Customer Reviews

The Double Cross: A Someday Quilts Mystery featuring Nell Fitzgerald

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

George Olnhausen hires quilt instructor Susanne Hendrick to instruct at a workshop at the Patchwork Bed-and-Breakfast in the picturesque Adirondack Mountains town of Winston. Accompanying Susanne on her journey from Archers Rest are Nell Fitzgerald; her quilt-shop owner grandmother Eleanor Cassidy; Barney the dog; and George's high school girlfriend Bernadette "Bernie" Avallone.

Bernie still loathes her former BFF Rita for taking George from her. So when someone kills George, Bernie is a prime suspect; even more so because her "double cross" quilt covering the body. Nell's boyfriend, Archers Rest's police chief Jesse Dewalt assists Winston police chief Jim McIntyre with the investigation while Barney finds another corpse in the woods.

The latest Someday Quilt amateur sleuth (see A Drunkard's Path and A Lover's Knot) is an engaging whodunit as the ladies work the case one stitch at a time. The story line is fast-paced when it focuses on who killed George; a sidebar involving workshop students is fascinating in its own right; but detracts from the prime whodunit. Still fans will enjoy the Someday Quilt ladies take over the New York Adirondacks.

Harriet Klausner

This was probably my favorite book of the entire series. This story takes the characters away from Archers Rest and to a quilting retreat workshop. I personally like it when characters are pulled away from their norm and set in a brand new environment. It gives the reader the chance to see if they will act the same or if a brand new personality will appear. I loved seeing the women interact with the new characters introduced. From old high school flames to trickster twins, the new folks add a lot of color to the story.

I had no idea who the killer was. I had several guesses while reading but I ended up being wrong! This was because there are so many red herrings that pop up that you think, Oh this is so easy to guess, and then you find out that you picked incorrectly. Unlike the last book, where I stopped caring about who the killer was, this time I was fully invested in the story. Another side plot that is crucial to the story is Jesse and Nell's relationship. I can't say I'm too happy with how things ended here. I'm hoping that things will change in future books but according to interviews with the author they probably will not.

I really loved this book and I can't wait to read more in the series. My interest in actually learning to quilt has not been piqued because of this series but I will say that learning about quilting has been very educational. I admire those who are masters of this craft and I greatly appreciate the beautiful work that that they do. This series has skillfully blended quilting and mystery together with a touch of chick lit. Looking forward to the next adventure!

They say the third time is a charm and that is what The Double Cross brings to the table. Nell and friends head up to an upstate B&B for a quilter's retreat to help one of their own lead a class. When the owner is found dead, Nell is worried that her friend Bernie will be the primary suspect, so she begins an investigation. The mystery kept me turning the pages as I tried to guess the killer's identity along with Nell. While paying attention to the clues along with Nell, another mystery popped up that I didn't see coming. The author's tone is nicely paced where you are wrapped in the warmth of the characters and the feel of the setting. This was an enjoyable read that was pieced together nicely.

This third novel in the Someday Quilts series was so disappointing. First of all, I always hate it when an author takes a beloved character and has her/him go on a trip. I had not had enough of the Someday Quilts store and town yet! This writing gimmick always throws me for a loop and rarely do I think it works in a series. And honestly, I thoughts that it was either ghostwritten or very sloppily edited. Sentences and plotlines seemed not to make sense and the story overall was pretty thin or at least not very well flushed out. I'll give the next book a try but this one I could not really recommend.

Once again the likable members of the Friday Night Quilt Club work together while the author passes along bits of quilting history, technique and inspiration. In this third mystery, she leaves out most of the sarcastic dialog that bogged down the first books and the story lines build more naturally. The further development of the friends from Archers Rest, the introduction of several new characters and a different location keep the series from becoming stale. Including a bakery in this hamlet means the steady supply of fresh doughnuts continues, too.

The Double Cross was a great mystery story. I read from cover to cover in 3 days. I will order more books by this author.

The Double Cross by Clare O'Donohue arrived unexpectedly from the publisher at just the right time. I was in the mood for a quick, feel-good, comfort read. The story in this book revolves around people who enjoy the art and act of quilting. I'm not a quilter per se. There are fits and spurts in my life when I aspire to be a quilter, but I've not even made an attempt since Emma arrived. Still, I love the idea of it. A fun little mystery in and around quilting sounded delicious.

I've not heard of the Someday Quilts Series before this book arrived in the mail. Normally I don't like the idea of jumping into a series in progress, but I quickly got to know the characters and felt comfortable. I love crafting retreats of all kinds, so I understood their anticipation of the week long class being taught at a bed and breakfast.

Nothing nearly as exciting as the possibility of adultery and murder has ever come near my retreats, so I enjoyed the extracurricular excitement that started when that body was found. I pretty much pegged the killer from the beginning, but I wanted to find out if I was right and what the actual motive was. It didn't bother me that I had that intuition.

Final Thoughts

I loved the ups and downs of Nell's investigation and the side story revolving around her tumultuous relationship with her police officer boyfriend. I'd definitely looks to the Someday Quilts gang the next time I need a nice, comfortable read.

U finally get to see some of the other characters come out in this book not just Nell. U also get to see Nell and Jesse relationship take a turn for the best and now I can only what to see thier relationship grow along with the other characters. I love the fact that they got into other surroundings instead of thier own town. I hope we can learn more about some the other characters past before the quliting circle, looks like that maybe happening in the near future, but I would have loved for her to have talked more about Bernie's past and some of the other ladies maybe that be in the near future.

When award-winning quilt instructor Susanne Hendrick was invited to lead a quilting retreat, her fellow Someday Quilts club members decided to lend a hand. The tight-knit group thought the retreat would be the perfect get-a-way. All but one of the ladies, that is.

George and Rita Olnhausen, the new owners of the Patchwork Bed and Breakfast were hosting the week-long retreat. Both played a painful role in the life of quilter Bernie Avallone when they attended high school together. Although she still felt betrayed by her former boyfriend and her ex-best friend, Bernie reluctantly went along.

To their surprise, the B&B looked like it was about to fall down around them, the rooms were dusty and filled with cobwebs, and the host and hostess were acting strange. The only other attendees at the retreat were an eclectic bunch who looked like they would have much rather been somewhere else.

When the B&B host was found dead in the woods from a shot gun blast to the heart, the local sheriff placed Bernie at the top of the suspect list. Although Bernie was the last to see him alive and it was her quilt covering the body, group member and amateur sleuth Nell Fitzgerald was determined to prove the sheriff wrong.

Although there were a number of new characters to sort through in this story, Clare O'Donohue deftly led readers through the twists and turns that make this an intriguing mystery. There were a number of surprises along the way, and the real murderer wasn't revealed until close to the end after several red herrings tantalized armchair detectives. The novel concluded with an unexpected but satisfying end.

Avid quilters will enjoy the additional tips shared during the retreat sessions.

The Double Cross: A Someday Quilts Mystery

In this installment the ladies are off to the Patchwork Bed & Breakfast to support one of the quilting circle members who has been asked to lead a week long retreat featuring "journal quilts" and Eleanor has been asked to help set up a quilting shop at the B&B. When they arrive they are shocked that the B&B is nowhere near ready to open, the owners know nothing about quilting and the students taking part in the retreat are all local and none of them really wants to learn about quilting at all . There is something very un-seamly about the whole thing. Nell becomes very suspicious and recruits some of the quilting circle members who stayed home to run the store to do a little investigating. Things start to unravel even more when a body is found in the woods and fingers are being pointed at one of the quilting circle members as the murderer. Neal leads the quest to clear her friend's name and is shocked that the local law enforcement actually listens to her theories. As more and more secrets and evidence are revealed the story evolves into a real crazy quilt of ideas, but leads to a "double cross".

I LOVED IT!!!!!

I love reading series books one right after the other, the authors and characters grow and evolve right before your eyes. This author knows quilting, she worked on the HGTV show, Simply Quilts, for four seasons, eventually becoming the Supervising Producer. But after reading these books I have learned that she is also quite a storyteller.

You can tell just by reading the author's words she is a true quilter that understands the tactile life of finding the perfect fabrics for the perfect quilt. She also knows how to piece together a good mystery. Stitch those things together, add a hint of romance and humor and you have a cozy mystery.

Her words not only drew me into the mysteries but into the Someday Quilts shop. It was almost like I was going through the aisles, feeling, touching the fabrics. Stacking the fabrics, standing back viewing how they would compliment and contrast with each other. I used to spend hours searching for just the right fabric choice, calculating the yardage and choosing the right pattern. These books not only entertained me with their mysteries but brought back some truly wonderful memories.

I think if I could change one thing in my life it would be to follow my bliss after high school and have worked on my crafts and maybe opened a craft store instead of studying and working in the accounting field, minus the murder, of course.


I have to thank Mary at Plume for sending me this wonderful series for review and I hope there will be many more adventures forthcoming in the Someday Quilts Mystery Series!!

For more about Clare O'Donohue, check out

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received these books free from Plume Books, a Division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."