Sunshine and Shadow (Benni Harper Series #10)

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Benni Harper might not realize it, but the old quilting pattern "Sunshine and Shadow" is a perfect metaphor for her life: Her happy childhood was overshadowed by her mother's death; her early marriage ended after a few months when her young husband was killed, and now, nearly 20 years later, Benni finds that some scraps she'd saved from that time are casting shadows on her current life. Somehow, a noted children's author's return to San Celina County -- Earlene Fowler's fictional California ranch setting -- has triggered a murder. Benni tries to shed light on the crime by every means at her disposal, sorting through her memories of her first meeting with the author two decades ago, leafing through her first husband's journal from that period, and riding shotgun with her current husband, the local police chief. As a pattern emerges, she realizes that while the motives for the murder lie in the past, the killer has some all-too-current reasons to strike again. The harsh realities of ranch life, the beauty and art of quilting, the power of small-town secrets, and the strength of family that binds us to the past and frees us to live our own lives all come together in this tenth entry in the Benni Harper series. Sue Stone

The Washington Post

Fowler's charm as a storyteller derives from the way she unpredictably sews all these and several other disparate plots together, just like one of those quilts in Benni's museum. Characters' lives crisscross over time, patterns emerge, random actions beget pleasing, as well as ugly, results. And, as Sunshine and Shadow suggests, one dropped stitch can ultimately cause the whole crazy-quilt pattern of a family's life to fall apart. — Maureen Corrigan

Publishers Weekly

Agatha Award winner Fowler offers two parallel plots to dramatize the alternating light-and-dark theme of her 10th beguiling mystery to feature Benni Harper, the San Celina, Calif., amateur sleuth and folk art museum curator. The first is set in 1978, when she's married to rancher Jack Harper; the second in 1995, when she's married to police chief Gabe Ortiz, whom she almost lost to Gabe's old lover Del Hernandez in her previous outing, Steps to the Altar (2002). In the "present" of 1995, when mystery writer and one-time San Selina resident Emma Baldwin loans a crazy quilt for display at the folk art museum, Benni is excited, though the quilt brings back mixed feelings about Jack. Then, shortly after arriving in town on a hush-hush case, PI Luke Webster, a former LAPD pal of Gabe's, gets stabbed to death. Frightening attacks on Benni's truck, creepy phone calls and hate mail follow. Benni must draw on all her crime-solving skills to find the pattern in the clues presented in this ingenious mystery. The overabundance of incidental detail may put off some, but most readers will relish the author's appealing picture of ranch life and small-town affairs, of barbecues and fiestas, of jocular locals and warm family and friends. Agent, Ellen Gieger. (May 6) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Spring 1978: Newlyweds Benni (Steps to the Altar, 2002, etc.) and Jack Harper take time out from conjugal relations to enroll in Professor Hill’s history class at Cal Poly San Celina. Jack’s too manly to be much of a writer, so he opts for keeping a journal as his final project. But Benni leaps at the chance to write a term paper on local author Emma Baldwin, whose The Secret of the Crazy Quilt was one of her childhood favorites. And Emma takes an immediate shine to Benni, in spite of the envious glances of her son Cody. Fast forward to 1995. Cody’s dead. Jack’s dead. Benni’s married to police chief Gabriel Ortiz, who’s every bit as interested as Jack in sex, but who has a dark, brooding side. Right now he’s brooding over his ex-LAPD buddy Luke Webster, who came to San Celina on private business, ate tacos with Gabe and Benni, and promptly joined the dead himself. But Gabe’s investigation of Luke’s murder is quickly back-burnered when someone starts harassing Benni--making threatening phone calls, trashing her truck, even following her up to Pasa Robles, where she’s renewed her friendship with Emma. How can Gabe keep order in the west when a stalker, perhaps even someone from his own past, is threatening his querida? Fowler’s fixation on Benni as the alpha and omega of every mystery deprives readers of any opportunity for serious mystification. Even Professor Hill would give this one a D. Agent: Ellen Geiger/Curtis Brown