The alpine quilt

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Thorndike Press
Publication Date
[2005]
Language
English

Description

USA Today bestselling author Mary Daheim knows how to spin a mystery with a tight plot and captivatingly eccentric characters. And her vivid Pacific Northwest setting–a character in itself–has garnered her a plethora of devoted fans. Now her resourceful and resolute journalist Emma Lord is back with a new mystery to solve–and an even tougher deadline to meet.Members of the Burl Creek Thimble Club, a quilting circle in small-town Alpine, Washington, are planning a fete to welcome back Genevieve Bayard, who left the group, and Alpine, decades ago. But Gen’s homecoming is cut decidedly short when she dies at a dinner party. Emma Lord, owner and publisher of the local newspaper, The Alpine Advocate, immediately arrives on the scene to report the incident and sleuth her way to the truth. Though it appears that Gen wasn’t adored by everyone in the Alpine community, her untimely death still comes as a shock. To help solve the mystery, Emma turns to Vida Runkel, the Advocate’s trusty House & Home editor. Such a notorious story would normally have Vida chomping at the bit, but to Emma’s surprise Vida is hesitant, even downright unwilling to get involved.The demise of Genevieve Bayard, however, isn’t the only crime in Alpine. There has been a rash of burglaries, including at Emma’s own cozy log cabin. Are the break-ins and the murder connected? As Emma digs, she uncovers a shocking scandal that may point the finger of guilt at one of her nearest and dearest . . . while single-handedly changing the history of Alpine itself.

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ISBN
9780786276158

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Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Emma Lord, owner and publisher of the Alpine Advocate, is back for another adventure featuring a small town in Washington State and its eclectic residents. What lifts this series above the typical cozy is Emma herself: a dedicated journalist who left Seattle to buy a small-town newspaper and who is trying to move on from the death of her fiance. Her occasional no strings attached sleepovers with Sheriff Milo Dodge are proof of Emma's independence, yet she is not immune to the dashing Rolf Fisher of the Associated Press. (That the frugal Emma will blow a fortune on a new outfit for her first date with Rolf is one example of why she is so lovable.) In this outing, a former resident is poisoned when she returns home for a visit. Suspicion is cast upon her best friend, church organist Annie Jeanne. To the chagrin of Emma's brother, Ben, a down-to-earth priest, some parishioners have stopped attending mass for fear of being poisoned during Communion. Daheim fans will welcome another encounter with the ever-enchanting Emma. --Jenny McLarin Copyright 2005 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

Quilters will especially enjoy Daheim's 17th cozy (after 2004's Alpine Pursuit) to feature Emma Lord, publisher of the Alpine Advocate, the weekly newspaper of rural Alpine, Wash. When Genevieve Bayard, who grew up in Alpine, returns for a visit after a long absence, Annie Jeanne Dupr?, the gentle, heavy-handed organist at St. Mildred's, decides to hold a welcome-back party for Gen and the other members of their old quilting group. Gen's sudden death at the party (from eating poisoned cheesecake, an autopsy later reveals) upsets everyone, but Emma's House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, who was absent at the time of the murder, is unusually disturbed and starts to behave strangely. Break-ins, a stranger in the local motel, burned quilt patterns, an anonymous letter, suspicious medications and another death compound the mystery. Daheim sympathetically portrays the small mountain town and its denizens, particularly Emma and her brother, Ben, a priest who's serving as St. Mildred's interim rector. Readers will also be enticed by the food and drink the characters often turn to for comfort. Agent, Maureen Moran. (Apr. 26) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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Library Journal Review

A member of the quilting society is practicing a deadly craft in Alpine, WA, and Sheriff Milo Dodge and newspaper editor Emma Lord must unravel the threads of deception. Best-selling author Daheim lives in Seattle. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

A suspicious accidental poisoning and a quilting quibble prod rural Washington's favorite amateur sleuth back into action. There's never a break for brisk Emma Lord, publisher of the small-town weekly The Alpine Advocate. First, she wrangles with Alpine photo studio owner Buddy Bayard about a policy shift at the paper; then she consults House & Home editor Vida Runkel; finally she joins her brother Ben, a recently returned missionary, on the porch of his new church. Buddy and his wife Roseanna are pleased to be welcoming his mother Genevieve back for a visit after a generation. Emma sets up an interview with Gen, quite the Alpine belle in her youth and still beautiful, not knowing that Gen's about to attend a fatal reunion dinner with her old friend Annie Jeannie Dupre. Both women are poisoned, though Annie Jeanie clings to life in a hospital while Gen dies. The consensus is that "daffy" Jeannie accidentally poisoned herself and her friend. Emma isn't so sure. She finds a handful of skeletons in Gen's closet--an illicit affair, a stolen quilt pattern, a long-forgotten accident--each providing a motive, and realizes she's on the right track when someone ransacks her house. There's also a long-lost Bayard relative whose return to town is too convenient for comfort. Daheim's 17th (The Alpine Pursuit, 2004, etc.) amiably captures the rhythms and crosscurrents of small-town life, even though Alpine sometimes seems overwhelmed by its enormous cast. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

Emma Lord, owner and publisher of the Alpine Advocate, is back for another adventure featuring a small town in Washington State and its eclectic residents. What lifts this series above the typical cozy is Emma herself: a dedicated journalist who left Seattle to buy a small-town newspaper and who is trying to move on from the death of her fiance. Her occasional "no strings attached" sleepovers with Sheriff Milo Dodge are proof of Emma's independence, yet she is not immune to the dashing Rolf Fisher of the Associated Press. (That the frugal Emma will blow a fortune on a new outfit for her first date with Rolf is one example of why she is so lovable.) In this outing, a former resident is poisoned when she returns home for a visit. Suspicion is cast upon her best friend, church organist Annie Jeanne. To the chagrin of Emma's brother, Ben, a down-to-earth priest, some parishioners have stopped attending mass for fear of being poisoned during Communion. Daheim fans will welcome another encounter with the ever-enchanting Emma. ((Reviewed March 15, 2005)) Copyright 2005 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2005 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

A member of the quilting society is practicing a deadly craft in Alpine, WA, and Sheriff Milo Dodge and newspaper editor Emma Lord must unravel the threads of deception. Best-selling author Daheim lives in Seattle. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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Library Journal Reviews

A quilting club in Alpine, WA, provides cover for a crafty murderer who uses poison as a modus operandi. Emma, the local newspaper editor, joins forces with the sheriff to expose the culprit before further mayhem ensues. Latest in a popular cozy series. Daheim lives in Seattle. [See Mystery Prepub, LJ 1/05.] Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Quilters will especially enjoy Daheim's 17th cozy (after 2004's Alpine Pursuit) to feature Emma Lord, publisher of the Alpine Advocate, the weekly newspaper of rural Alpine, Wash. When Genevieve Bayard, who grew up in Alpine, returns for a visit after a long absence, Annie Jeanne Dupr‚, the gentle, heavy-handed organist at St. Mildred's, decides to hold a welcome-back party for Gen and the other members of their old quilting group. Gen's sudden death at the party (from eating poisoned cheesecake, an autopsy later reveals) upsets everyone, but Emma's House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, who was absent at the time of the murder, is unusually disturbed and starts to behave strangely. Break-ins, a stranger in the local motel, burned quilt patterns, an anonymous letter, suspicious medications and another death compound the mystery. Daheim sympathetically portrays the small mountain town and its denizens, particularly Emma and her brother, Ben, a priest who's serving as St. Mildred's interim rector. Readers will also be enticed by the food and drink the characters often turn to for comfort. Agent, Maureen Moran. (Apr. 26) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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