In Dappled Hills, North Carolina, there are competing groups
of quilters.
When Beatrice Coleman, an active member of the Village
Quilters, finds out
that Muriel Starnes has organised a meeting in her house to
discuss the
administration of a quilting scholarship but has not invited
anyone from the
Village Quilters, she decides to crash the meeting.
However, instead of going
by herself, she recruits her friend Meadow Downey to go
along with her.
Meadow, much more reticent than Beatrice, is reluctant to go
where she
hasn't been invited, but Beatrice insists, pleading the case
that this is for the
good of the craft.
However, upon arrival, Beatrice and Meadow discover that the
quilting
scholarship was a ploy that Muriel used to entice the
invitees to her home.
While she is starting a foundation to help ensure the
longevity of the craft,
Muriel first issues a blanket apology to those she has
wronged at some point
in her life, then asks those in attendance to state why
their organisation
would be the best to run the foundation. Before Muriel can
make a decision
the next day, though, she dies. Further, everyone is
effective locked in the
house with no power, due to an ice storm that has downed a
tree blocking the
driveway.
After taking a quick look at Muriel, Meadow's suspicions are
aroused, and she
declares that Muriel may have been murdered, despite the
fact that it was
known that Muriel was terminally ill with little time left
to live. Meadow's
reputation for solving prior crimes precedes her, and the
group decides that
she should be in charge of investigating until proper law
enforcement can
arrive. Meadow begins questioning the group to gather
information, but the
information she gathers seems to only generate more
questions... especially
when Muriel's attorney is the next victim. How many more
deaths will there
be before either the group is rescued or Meadow figures out
who the
murderer is?
This book was a great read, with a plot that full of twists
and turns that kept it
fresh, although it was not entirely unique. While Meadow is
a great character
with great skill, cunning, and intelligence, she is the
antithesis of Beatrice who
is grating on one's nerves. Beatrice is over-bearing and
annoying, and it's
difficult to tell why she and Meadow are friends. Toward
the end of the book,
Beatrice seemed much more calm and rational, which was nice
but so out-of-
character that I was waiting to see why she acting like
that! Overall, I enjoy
Meadow as a protagonist, but my dislike of Beatrice's
sidekick character is so
great that it took away from my enjoyment of book.
As a quilter, retired folk art curator Beatrice Coleman
likes to have all the seams stitched together—but her plans
keep getting tangled up in unexpected ways…
Beatrice has never crashed a party but now her fellow quilt
guild member, Meadow Downey, is driving them to a Victorian
mansion in the mountains beyond Dappled Hills, North
Carolina. Muriel Starnes, an elderly eccentric, has
organized a meeting of quilters to pick someone to
administer a quilting scholarship. The fact that the Village
Quilters weren’t invited isn’t enough to keep Meadow from
speaking her piece.
But once the quilters arrive
at the mansion, it seems they may never leave. An ice storm
sends an old tree crashing across the driveway, leaving them
stranded for the night. And by the next morning, they are
one fewer—for Muriel has been sent to meet her maker. With
everyone in the house a suspect, it’s up to Beatrice and the
Village Quilters to figure out who has a guilty conscience
before someone else gets tied up in knots.
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