Ahh, State Fair, the 14th installment of the Benni Harper mystery series. And I read this book at the right time, seeing as our own fair is next week.

In grand Benni Harper Ortiz fashion, she gets herself embroiled in yet another untimely death, and this time her Aunt Garnet has hopped along for the ride. My all time favorite characters are on-board, Detective Ford Hudson, Emory and Eliva–and their new little one Sophia, Gabe and Sam, and of course Grandma Dove! And in like so many mystery series we’re introduced to new characters–Levi Clark, the first African-American fair board president for San Celina County Mid-State fair.

Racial tensions bound after the body of a young man who has ties with Levi’s mixed daughter is found in one of the exhibits. Since the county is out of Gabe’s jurisdiction it falls to Detective Hudson to find the man’s killer. Try as she may, Benni can’t keep her nose out of this investigation–cause Aunt Garnet keeps landing her in trouble. Wonderful twists and rich detail into the history of black cloth dolls, and let’s not forget the abundance of quilts and their detail that fill this book. When you get to the end of this book, you’ll be in for a surprise right along with Benni and Aunt Garnet.

A great addition to the series, and a great trip back to my youth when I’d spend some of my summers at the fair.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Folk art museum curator, rancher, and sometime sleuth Benni Harper returns with a long-awaited new mystery that has her attending the San Celina Mid-State Fair-a place for caramel apples and 4-H calves, colorful quilts and homemade jams, and maybe just a little murder…

ABOUT AUTHOR:

Earlene Fowler was raised in La Puente, California, and now lives in Southern California with her husband.