State Fair (Benni Harper Mystery) [Hardcover]

Earlene Fowler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Benni Harper Mystery | Publication Date: May 4, 2010

"Each Benni Harper mystery is better than the previous" (Midwest Book Review)

Folk art museum curator, rancher, and sometime sleuth Benni Harper returns with a long-awaited new mystery that has her attending the San Celina Mid-State Fair-a place for caramel apples and 4-H calves, colorful quilts and homemade jams, and maybe just a little murder...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 1997, Fowler's folksy 14th Benni Harper mystery (after 2007's Tumbling Blocks) finds the avid quilter, museum curator, and reluctant sleuth readying herself for the annual San Celina (Calif.) County Mid-State Fair. Racial tensions revolving around the fair's first black general manager, Levi Clark; Levi's half-white daughter, Jazz; and Jazz's various suitors stir the plot. So, too, does the visit from Arkansas of Benni's great-aunt, Garnet Wilcox. Garnet and her sister, Dove, Benni's grandmother, get along like two bobcats trapped in a burning outhouse. A valued African-American quilt stolen from a fair exhibit and a corpse in another exhibit add fuel to the fire. Fowler's congenial mix of humor (prickly, surprising Garnet applies lessons learned from mystery books and cop shows), folklore (the history of black cloth dolls), and murder makes this Agatha Award–winning series as much fun to visit as a county fair and a likely ribbon winner. (May)
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From Booklist

It’s time for California’s San Celina Mid-State Fair, and Benni Harper Ortiz, a member of the fair’s Booster Buddies, is heavily involved in its activities—both as a volunteer and as a participant. When the replica of the famous Harriet Powers quilt disappears from the quilt exhibit, and a fairgoer is found dead in another one of the exhibits, Benni investigates, with the help of her great-aunt Garnet (think of a refined Grandma Mazur). As the two persevere in their search for perps and motives (Is someone upset by the choice of an African American as general manager of the fair?), Benni is dumbfounded by the change in her aunt—from prim-and-proper matron to someone who has clearly been watching too many crime shows on TV. Framed by the sights and sounds of a western state fair, the novel mixes mystery, humor, and a perceptive look at racial issues in California farm country. --Sue OBrien

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1 edition (May 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425234223
• ISBN-13: 978-0425234228
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,467 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

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable whodunit., May 7, 2010

By 

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

This review is from: State Fair (Benni Harper Mystery) (Hardcover)

Benni Harper Ortiz is the curator of the Sinclair Folk Art Museum and Artist's Co-op. She has every intention of enjoying the San Celina Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles. The Ebony Sisters Quilt Guild, a spin off of the San Celina Quilt Guild, supports an exhibit of African-American quilts. The headliner is a copy of the renowned Harriet Powers' classic story quilt that took one year to replicate.

Benni's plans to enjoy the fair are crushed when she learns the Powers' duplication was stolen. She also finds out that the first black manager of the fair Levi Clark has been receiving hate mail. Trouble comes in threes when Benni finds a corpse in the Piebald Family Farm Exhibit. The victim is white male Calvin Jones, who was dating Les' daughter and at one time was involved with supremacist skinheads. Benni and her Aunt Garnet investigate only to end up in danger from someone who kills without remorse.

It has been a few years since Benni's last inquiry (see Tumbling Blocks), but fans of the series will appreciate her return and that of other friends as the State Fair proves an exciting venture. Putting aside the amateur sleuth too often finding a corpse (see Delectable Mountains) and need to investigate, readers will enjoy the often amusing inquiry by niece and aunt while the heroine's grandmother has a tendency to cool the heat between Benni and her spouse Gabe. Long time fans will welcome Benni back into the fold with this enjoyable whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So glad Benni's back!, May 12, 2010

By 

K. Thomas (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: State Fair (Benni Harper Mystery) (Hardcover)

I've enjoyed Earlene Fowler's books for years and this is no exception. Thanks for bringing Benni back! My favorites in this series are Fool's Puzzle, Irish Chain, and Steps to the Altar but I think they are all great books and she has allowed her characters to mature and change throughout. I first started reading the series because of the quilting tie-in but they are really more about friendship, family and love.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book!, May 11, 2010

By 

Loves to Read (Camarillo, California United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: State Fair (Benni Harper Mystery) (Hardcover)

Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper books are one of my all time favorites. It was great to read about Benni and feel like part of her family again. This is one of the only authors that I like to buy the book and then the audio CD also. The audio's for this series are great and Johanna Parker sounds exactly like what I would expect Benni to sound like. I am looking forward to hearing the audio version of this book also and can't wait for the next book in the series.