulars but still enjoyable, May 21, 2004

By 

B. Simon (Chesterfield, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Broken Dishes (Benni Harper Mysteries) (Hardcover)

"Broken Dishes" is another example of talented writing with no distasteful innuendoes or violent interludes that curl the hair and curdle the stomach. With each installment Benni Harper gets pluckier, saucier but still has an undisguised vulnerability toward friends, family and especially her husband police chief, Gabe Ortiz. Arriving at a cattle ranch converted to a guest ranch(called The Broken Dis(hes), Benni encounters a group of liberated ladies attending a quilting seminar,a young married couple in financial straits, a head wrangler who is an emotional timebomb, and (why are we not surprised ?) a skeletal dead body.
An additional complication is Detective "Hud" Hudson, a combination of professional nemesis with a begrudging admiration and affection for Benni, who is assigned to investigate the mystery. The anxiety over an unknown "Mystery Traveller", a travel critic who could make or break the ranch financially could present another distracting ingredient.The writing is breezy without being cloying, the bantering is clever without being caustic and the characterization is droll without being outlandish. My one main criticism is how many times does Benni and Gabe's marriage have to be tested? There is a slight element of personal tension between Hud and Benni that obviously creates a jealous atmosphere with Gabe. It seems that Ms Fowler has driven down this road before and perhaps it is time to inject in their relationship a different approach. I also missed Dove, Benni's grandmother and her tried and true ,loving wisdom which keeps Benni's spirit and emotions in necessary balance. "Broken Dishes", while not being the strongest installment in the series will maintain readers' enthusiasmm but make them long for the more familiar, regular characters whose appearances are minimal in this book

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Broken Dishes, June 28, 2004

By 

FancyFootework "footework" (San Luis Obispo, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Broken Dishes (Benni Harper Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I have been selling books for 30 years and have owned my own bookstore for fifteen. Bookselling is a very intimate experience. One of my greatest joys that I find fascinating is hearing how and why people are connected to books, especially series. Earlene Fowler offers all the ingredients for good entertainment. The love of characters, a sense of place, humor, and morality. You want to be where the characters are and you want to know the people. I find that Earlene's reader's connect with her charcters more than most mystery series' authors. She affects her readers deeply.
As a bookseller, I find it amusing when people feel they must finish books that they are not really enjoying or are so critical of. What this says to me is that the author has done a fabulous job writing and getting her characters into the reader's heart. In Earlene's case you actually care whether Benni has a sweater on when it's cold.
An aspect of email and Amazon feedback that I don't particulary like leads to people saying things that they would never say to an author's face or write on a card sent to them. When people tell an author, "I've read and loved all your books, BUT . . ." The word "but" erases any good feeling the reader tried to express and that the author loves to receive. The positive comments and praise readers say gives her fuel to be inspired in a very demanding, isolated life. The public will never understand the difficulites, disciplines presented daily for a writer.
The one critique that got me all fired up was when the woman called Benni a ninny. If she didn't like a character as fiercely as this woman expressed, I have a suggestion. DON"T KEEP READING THE BOOK! What I would ask her is this: "What is it about you and your life that is button-pushed by Benni?"
Earlene has done her job well with making her characters real. Keep on writing, Earlene! You are the joy of bookselling and reading. Thank you!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I want more!, May 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Broken Dishes (Benni Harper Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I have read all of the Benni Harper books written by Earlene Fowler and have enjoyed every single one of them. When I finish one of Earlene's books I always feel a little sad knowing that these characters I have read about have almost become friends and I want to continue to learn more about them and their lives.
I love the fact that Earlene keeps quilts as a theme and find it amazing that she can weave a mystery with so many threads! Great job Earlene! Until we meet again.! Watch out for the duck!