Pattern of Betrayal

Pattern of Betrayal by Mae Fox and Amy Lillard is a delightful cozy.  It is the second book in the Vineyard Quilt Mystery series.  Julie Ellis is the manager of the Quilt Haus Inn.  Millie Rogers, the retired owner, has developed a Murder Mystery Weekend and then left it in Julie’s hands while she travels.  The inn is full (some last minute reservations) and Hannah Marks, the cook and baker as well as Julie’s friend (and former assistant), has a delicious menu planned.

They have an unusual assortment of guests, but they all seem interested in the civil war journal/book that Julie found in the basement.  Julie was looking for something to donate to the school auction and came across this unusual book.  Eric Rutherford, book expert, whom Julie consulted about the book told her that the book was only worth a couple of hundred dollars.  The local paper had written an article about the book and it was picked up by other papers.

Julie has everyone get dressed for the murder mystery and dinner (and puts the book in her office).  Everyone is eating while they wait for the mystery to begin with the lights going out after dessert.  Unfortunately, things do not go as planned.  The lights suddenly go out (not at the planned time).  When they finally get the lights on, Alice (one of the guests) is dead!  The police are called and Julie is really hoping to get a different detective.  Luck is not in the forecast for Julie!  Detective Everett Frost arrives.  This is just the beginning of a very long weekend.  The Detective tells the guests that they have to stay for 72 hours. 

The guests are now all leery of each other and start carrying weapons around the house.  Julie along with Daniel Franklin (from Threads of Deceit, the first book in the series) starts investigating to find out who wanted to kill her guest.  Daniel stayed in Straussberg and has opened up the museum.  Then someone steals the Civil War journal.   Julie thinks that there is more to the journal than meets the eye!  Julie and the staff will have their work cut out for them this weekend as they deal with the guests while trying to track down a murderer in their midst. 

I give Pattern of Betrayal 5 out of 5 stars.  It is a charming story with interesting characters.  Pattern of Betrayal is easy to read (can easily be read in a couple of hours).  The mystery, though, was very easy to solve.  You can almost guess who the killer is once you are introduced to all the guests. This book can be read as a stand-alone, but I would recommend reading Threads of Deceit before reading Pattern of Betrayal.   I look forward to reading the next book in this series!

Thank you for stopping by and reading my latest review!  My weekend has been too busy.  I thought weekends were supposed to be restful!  I am currently reading Neighing with Fire by Kathryn O'Sullivan.  I hope you are having a great Sunday!  Take care and Happy Reading! 

Kris