Reviews for Spider web
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Quilt maven Benni Harper (State Fair,2010, etc.) grapples with public responsibilities and private challenges when a sniper targets San Celina's finest.Hosting San Celina's inaugural Memory Festival would be tough enough for any cowgirl. Benni has to corral the feisty ladies of the Coffin Star Quilt Guild, write narratives for her step-grandfather Isaac Lyons's oral-history project and coordinate booths for everyone from the local Alzheimer's Association to Blind Harry's Bookstore, run by her best friend Elvia. But when a sniper injures two San Celina police officers, including Elvia's brother Miguel, Benni develops her own memory issues. The shootings set Benni's husband, San Celina Police Chief Gabe Ortiz, into a tailspin of Vietnam-era flashbacks so destructive that he moves into the guestroom for fear of injuring his wife. Benni doesn't know which is worse: the fear of bullets that could rain down destruction at any minute, or the ghosts of the bullets that rained down death 30 years ago in Khe Sanh. As Benni grapples with the violent side of Gabe's history, Lin Snider, a mysterious former nurse who says she wants to retire to California's Central Coast, makes Benni wonder whether she'll ever be free of reminders of the romantic side of her husband's checkered past. Even the steady confidence of Grandma Dove and Aunt Garnet may not be able to keep Benni on an even keel this time.Fowler pieces together questions of memory and identity so deftly that only purists will bemoan the dearth of clues or detection.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
What brings a cop-hating sniper to Benni Harper's (State Fair) Memory Festival? (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Memories form the cornerstone of museum curator Benni Harper Ortiz's upcoming Memory Festival featuring oral history activities. But she couldn't have anticipated a sniper would choose that time to target her bucolic college town, wounding a police officer and setting the community on edge. Worse still, the attacks have triggered terrifying post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) nightmares for her police chief husband, Gabe, a Vietnam War vet. Benni is further spooked by a new woman in town who keeps poking into Benni's and Gabe's pasts. Trying to keep her balance and get to the heart of the crime, Benni finds answers from unexpected sources. Can she ensure the safety of her town, too? Verdict Fowler's latest entry (after State Fair) in her long-running series is topically fresh and relevant, and her focus on PTSD will resonate with today's younger veterans who have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan. This entry can easily be read as a stand-alone, but many will be captivated by the author's ability to fold in history and current events with her quilt-based stories. A real gem that has far-reaching appeal for military families, genealogists, and quilters alike.-Teresa L. Jacobsen, Fairfield, CA (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Director of the Josiah Sinclair Folk Art Museum, Benni Harper Ortiz is wrapped up in organizing the first ever Memory Festival for San Celina, California. In the days leading up to the festival, a sniper begins taking potshots at local police officers, seriously injuring one of Benni's friends. The stress of the sniper case causes Benni's police-chief husband, Gabe, to tussle with a bout of his formerly dormant post-traumatic stress disorder, developed after his stint in Vietnam. Troubled both by the sniper case and by the arrival in town of a mysterious woman who seems to know way too much about Gabe, Benni begins to snoop, hoping to ease her husband's burden. The story, set in 1998, combines a solid mystery with Fowler's typically engaging folk-art frame; but this time she adds to the mix a perceptive take on the ongoing problem of soldiers who suffer from PTSD.--O'Brien, Su. Copyright 2010 Booklist
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Benni Harper and her second husband, police chief Gabe Ortiz, face two unexpected situations in Fowler's well-paced 15th mystery set in San Celina, Calif. (after 2010's State Fair). First, a sniper takes a shot at a police car parked near the courthouse, shattering the driver's-side window. Fortunately, the vehicle was unoccupied. Second, a strange woman, supposedly scoping out the central California coast for a retirement home, finagles a meeting with Benni, who's discomfited by how much the woman knows about Gabe's past. Meanwhile, Benni has plenty to do in her role as museum curator, rancher, and devoted daughter and niece to elderly and spunky relatives. In addition, she has the forthcoming Memory Festival to organize. While series fans might lament the relative dearth of quilting lore, a roster of mildly eccentric family and friends and a wealth of good humor are sure to please cozy readers. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
