The Double Cross by Clare O'Donohue, a Mysterious Review.

Review: When one of the ladies of her Someday Quilts club is accused of murder, Nell Fitzgerald jumps in to search for clues to the identity of the real killer in The Double Cross, the third mystery in this series by Clare O'Donohue.

Would-be artist Nell is getting used to the quiet life of Archers Rest, New York, where she lives with her grandmother Eleanor and works in her quilt shop. Every Friday evening, the ladies of the Someday Quilts club meet to work on quilts, eat fattening foods, and catch up on the local gossip. One of their members, Susanne, has been hired by Rita and George Olnhausen to teach a week-long quilting class at their newly opened Patchwork Bed-and-Breakfast in the Adirondacks. The club — and especially Bernie — decides this would be a wonderful getaway for them all, and agree to accompany Susanne. Bernie, a widow in her 60s, has known Rita and George since they were teenagers, but had a falling out when George dumped Bernie as his girlfriend when she went away to college, and married Rita. Even all these years later, Bernie still didn't know why George left her. But not long after the group arrives at the B&B, George is found dead, shot to death, one of Bernie's quilts on his body. The local sheriff believes Bernie to be the killer — motive and opportunity — but Nell doesn't believe it for a minute.

The Double Cross is a delightful cozy, a mystery to be sure, but also a study of relationships, past, present, and future. Eleanor explains that living is like a quilt being made — the fabrics chosen, the patterns that form, are representative of how one's life progresses. If you love the quilt you're constructing, the choices you're making, you love your life. If not, you can always make changes. The storyline follows this theme to great effect, Nell being as interesting and unique a character as any quilt. The mystery is enjoyable and easy to follow, but it's the appealing characters — their friendships and romantic relationships — that set this series apart from its peers.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Double Cross.

Acknowledgment: Penguin Group provided a copy of The Double Cross for this review.

A Drunkard's Path
Plume (Trade Paperback), September 2009
ISBN-13: 9780452295582; ISBN-10: 0452295580

Missing Persons
Plume (Trade Paperback), May 2011
ISBN-13: 9780452297067; ISBN-10: 0452297060

The Double Cross

A Nell Fitzgerald Mystery by Clare O'Donohue