Tumbling Blocks (Benni Harper Mystery) [Hardcover]

Earlene Fowler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Benni Harper Mystery | Publication Date: May 1, 2007

New in the Agatha Award-winning series!

With Christmas just a few weeks away, Benni's queenly boss, Constance Sinclair, demands that she investigate the death of a local socialite. It's not long before Benni recognizes that there may be some deadly truth to Constance's suspicions. But with a famously reclusive artist about to put Benni's quilting museum on the map-and her daunting mother-in-law and her "surprise" new husband visiting-Benni's holiday is already hectic. Nevertheless, she'll need to crack the exclusive circle of suspects before one more gourmet goose gets cooked.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With the imminent arrival of her mother-in-law, unfinished Christmas shopping and unexpected dog-sitting responsibilities, Benni Harper, amateur sleuth and folk art museum curator in San Celina, Calif., has enough on her hands even before she looks into a suspicious death in Fowler's delightful 13th entry in her Agatha Award–winning series (after 2006's Delectable Mountains). When Constance Sinclair, Benni's boss, can't get help from Benni's police chief husband, Gabe, the art patroness demands that Benni investigate the death of her friend Arva "Pinky" Edmondson. Pinky apparently died of a heart attack in her sleep, but Constance is convinced she was murdered by one of the local socialites vying for admittance to the exclusive 49 Club. Benni delves into the secrets of the town's elite with her usual flair, unraveling a plot that is as dangerous as the bulls on her father's ranch and as cozy as the quilts she reveres. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Benni Harper Ortiz, curator of the Josiah Sinclair Folk Art Museum, watches her stress level rise as she prepares for a major new exhibition of California Outsider Art, its centerpiece a gift from famed painter Abe Adam Finch. Of course, the fact that her mother-in-law is coming for Christmas isn't helping the stress problem, either. When museum patron Constance Sinclair demands Benni investigate her good friend Pinky Edmondson's death, Benni is ready to decline. However, her husband, police chief Gabe Ortiz, asks her to pretend to investigate to keep Constance off his back. Meanwhile, Gabe's mother arrives with a surprise or two of her own, leaving Gabe angry and withdrawn. While looking for a killer, Benni tries to mediate the mother-son issues, babysit a cute puppy, and prepare for the prestigious art exhibit. The mystery here is weak, but the relationships between the characters are explored in some depth, providing insights into Benni's and Gabe's pasts. The rich cast of secondary characters, plenty of humor, and details about the "outsider art" phenomenon enrich this thirteenth in the long-running series. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425215199
• ISBN-13: 978-0425215197
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,981 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

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Christmas visit with our old friends, Benni and Gabe, May 19, 2007

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Tumbling Blocks (Benni Harper Mystery) (Hardcover)

Each time we meet Benni Harper Ortiz, she's one busy lady, and this encounter is no different. With Christmas just around the corner, Benni is eagerly preparing the folk art museum for a new exhibit of California outsider art that includes a featured painting by known recluse Abe Adam Finch. The museum's primary benefactor, Constance Sinclair, demands that Benni simultaneously investigate the death of her friend Pinky Edmondson, one of the members of the prestigious and elite 49 Club of San Celina. Hud, a local policeman, asks Benni for the favor of puppy-sitting over the holidays while he and his family visit relatives in Texas. And then there's the impending visit of Benni's mother-in-law from Kansas, Kathryn Smith Ortiz, who arrives for the season with a few surprises of her own. Anyone would be stressed out in a similar situation; but resilient Benni gives it her all. As if her plate weren't full enough: she also has to deal with the many moods of her best friend Elvia, who is two months pregnant and is in the midst of a crisis of her own -- even if it *is* merely wardrobe related. With Gabe in a close-mouthed and sullen mood invoked by his mother, Benni is left to attend to her responsibilities on her own. As usual, the mysteries she gets tangled up in threaten in the end to tangle her up for a good long time. Was Pinky murdered, or did she die of a heart attack? Will Abe Adam Finch move to San Celina or Cambria and become a local artist for the museum? Will Gabe and his mother ever patch things up? Can Benni get a decent photo taken of Boo on Santa's lap?

The mystery lines might be a tad thin in this installment of the series, but that doesn't mean the book isn't a worthwhile and entertaining read. I had suspicions of my own early on, and they proved to be close to the truth. But I also have to admit that I laughed out loud at the developments on three separate pages -- once in delight, and twice in astonishment. And any animal lover will melt at the literary introduction of Ms. Fowler's own pooch, a little Corgi nicknamed Boo, to the scene. Unlike one reviewer, I cannot recommend skipping this entry; the interaction of Gabe with his mother is a crucial stepping stone to understanding both characters.

Here's hoping that we can continue to share in the lives and adventures of Benni Harper, now Ortiz, and her circle of friends.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the greatest, July 6, 2007

By 

J. Siegel - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tumbling Blocks (Benni Harper Mystery) (Hardcover)

What a disappointment! Not only did she not develop any characters in this book, she nearly left out most of the old ones, namely Dove, Isaac, Sam, Elvia, Emory, and even Gabe. These characters all played their steriotypical roles in the backround, never really getting involved with Benni in any meaningful way. Dove and Isaac were wise as usual but hardly around to give any advice or any comfort, Sam was funny and cute and nowhere to be seen unless babysitting the dog, Elvia is apparently now a neurotic pregnant clothes-horse (Please. That's just not in jive with her character), Emory is hardly around except now he's afraid of his neurotic pregnant clothes-horse wife, and Gabe is angry. All these characters put in their cameo appearances, and disappeared right after. Was there really anyone else in the book who could be called a main character besides Benni? Oh wait, yes there was. The puppy, Boo. Give me a break.
Ms. Fowler backed down from any and all emotional moments that could have developed in this book just by having Benni not want to get involved because Dove would tell her not too. I agree with another reviewer who called Benni a doormat. This is getting ridiculous.
On the whole, the "mystery" was way too easy to figure out, and the ending of the book was forced and formulaic. Could Benni fall down and get hurt any more times? Could there be a major "emotional" breakthrough at the very end AGAIN? All in all, the book was pretty bad. I think this is the end for me with this series.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Benni Harper changes her name! Gabe mends fences! Boo is a star!, May 8, 2007

By 

Jo-Ann Mapson "novelist and dog lover" (Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tumbling Blocks (Benni Harper Mystery) (Hardcover)

Tumbling Blocks explores the "outsider" art world, the dynamics of family, and features an adorable corgi puppy named Boo. I found myself wanting to look up every artist Earlene referred to, and especially the fictional character of Abe Adam Finch, as the painting the museum receives was mesmerizing in its unique description. I liked the role the museum played in this story, and the 49 Club ladies. I also enjoyed the time spent with Gabe's mother, a character who always seemed a little intimidating to me before. Here I learned another side of her complicated history with Gabe and came to see her in a different light. This book would make a great mother's day present, no matter what age the mother is.