Seven Sisters: A Benni Harper Mystery (Benni Harper Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Earlene Fowler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Benni Harper Mysteries | Publication Date: April 10, 2000

Earlene Fowler's Agatha Award-nominated series featuring sleuthing quilter and rancher Benni Harper is beloved by critics and fans alike for its endearing characters, charming wit, and enchanting folk-art elements. In the seventh book in the series, Benni becomes entangled in a feuding family's tragic past--and investigates a brutal crime that hits perilously close to home.

Praise for the Benni Harper mysteries:

"Captivating...a notable series."-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Fowler writes beautifully about the picturesque Central Coast, ranching and local cuisine, and her sympathetic, witty characters enlighten readers about California history and society."-- Booklist

"Breezy, humorous dialogue of the first order....Quilt patterns provide a real and metaphorical background."-- Chicago Sun-Times

"Her plots can be as outrageous as Ellery Queen's, her turf is Ross Macdonald's, and her tone is heir to Grafton and Paretsky."-- Nashville Scene

"The patchwork quilt provides the guiding metaphor for Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper series and in her latest, Seven Sisters, it becomes the perfect emblem for a universal sisterhood where women's hearts are torn and tested, and unite to create a resonant story of complex patterns and hard-earned grace."-- Jo-Ann Mapson, author of The Wilder Sisters

"Brilliantly crafted romantic suspense."-- The Mystery Zone

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Conflicting family loyalties and the burdens of the past lie at the heart of the engrossing seventh novel from four-time Agatha Award nominee Fowler to feature amateur sleuth Benni Harper. Benni's 19-year-old stepson, Sam Ortiz, confides in her that he and his pregnant girlfriend, Bliss Girard, a rookie cop in the San Celina, Calif., police department, want to marry. Benni fears that her husband, Gabe Ortiz, the town's police chief, will disapprove--and that so will Bliss's socially and politically prominent family, the Browns. Benni isn't certain how to react when Lydia Ortiz, Sam's mother and Gabe's first wife, arrives to discuss the domestic crisis. Matters come to a head when the extended families dine together at the Browns' ancestral stronghold, Seven Sisters Ranch. The murder of Giles Norton, husband of another Brown offshoot and the son of prominent vintners, puts everyone at Seven Sisters at risk. A sheriff's department newcomer, Ford "Hud" Hudson, investigates the killing, and quickly pegs Benni as an unofficial assistant because of her reputation for nosiness and her connections to the case. The tenacious Hud constantly backs Benni into corners whenever she shows signs of wanting to wash her hands of the whole affair. In the end, Benni's own instincts drive her to dig out the long-hidden truth behind the deaths of four of the original seven Brown sisters, for whom the ranch was named. How this secret relates to the present tragedy provides the stunning climax to a compelling story of families torn apart by divided loyalties. Agent, Deborah Schneider. 9-city author tour. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

On a late summer day in San Celina, California, Sam Ortiz tells his stepmother, cowgirl Benni Harper, that he is engaged to Bliss Girard, daughter of a prominent rancher. Then Bliss' cousin is murdered. When the Girards clam up, Benni investigates and discovers that the murderer may be in the family, ready to kill again. This seventh Benni Harper mystery may be the best of the series. Fowler's regular characters all show significant growth; the mystery itself is satisfying both as a puzzle (the art of quiltmaking holds the key) and as a story about secrets buried in a family's past. In addition, the tantalizing subplot about Benni's amusing, poignant relationship with her husband's first wife is as intriguing as the mystery. The emphasis on skeletons in a California family's closet echoes Ross Macdonald, while the tone and feel of the novel will remind readers of Nevada Barr. John Rowen

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 308 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1 edition (April 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425172961
• ISBN-13: 978-0425172964
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,295,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shines like the constellation it's named for, April 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Seven Sisters: A Benni Harper Mystery (Benni Harper Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Earlene Fowler's books just keep getting better and better! I don't know why she doesn't win that Agatha Award that she's been nominated for so many times. Maybe the voting is fixed. Anyway, I thought Mariner's Compass--her previous book--was hard to top, but I think Seven Sisters does it for a number of reasons. One is the plot. Benni's plate is really full in this one: Her stepson-in-law has knocked up his girlfriend--who of course works with Gabe. Gabe's ex comes to town to deal with the mess, and Gabe ends up spending FAR too much time with her--if I was Benni I would have kicked his behind! Gramma Dove is at her best, and I like that her relationship with Isaac continues in this book. That Detective Hudson is making definite moves on Benni. Hope he comes back, too. But what really captured me as a reader is the complexity of the crime in this book. Without revealing too much, let me say it's a fascinating subject, and Fowler handles it with deftness and surefootedness. I particularly love the end of this book, which leads me to believe we will hear about this quirky family again. Hurry up and write your next book, Ms. Fowler. And someday I hope you will try a mainstream novel. I think you would do great in a longer form.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant read, April 15, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seven Sisters: A Benni Harper Mystery (Benni Harper Mysteries) (Hardcover)

San Celina Police Chief Gabriel Ortiz is going to become a grandfather. Rookie police officer Bliss Girard became pregnant after making love with Gabriel's son Sam. Bliss is part of the close knit, prestigious and powerful ranching clan, the Browns. Gabe, Benni, and Sam are invited to the ranch to celebrate the upcoming nuptials. Also invited is Sam's beautiful mother. At the party, Benni senses an undercurrent of unease that ends with someone killing a Brown family member.

Transplanted Texan Ford Hudson is assigned as the investigation officer. He expects civilian Benni to help him solve the case, but she resists the lure because Gabe hates her getting involved in a homicide case. Still Benni cannot help but start sleuthing, which places her in the line of fire.

SEVEN SISTERS is a powerfully moving drama that will be award winning Earlene Fowler's breakout book if justice is served. Benni is shown in a different light than in her previous novels as she struggles with feelings of jealousy and inadequacy whenever Gabe's ex-wife appears. The competition between Hudson and Benni for top investigative dog is like a heavyweight title fight, this adding to the fun and the sense of knowing the star better. SEVEN SISTERS is much deeper and more complex than the previous Harper stories, earning it a special place on the keeper shelf that contains the other six books.

Harriet Klausner

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another wonderful Benni Harper Mystery, April 17, 2000

By 

Donna Rizos - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seven Sisters: A Benni Harper Mystery (Benni Harper Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Earlene Fowler's mysteries keep getting better and better. Seven Sisters is a wonderful story. I could not put the book down. The characters jump off the page as you read the book. Reading the Benni Harper books is as much fun as when I was a child reading Nancy Drew. The characters and stories are different of course, but the fun is the same! I also love to see what Ms. Fowler writes in each of her book's acknowledgments. She always gives credit where credit is due, and that is to our Lord, Jesus. He has given her a wonderful gift of story telling and she uses it to His glory!