A Thread So Thin

March 22, 2010
The disappointing latest in the Cobbled Court series focuses on temperamental artist Liza and her boyfriend, Garrett, who surprises her—and everyone else—with a marriage proposal. Though Liza's formidable aunt, Abigail, immediately takes charge of arrangements, Liza isn't sure what she really wants. Meanwhile, Garrett's mother, Evelyn, continues to rebuff a tenacious suitor and juggles the new responsibilities of a visiting mother who may be there to stay. While the book is full of the requisite quilting, it is also full of blandly indecisive women whose stories overlap with little to distinguish them. The narrative's narrowness gets very tiresome very quickly, and it reduces what could be rich characters to drones.

April 1, 2013
Maxwell (Speaking of Murder under the pen name Tace Baker) brings her expertise as a former organic farmer to her absorbing first Local Foods mystery. Cam Flaherty, who has taken over her great-uncle’s organic farm in Millsbury, Mass., feels obliged to fire farmhand Mike Montgomery after he admits he was going to use pesticide on the beetles he was tired of handpicking off asparagus and potato leaves. That evening, Cam finds Mike lying dead, her pitchfork stuck in his throat. Suspected of the farmhand’s murder, Cam must contend with Mike’s angry mother and an unfriendly police detective. Lending support in her hunt for the real killer are her fellow organic farmers and childhood friend Ruth Dodge, who’s now a police officer. Issues involving immigrants and a local militia group add weight to a plot that builds to an exciting climax. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency.