A
Drunkard's Path
A
Nell
Fitzgerald Mystery
Clare
O'Donohue
Plume
(Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-452-29558-0 (0452295580)
ISBN-13: 978-0-452-29558-2 (9780452295582)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $13.00
Synopsis (from
the publisher): In the sleepy town of Archers Rest, Nell Fitzgerald is
finishing her first quilt and preparing for her first date- with Police
Chief Jesse Dewalt. When Jesse stands her up, it turns out he has a
good reason-the body of a murdered young woman has been discovered near
the Hudson River.
Meanwhile the members of Nell's quilting circle encourage her to take
drawing classes with the famous artist Oliver White. When Nell's
professor meets her grandmother Eleanor, owner of the Someday Quilts
shop, he seems instantly smitten. But once another woman's body is
found outside her grandmother's home under a blanket of snow, Nell
begins to patch together clues and follow a path of evidence that
suggests her professor may also have a degree in the art of murder.
Review:
Nell
Fitzgerald is crafting her first quilt, going out on her first date,
but not involved in her first murder in A Drunkard's Path,
the second
mystery in this series by Clare O'Donohue.
Nell is working in her Grandmother’s quilt shop Someday
Quilts
and has joined the Friday evening womens' quilting circle. And Jesse
Dewalt, the police chief and a widower with a small child, has asked
her out for dinner. She waited for him at the restaurant for over a
half hour, believing she had been stood her up. But Jesse had a good
excuse: a young woman’s murdered body has been dragged out of
the
Hudson River, with no identity on her. A black and white picture of a
woman in a polka dot dress, however, is reportedly found at the scene
but disappears before Jesse can see it.
Meanwhile, a famous artist, Oliver Wilde, has now come to town for a
showing, and to teach a course in art. Nell, who had always wanted to
try to be an artist, desperately wants to go – but not alone.
Her
grandmother and one of her quilting friends goes with her. The two
elderly women convince her to sign up for the course. It
isn’t
long after the course starts that Oliver White becomes infatuated with
Eleanor, Nell’s grandmother. Nell notices during her art
lessons
Oliver is also taking a special interest in Sarah, one of the young
students. They would go into his office and she would come out in
tears. A few weeks later Sarah is found dead in the Hudson. Is this
murder connected to the one from several weeks earlier? Is there a
serial killer in Archers Rest? And how does Oliver White fit in? He is
now dating Nell’s grandmother. Is he a killer? What does
anyone
really know about him – or the women that were killed?
Nell, against the advice of Jesse, goes to Sarah’s apartment
and
there she finds another black and white picture of a woman in a polka
dot dress. This has to mean something. How are these occurrences
related? Being an inquisitive sort, and not one to necessarily follow
suggestions to the letter, and against Jesse’s instructions,
Nell
starts to get involved in the murders, drawing her quilting circle into
the action thus creating her own little crime solving circle.
A
Drunkard's Path is a
captivating mystery, well told. But it's also a tale of relationships,
those of a close knit (as it were) quilter's group and of a young
outsider, seemingly poor and homeless, and how she comes to have a
place in the group. Overall, this is a solid follow-up to the first
book in the series, The Lover's Knot,
and a very satisfying cozy in and of itself.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of A Drunkard's Path and to Penguin Group for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read A Drunkard's Path? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
The Lover's Knot
Plume (Trade Paperback), October 2008
ISBN-10: 0-452-28979-3 (0452289793)
ISBN-13: 978-0-452-28979-6 (9780452289796)
A Drunkard's Path
Plume (Trade Paperback), September 2009
ISBN-10: 0-452-29558-0 (0452295580)
ISBN-13: 978-0-452-29558-2 (9780452295582)
Omnimystery
keywords for A Drunkard's Path
...
Location(s) referenced: Upstate New York.
