Mariner's Compass (Benni Harper Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "I HAVE NO idea who he is," I said..." (more)
Key Phrases: carving lesson, cleave the wood, folk art museum, Jacob Chandler, Morro Bay, San Celina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A bizarre inheritance, a dangerous quest and a political battle are the main events of Benni Harper's captivating sixth adventure (after Dove in the Window). Benni's work at the San Celina Folk Art Museum is interrupted when she unexpectedly inherits the estate of a stranger named Jacob Chandler. His house in Morro Bay is worth $200,000, but Chandler's will stipulates that Benni can keep the windfall only if she lives in the house for two weeksAalone. As expected, her protective husband, police chief Gabe, is none too happy about this development. But Benni is unwilling to turn down the money, and more important, her curiosity is piqued. After all, why would someone she'd never met make her his sole heir, especially when it turns out that many others were expecting to benefit from his death? To find the answer, Benni embarks on a dangerous search for Chandler's motives, following a series of cryptic notes that he's left for her all over California. Meanwhile, Gabe has his hands full keeping peace between San Celina's mayor and Benni's formidable Gramma Dove, who leads a sit-in at the Historical Museum to thwart the mayor's plan to convert it into a restaurant. As Benni's inquiries lead to unsettling information about her mother, who died when Benni was six, Fowler captures her plucky heroine's secret anxieties, but offsets them with a good dose of humor. Benni's need to know the truth about her family imbues the novel with alluring intimacy and suspense. And Chandler's penchant for wood carving provokes engaging descriptions of that craft, which accompany Fowler's usual bits on quilting and food. Chandler's puzzles test Benni's relationships with her husband, father and grandmother in this excellent addition to a notable series.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In order to inherit a house from a man she never met, series protagonist Benni Harper (Dove in the Window, Prime Crime: Berkley, 1998) must spend two weeks alone in it. There, the folk art museum curator and sleuth follows mysterious clues her benefactor left behind. For series fans.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; 1st THUS edition (April 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425174085
• ISBN-13: 978-0425174081
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It was light, entertaining, entrancing and fun., November 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mariner's Compass (Benni Harper Mystery) (Hardcover)

I have enjoyed all of Ms. Fowler's Benni Harper mysteries, but I really enjoyed this last one. It took a different approach than the previous books, but still had all of the fun and excitement of the previous plots. The characters are interesting, the language is clean, there is no blood and gore descriptives, there is romance without explicit detail. It is just a light mystery that is entertaining to read. So refreshing in the choices of mystery novels of today. I hope she continues to write Benni Harper books, I look forward to what happens with her next.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is fine storytelling, January 1, 2003

By	"evansrm1" (Clinton, TN USA) - See all my reviews

While quilting is not as integral to the story as the Elm Creeks series, the storytelling is superb. Fast-paced, witty and with enough chutzpah and machismo to keep Benni & Gabe from getting staid; and keep me grinning. Tying the title quilt block to the plot of the book is clever and entertaining.

I found this book darker than the other Benni Harper mysteries as Benni confronts suspicions of her parentage thanks to her previously unknown uncle, the late Jacob Chandler. She has to deal with a wealth of suspicious characters as she tries to survive the terms of Jacob's will. Benni and Gabe seem to be growing together as a couple and their wildly differing viewpoints are finally rubbing off on each other. Dove, as usual, is a stitch; leading the "San Celina Seven" to rescue the Historical Society museum from the money-grubbing, development minded mayor. Cousin Emory and temporary neighbor Rich Trujillo add a healthy dollop of Southern and Mexican spice to the plot. Eccentric potter Azanna Nybak, best friend Eliva, and even Scout the dog add body to this story. A fun read that left me wanting more.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Agatha Award Winner -- Definitely worth a read., January 5, 2001

By	"jvmeadows" (Lynnwood, WA United States) - See all my reviews

I've decided to try reading all those nominated for best mystery novel awards. Earlene Fowler's "Mariner's Compass", won the Agatha Award for Best Novel in the year 2000. I'm glad it did, because I might not have otherwise discovered this mystery writer, and Fowler's definitely worth reading.

The title, "Mariner's Compass", refers not only to an inheritance pointing out a complex scavenger hunt touching investigator Benni Harper's past, but to an old, historic quilt design. The interaction between the hunt for certain objects, their interrelationship with the people who hold them and Benni, and Benni's own personal journey is extremely well done and makes for a gripping novel. Fowler's descriptions of small seaside California towns are very evocative, and refreshingly positive. The novel's Prologue is touching and worth the price of the book.

Put some logs in the fireplace, get yourself a cup of hot cocoa and your favorite quilt, and curl up with this first rate yarn. You won't regret it.