Nell Fitzgerald is devastated when her fiancé Ryan gets cold feet about their upcoming wedding. She goes to visit her grandmother in Archers Rest to lick her wounds. Nell knows her no-nonsense grandmother and her quilting group are just what she needs. A weekend stay turns into a longer visit when her grandmother temporarily needs Nell's help to run her quilt shop and oversee renovations of the store. Nell's self-esteem gets a boost when the hunky handyman doing the remodel seems interested in her. She doesn't understand why others around town regard him as no-good.

When Mark, the handyman, is found murdered at the quilt shop, everyone is a suspect. The handsome widowed chief of police catches Nell's eye as he investigates the murder. Too bad he doesn't appreciate Nell's attempts to unearth clues on her own. But with everyone so negative about Mark, she feels the need to expose his killer. Nell uncovers small-town secrets in her quest for the killer.

Why does Mark have such a bad reputation? Just what has he done to deserve it? Why was he killed? Why kill him at the quilt shop? Why has Ryan come to Archers Rest? Would he have killed Mark in jealousy? Nell doesn't think so but she does have a few doubts. Plus, is her wedding to Ryan off or back on?

It's good to see Nell regain her sense of self after such a devastating blow. She's definitely grown by the end of the book and is on her way to becoming a quilter herself. THE LOVER'S KNOT is the first book in the Someday Quilts mystery series. Ms. O'Donohue's debut mystery offers an enjoyable way to spend a few hours.

Book Summary

Nell Fitzgerald is thrilled when she receives a gorgeous handmade quilt in a lover's knot pattern from her grandmother Eleanor as an engagement gift. Her joy is short-lived, however, when her fiancé announces he's calling off the wedding. Heartbroken, twenty-six-year-old Nell flees New York City for her grandmother's home in quaint Archers Rest. In this small town Eleanor's life revolves around her quilt shop, Someday Quilts, and the members of the shop's quilting circle.

When the body of a local handyman known for his flirting is found in the quilt shop, murdered with a pair of quilting scissors, Nell finds herself drawn into the case -- and drawn to the handsome police chief. As a pattern of clues begins to emerge, one of the prime suspects is Nell's ex-fiancé, whose arrival in Archers Rest seems suspicious. The ladies of the quilting circle continue to piece together their quilts as Nell unravels the mystery. For quilters and mystery lovers alike, The Lover's Knot is a delightful and promising debut.