Irish Chain (Benni Harper Mystery)

benni's Taking Time From Her Curator's Job At The Folk-art Museum To Sponsor A Senior Prom - With A Mardi Gras Theme - At San Celina's Retirement Home. She Hopes Police Chief Gabe Ortiz Can Get Away From His Job For At Least One Dance. But Instead She Ends Up Waltzing With Clay O'hara, The Colorado Cowboy She Had A Crush On When She Was Seventeen. Benni Also Finds Herself Refereeing An Argument Involving Clays' Curmudgeonly Uncle. Both Events Have Unforeseen Consequences When Benni Later Walks Into A Resident's Room And Finds The Murdered Bodies Of An Elderly Spinster And Clays' Uncle. Gabe Warns Benni To Stay Out Of The Investigation And Away From Clay O'hara Who Is A Suspect In The Killings. Those Are Fighting Words For A Woman Like Benni. She's Determined To See Whomever She Wishes - And To Look For Patterns In The Backgrounds Of The Two Victims. The Zigs And Zags Of Their Long Lives Lead To A Common Thread - A Past Where Secrets Of Love And Passion Were Nearly Forgotten. But Like Links In A Chain, The Truth Has Held Together Across The Years. Unraveling It Could Reveal Benni's Own Vulnerabilities And True Feelings - Or Put Her Face-to-face With A Murderer's Twisted Heart.

publishers Weekly

this Well-textured Sequel To Fool's Puzzle, Also Named For A Traditional Quilt Pattern, Intricately Blends Social History And Modern Mystery. Folk Art Museum Curator Benni Harper Is Involved Not Only With An Upcoming Cross-stitch Sampler Exhibit But Also With The Senior Citizen Prom And A Local Oral History Project. Before The Dance, She Hears Of A Feud Between Retired Merchant Brady O'hara And Oralee Reid, The Retirement Home Roommate Of Miss Violet, Her Former Teacher. On Prom Night, Benni Discovers The Bodies Of Brady And Miss Violet. As Her New Love, Temporary Police Chief Gabe Ortiz, Investigates, Benni Tries To Stay Out Of His Way, But She Unravels The Threads Of The Mystery Herself While Interviewing Local Japanese-americans Who Were Interned During Wwii. Fowler's Easygoing Style, Along With Down-home Benni's Charming Personality, Makes This A Blue-ribbon Cozy. (mar.)