Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Falling to Pieces: A Quilt Shop Murder, by Vannetta Chapman

Overview (from Goodreads): When two women—one Amish, one English—each with different motives, join forces to organize a successful on-line quilt auction, neither expects nor wants a friendship. As different as night and day, Deborah and Callie are uneasy partners who simply want to make the best of a temporary situation. But a murder, a surprising prime suspect, a stubborn detective, and the town's reaction throw the two women together, and they form an unlikely alliance to solve a mystery and catch a killer.

Review: Oh, this is a very intriguing mystery. Mrs. Chapman does a wonderful job of combining Amish and English life, presenting both equally and in a true to life form, and mixing it up with murder. She really is a very skilled writer. Callie is a character that almost anyone can relate with, and Deborah is the one you wish you could be more like. Although you will know the murder victim since the beginning, you will not guess who or why. And let me tell you: I thought the book was very well written, with a nice and slow pace, with enough time to get to know the characters (most of them, anyway) and their motivations, with enough descriptions to get a real sense of the place; never boring, but you're always anticipating, with this cannot-wait expectation of WHO and WHAT is he looking for and WHY, my goodness, WHY?! And then, with all this tension, anxiety and desperation built up, you get to the climatic scene that does not disappoint in any way and there you are: expectant, trying to figure it out, to make sense for yourself... Don't bother; just enjoy the ride, loose yourself in the drama and mystery, and be advised: it is impossible to outsmart this novel. You will not guess it, but you will like it.
The motive behind everything is the only thing that left me, I don't know... kind of wanting something else, wishing it was for a more fantastic reason. But Mrs. Chapman is clear from the beginning: this is set in today's world, with today's worries, and complications. So don't expect a mysterious reason or surprise in the end. Like I said before, it is true to life.
Something I liked but also disliked? The love interests for Callie, only because I have my heart set on one specific law enforcement officer and I sense that Callie is not headed in that direction... *sigh*
There are a few loose strings, which I figure will be covered in the sequel, A Perfect Square, that came out this month. So read up and enjoy, but, fair warning, you would most likely want to buy the sequel.

2 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you enjoyed the story! Thank you for your review. : ) As far as Callie's love interest ... sigh. I can PROMISE that you'll find out, in the next book, Material Witness (August, 2012). How's that? Ha ha ha.

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  2. Well, Mrs. Chapman, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Very different from A Simple Amish Christmas, but great nonetheless. As for the love interest, my heart is set on Andrew... I don't want to give anything away, but I thought he was so cute (his discussion with the murder victim... so sweet of him!).

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