Arkansas Traveler (Benni Harper Mystery)

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Benni Harper is coming home to Sugartree, Arkansas. The folk-art historian, ranchwoman, and unwitting detective of Earlene Fowler's Agatha Award-winning series is back in the Ozarks for Sugartree Baptist Church's Homecoming festivities. Benni's brought both her husband, Gabe, and her best friend, Elvia Aragon, from California for the occasion, which promises to be a celebration of the best of small-town Southern life. For Benni that will always carry "the memory of muggy Arkansas summer nights filled with the scent of sweet honeysuckle, fresh-mowed grass, and the taste of half-melted Dairy Queen chocolate sundaes."

But Benni's nostalgia is cut short abruptly when the worst of small-town Southern life rears its ugly head. Benni's childhood friend, Amen Tolliver, is running for mayor against incumbent Grady Hunter, whose son Toby--a fledgling white supremacist--will do anything to make sure a black woman doesn't win his father's office. When Toby is found with his head beaten in, and Amen's nephew Quinton becomes the prime suspect, Benni's idealism takes a backseat to curiosity--and to the painful consequences of exposing both the prejudices and the skeletons that Sugartree residents would prefer to keep deep in the closet.

Fowler is perhaps more concerned with local color than with the rigors of mystery plotting, lovingly creating a world bound by faith, friends, and food--especially food. Witness Benni's soliloquy to Ozark comestibles, sparked by her first glimpse in years of a Piggly Wiggly grocery store: "'Blue Bunny and Yarnell's ice cream,' I said gleefully. 'Delta Gold syrup. White Lily flour. Aunt Nellie's corn relish. Martha White cornmeal. Crowder peas! Eight flavors of grits. Eight! You can't get that in California.'" But so appealing are Fowler's characters and so enticing is that world, that the novel's essentially anticlimactic denouement will probably seem of little importance. Fowler is rapidly proving herself a master of the American cozy, and the Benni Harper series continues to improve with each outing. --Kelly Flynn

Book Description

Soon after arriving in Sugartree, Arkansas-where she spent many lazy, languid childhood summers-folk art expert Benni Harper discovers that there's something seriously sinister brewing in this usually-peaceful small town...

"The sweet sentimentality of this paean to small Southern towns...is the glaze that holds this story together." (Houston Chronicle)

"Winning...Fowler delivers cozy entertainment without resorting to unrealistically syrupy solutions." (Publishers Weekly)

Download Description

"Not much is known about the Arkansas Traveler quilt pattern. It is a fairly old pattern most likely dated by quilt historians through its name. ?Arkansas Traveler? was a popular folk song and skit whose origin has been traced back to the middle of the nineteenth century. It is usually credited to Colonel Sanford ?Sandy? Faulkner, a Little Rock plantation owner who claimed the tale was inspired by a real conversation with an Arkansas backwoodsman. The Arkansas Traveler quilt pattern is actually more than one pattern?one is a spool-like design, the other is a four-pointed star made of diamonds. The patterns have also been called Secret Drawer, Travel Star, Spools, and Cowboy Star. Agatha Award-winning author Earlene Fowler has earned unprecedented acclaim for her ?compelling? (Booklist), ?brilliantly crafted? (The Mystery Zone) mysteries featuring folk-art expert Benni Harper. It seems that no matter where Benni goes, she finds a crime that needs solving?and her trip to Arkansas is no exception?

Customer Reviews:

Arkansaw Traveller by Earlene Fowler.......2007-06-11

Most enjoyable with interesting insights into the race realtions of the South. The development of the characters and imsights are always more interesting than the plot.

An enjoyable novel.......2007-01-05

Benni Harper returns home to Arkansas with her husband Gabe Ortiz who, back home in California, is chief of police. Shortly after they arrive, the mayor's son a rowdy, disorderly bigot is found dead. The nephew of Benni's childhood friend is blamed for the murder. The primary plot thread is Benni's progress in identifying the real killer.

This novel falls clearly into the "cozy" mystery category. The major sleuth is both female and an amateur, the cast of characters is thankfully restricted, making it easy to track who they are even if the novel is read over a few days, and there is no gratuitous sex or violence.

Although I found it a bit slow going; once started its hard to but down. It is, in addition to a mystery story, a story of friends and their relationships along with a nostalgic look at memories of both people and things.

The novel appears to be aimed primarily at a female audience, considering the content of passages relating to Benni's PG-rated time alone with her husband, and the occasional female chauvinism reflected in some of the writing. However, although the author and lead character are female, and some of the writing will have a more feminine appeal, it would definitely be a mistake to consider this a "for women only" novel, as it will be interesting to male readers as well.

In conclusion, this is a gentle and very enjoyable novel, and one of the nicer ways to unwind.

Arkansas Traveler.......2006-06-26

I absolutely love this series and so am buying the books one to two at a time. I love Benni Harper for her spunk, her love of life, and that she can eat like a truck driver. If she were a real person I would want to live in her town and be her bestfriend. Sorry about that Alvia !

3 1/2 stars.......2005-06-27

I liked this installment in the series, although I did think it moved along slowly. The book dealt a lot with Emory and Eliva's relationship too. I am a big fan of this series, so I had no problem with the building of characters, but if you are a new reader to the series you may want to start with book one and read them in order.

You Can Go Home Again, But Most Things Have Changed.......2003-09-03

The books in this series are all named after real patchwork quilt patterns. Benni Harper is the curator of a folk art museum in San Celina, California who was raised by her father and grandmother on a ranch. She married at a very young age and ranched with her husband for 15 years. After her husband was killed, she moved to town, where she met and later married her second husband, police chief Gabriel Ortiz. I like the way the author explores class and cultural differences through relationships: Benni's husband is a Latino man who can be very macho; her best friend Elvia is a sophisticated Latina bookstore manager; Elvia is dating Benni's wealthy cousin Emory, who moved from Arkansas to San Celina so he could woo Elvia.

Arkansas Traveler is the eighth book in the series. Benni, Emory, Elvia and Gabe travel to Benni's hometown of Sugartree, Arkansas for the Sugartree Baptist Church?s Homecoming. The book is an excellent exploration of life and race relations in a small Southern town, but it is not strident. Benni is angry and embarrassed by the hostility and prejudice some of the townspeople show toward Gabe and Elvia; a black church and a white church need to merge to survive but both congregations are against racial mixing; Benni's childhood friend Amen, the first black woman to run for mayor, is having trouble with white supremacists, one of whom is her opponent's son. The son is killed, Amen's nephew is arrested and Benni gets involved in trying to solve the murder. Secrets and lies abound, but leavening the mix is a comic subplot involving a long-simmering feud between Benni's grandmother and the grandmother's sister that erupts into a cooking battle.

Customer Reviews:

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Dragondrums is a similar sort of story to Dragonsong/Dragonsing. A young man with musical talent has the puberty thing hit. He ain't singing soprano anymore.

So, off he goes wandering on adventures, gets into trouble, and makes friends with a fire lizard, and takes up drumming, eventually settling down.

This book is a winner!.......2007-05-27

My admiration for Anne McCaffrey knows no bounds. I think she has created some wonderful fiction. I credit her Harper Hall series with fostering a great love of reading and music in me at a very young age. I found the first book DragonSong at the library when I was about eleven or twelve and proceeded to devour everything I could find that she had put out. I eagerly awaited each new book. I became interesting in vocal music after reading these books and decided to try out for our choir in high school, choral music is still an important part of my life.

I feel badly for the people who came to this book expecting something that they did not find, namely it looks like folks thought it was going to be about Menolly and were disappointed to find it was about Piemur.

In this book as with all of her Pernese novels McCaffrey has constructed a wholly believeable world (Dragons and fire lizards? Sure! I'm down with that!) inhabited with wonderful characters who live interesting lives. They are by no means perfect. Most of the major characters evolve or transform at some point, so I have never found the world stale or boring.

A favorite wrinkle of mine is that there is no smoking on Pern. I always thought that was funny when it was compared to Tolkien's world and those of other Sci-Fi authors. No one is lighting up a pipe, no one is smoking anything. It is funny how much time can be spent padding a novel with smoking business. No smoking on Pern. At least I couldn't find any. Which was a wonder for me since when I was a kid my Mom smoked and I hated it.

I think these books are a perfect intro to Sci-Fi/Fantasy for young readers.

Great if you like Sci Fiction.......2007-05-13

The Pern series of books from Anne McCaffery are great. Better if you read them in order, (look online at her website for recommendations). This is futuristic science fiction, but if you liked Aregon, you would probably like this series too

Surprise -- it's not about Menolly.......2007-02-22

*sigh* I've been loathe to write about this book. I'm hoping I've distanced myself enough from it to actually avoid a rant. I guess we shall see....

Dragondrums is the final book in McCaffrey's Harper Hall Trilogy and personally, this story collection should have ended with the two books. There was no need for a third, especially when it wasn't even about the heroine of the first two books, Menolly.

The focus of the third book is on Piermur, a boy that befriended Menolly in the second book, Dragonsinger. His voice cracks and he's forced to face the idea that when his voice does finish changing, he may no longer have a singer's voice. In the meantime, the Masterharper puts him to work by sending him on missions as a messenger and spy. He also becomes a drum messenger.

While Piermur's antics as a troublesome kid in Dragonsinger seemed amusing, in this book he merely comes across as a jerk. He lies to his friends and uses their concern for him just to get more pies. Personally, I felt that after three years he would have grown up some. Guess not.

I didn't like how everyone dismissed his behavior with a "boys will be boys" mentality. Stealing a fire lizard egg just because he wanted a lizard was childish and annoying to read about.

There is also a point where he gets seriously injured by other kids. These murderous natured children were punished with a slap on the wrist. Again with the "boys will be boys."

I also expected us to see more of Piermur dealing with the loss of his voice and the prospect of never getting to sing as well again. In the end, he never even tries to sing again. Instead he makes a dramatic change to his life that makes no sense and seemed to come out of left field. And everyone around him thought his decision was perfect. This confused me.

On a side note, we did get to see Menolly some. But it was mostly in passing. And sadly, in a scene that just disturbed me. There is a sex scene between her and Sebell that bordered on being rape. Sebell's fire lizard was in heat and she mated with another lizard. Since owners of fire lizards experience each other's emotions, he was overwhelmed by what she was feeling and his own feelings for Menolly. He just had to have her. And I had to think...this is a kid's book right?

Anyway, I hope this didn't come off as too much of a rant. I was disappointed with this book. Bored through most of it. And just creeped out by it too. Ick.

I wanted this book to be about Menolly.......2007-01-29

As the third in the Harper Hall series that has exclusively followed the character of Menolly, I began reading this with the expectation it would be about how the more mature Jouneywoman Harper Menolly changes her society into a less stupid and less sexist Pern.

Instead I get a book about that funny one dimensional scamp Piemur from Dragonsinger. As a plus, by the end of this book he is no longer one dimensional, and I understand his character. Or I think I do... because if I did, I'd know why he makes those choices in the end of the novel. Those choices directly opposed to his precious dreams and wild ambitions throughout the entire novel of Dragondrums.

So yeah, this book disappointed on multiple levels. This book is a decent adventure story of Pern with firelizards, but I wanted more than that. If you don't have my expectations, add more stars. Dragondrums is not relevant to the other books in this 'trilogy,' and the amount of loose ends (especially about Menolly) left at the end of novel are huge.

The Harper Hall of Pern (Dragonsong; Dragonsinger; Dragondrums)

Average customer rating:

3 favorite Pern books.
Three Harper Hall trilogy books in one volume - not a new book

The Harper Hall of Pern (Dragonsong; Dragonsinger; Dragondrums)
Anne McCaffrey
Manufacturer: Nelson Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: B0006YJF7E

Customer Reviews:

3 favorite Pern books........2007-04-26

These 3 Pern books, other than the trilogy of Dragonquest, Dragonflight, and The White Dragon, plus The MasterHarper of Pern are my favorite Pern books. I wish there were more Pern books about the regular people and the Harper Hall itself. I absolutely love the dragons and dragonriders, but I also love the Harpers and the Craftspeople.

If you're looking for Pern books to get a teenager, or anyone, and are confused; I recommend the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy(Dragonquest, Dragonflight, and The White Dragon), along with the Harper Hall trilogy.

Three Harper Hall trilogy books in one volume - not a new book.......2007-01-28

This book contains Dragonsong, Dragonsinger and Dragondrums. I liked the Harper Hall trilogy. These three books stand alone and take place concurrently with Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon. It is written as a young adult series but is definitely readable by adults as light reading. If you like McCaffrey's Pern series, these are recommended for you.

Average customer rating:

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ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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When the voice of Piemuran apprentice at Harper Hallchanges, he has to leave the companionship of Master Shonagar behind. But his disappointment is soon replaced by a new challenge. He is to enter the service of the Master Harper himself as a rider of dragons. Soon, he embarks on a dangerous mission to the Southern Hold. The future of Pern hangs on his success.

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General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
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6 cassettes. When the voice of Piemuran apprentice at Harper Hallchanges, he has to leave the companionship of Master Shonagar behind. But his disappointment is soon replaced by a new challenge. He is to enter the service of the Master Harper himself as a rider of dragons. Soon, he embarks on a dangerous mission to the Southern Hold. The future of Pern hangs on his success.

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