Customer Reviews

A Drunkard's Path: A Someday Quilts Mystery (Someday Quilts Mysteries (Plume Paperback))

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

the second in the Someday Quilts Mysteries and to thank the author for another excellent read! Having just re-read my review for The Lover's Knot, I can truly say "DITTO". The characters have all moved along in the wonderful way people do in life and, this one left me with tears in my eyes. (No spoiler here.)

The mystery, new characters, new relationships, new QUILTS, left me wanting to read the third installment soon!! To be perfectly honest, I ordered this book along with others due out in November and foolishly had them shipped together....HOWEVER, I couldn't wait to read this, found out my local library had it and borrowed it. I will, nevertheless, keep my own copy so it may sit alongside Volume 1 on the bookshelf.

My recommendation would be this: if you haven't read "The Lover's Knot" yet, do yourself a favor and begin the series with that one as it immediately takes you into the lives and hearts of all the characters I'm sure you'll come to know, love and enjoy...THEN move onto A Drunkard's Path and you'll be most pleased with the way the author has continued to write another terrific book.

ENJOY!!!

Nell has just finished her first quilt and it's almost time for her date with the Chief of Police, Jesse Dewalt. As time passes, Nell realizes that Jesse isn't coming and their date has been cancelled without an apologetic phone call. Nell is frustrated but soon finds out the reason for Jesse ditching her. A woman has been found dead in a river.

Nell and her quilting friends have been discussing drawing classes and soon, Nell decides to join the class with Oliver White as her teacher. Nell introduces Oliver to her grandmother but soon wishes that she hadn't. She's had a bad feeling about him from the start. When a dead body shows up near her grandmother's house and all the clues point toward Oliver as the killer, Nell must act fast to crack this case and save the people she cares about.

This is a great whodunnit? book. You can't help but break out the magnifying glass and note the clues while reading this delightful mystery.

A good quilting friend of mine introduced me to these books. This (as the other Someday Quilts Mysteries) is a quick read, but holds one's attention straight through--in other words, it is a quick read because you don't want to put it down!!

In the next book in the series, Nell has decided to stay in Archer's Rest, help out at Someday Quilts and follow her dream of becoming an artist. Nell signs up for classes at the nearby college and hopes to take a drawing class being offered by a renown artist. The class is full but the artist has become smitten with Nell's grandmother, Eleanor, and tells her to just show up for the class.

Nell finds herself attracted to the local sheriff, Jesse, but he stands her up on their very first date. As she heads home, blaming herself for always picking the wrong man, she finds out the sheriff had a good reason for standing her up. The body of young woman has been found near the river. Jesse begs her to stay out of the investigation, but when a second body turns up, a woman from her drawing class, and clues seem to lead to the man who is becoming closer and closer to her grandmother, Nell can't help herself from following a sort of "drunkard's path" of clues in the investigation and the other circle members are along for the ride.



I LIKED 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!!





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."

Nell Fitzgerald has to be the most unbelievable character I have ever read about. I found her irritating for most of the book and was surprised at how the other quilters readily went along with her lawbreaking activities. I was so disappointed with this book after having enjoyed the Lover's Knot. I hope if Ms. O'Donohue continues this series, Nell gets a character makeover. She's too annoying to be believable now.

Normally, I wouldn't write a negative review because I respect writers and the time, thought and work that goes into a novel. I like to read about quilters and I love mysteries.

If I hadn't enjoyed Ms. O'Donohue's first book, I'd never have given this one a chance. It was not only a bad mystery, it was a sad mystery. Nell isn't smart enough to find a pair of scissors much less a murderer. She didn't care whom she libeled or humiliated. Her grandmother gave her a whole new life and she hurt her with barely a thought.

Greater focus on relationships and quilting would have made this a much better novel. Clare O'Donohue can do much better.

I read and enjoyed the first book in the "Someday Quilts" series and was excited when this follow-up came out. The charm of the first novel derived from the straightforward yet endearing first-person voice (Nell's), the tight writing, and the solid mystery. The quilting tips were woven in (excuse the pun) seamlessly, and were fun to read even if you can barely sew on a button. And the town and the characters came to life in a very realistic way thanks to Clare O'Donohoe's uncluttered yet evocative writing and sharp dialogue.

I'm happy to report that all those elements are all very much present in "A Drunkard's Path."

In this novel we see Nell more at home in the town and more at peace with her divorce. She and Jesse take some tentative steps towards having a relationship, and she's taking classes at the local university while still working at her Grandmother's quilt shop. Then a body is found and as the mystery slowly builds, all the other narrative threads build along with it.

I love the way Clare O'Donahue writes. She's an economical writer, meaning that she knows how to convey what she means without flowery, overly-descriptive language. At the same time, she does a great job of making Nell, her home, her family, and everyone she meets seem like real people with layers, eccentricities, and believable struggles.

The romance is also progressing nicely, albeit slowly, but that, too, rings true. Nell is still working on reinventing herself in a way, and as is the case with other mystery heroines, her curiosity often gets the better of her. So it makes sense that she and Jesse are being excessively cautious. The central connection is there, though, and I'm very interested to see how the ensuing books develop it.

As for the mystery, I enjoyed it, but will admit upfront I'm not super picky about the ins and outs of mystery plotting. This one had me guessing, held my interest, and surprised me here and there, so it worked for me. And it made this book a great one to read right around Hallowe'en!

Grade: B+

I have read the first four in the series and hope she writes more they are great, Elanor, Nell and the someday quilt group are great!

The first thing that surprised me about this book was the eerie similarity with characters from another author, Earlene Fowler. Earlene's Benni Harper series was written years before the Someday Quilts series and features the main character, Benni, who has a relationship with the police chief and who has a famous photographer (Isaac Lyons) dating her grandmother. Seems too much of a coincidence to me. Very disappointing that the author couldn't come up with something more original.

Also, I agree with another reviewer who was surprised with the glib way that she (and the other members of her quilting guild) broke the law with 2 breaking and entering episodes. A serious crime and hardly believable. Even more unbelievable was that later, when her actions are discoverd by others, no one seems to get very upset about it, especially Oliver White, whose house she broke into. Add to that her petulance and unreasonableness with the police chief when he finds out and reprimands her for this, and the book goes from bad to worse.

The book was in such perfect condition. Doesn't look like anyone was drinking when THEY read it. No wine, rum or whiskey stains.