A Patchwork of Clues is the debut of the Queen Bees Quilt Shop series set in the small town of Crestwood, Kansas and features Portia (Po) Paltrow and her group of quilting ladies. On an early morning jog down Elderberry Road Po discovers the body of antiques owner Owen Hill wedged in the doorway of Selma Parker's quilting shop and the police are quick to claim his murder was an act of burglary gone wrong. But when Owen's lawyer Max Elliott is run down and left for dead Po begins to suspect something dangerous is happening in her charming town.

The book starts off slow with the author giving a detailed background of each of the ladies in the quilting group, but eventually weaves the diversity of each woman into the solid foundation of friendships. A steady plot offers a variety of suspects including members of the Elderberry Road beautification committee, the alcoholic security guard who patrols the shops and several disenchanted spouses.

An interesting cast of characters and a touch of romance offers up the potential for more adventures with Po and her friends.

I received an advanced copy of A Patchwork of Clues from NetGalley via Lyrical Underground. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

In the first chapter, an anxious black cat leads Portia Paltrow (Po) to the dead body of Owen Hill, his foot lodged in the back door of Selma Parker’s quilt shop.

The local police quickly arrest a suspect who was found with Owen’s watch and claims he found it. When the suspect’s story checks out, he is released. And then Owen’s lawyer, Max Elliott is the target of a hit and run, ending up in a coma.
With two community leaders attacked, Po and her quilting friends – Kate, Leah, Phoebe, Eleanor, Maggie, Susan and Selma – start nosing round, asking questions.

Sally Goldenbaum writes a good mystery populated with interesting characters. While the pace in this adventure is a little slow perhaps the action in the next book will be a bit more stimulating.

A Patchwork of Clues by Sally Goldenbaum is the first installment in Queen Bees Quilt Shop.

A very diverse group of women gathered around their love of quilting get together to make quilts and to enjoy each other's company.
When a murder of prominent local figure rocks their little town they are shocked.
Soon they realize that local police might not be on the right track and after a while they decide to take matters into their own hands and solve this mystery.

I really appreciated how the author took time to introduce each of the characters, even so I was struggling at the beginning trying to remember them all.
I liked that the story had a steady pace, I think it is very important especially at the start of new series.
What I found odd was the fact that the ladies started sleuthing almost by the end of the book. Even so, it was interesting and engrossing.
Looking forward book number two to see how things will progress.

I like this new series. I like the midwestern small town setting and how it's centered around quilting. At first there a jumble of characters to keep straight, but eventually they become more distinct. I do hope the author delves deeper into each of the main characters' stories because with this first book she merely skims the surface. The mystery wasn't that difficult to unravel, but the story kept moving along.

I'm a big fan of Goldenbaum's Seaside Knitters series, so was very anxious to try this new series focused on quilting. There are many similarities: a group of women with a common interest who also solve crimes, unique perspectives and personalities for each woman, and a small town setting. This first novel in this new series has all the makings of a good mystery, but I didn't find the characters quite as endearing. However, I'm trying to think back to the other series and wondering if it took awhile for their stories to grow on me, as well. I think the seaside setting of the knitters series was also more attractive to me than a small college town in Kansas. Perhaps a different setting might have made this book more appealing. That said, I'm looking forward to the next book in the series to learn more about these women.

This review will be posted on my blog, Foxes and Fairy Tales on

A Patchwork of Clues is the first book in Sally Goldenbaum's Queen Bees Quilt Shop series. I'm a big fan of a craft-themed cozy so I'm always excited to read a new-to-me author.

The story follows a quilting group and one of the things I enjoyed early on was that the author gives a little snippet of each character beginning their day. There's a pretty big group right from the off -- about 7 or 8 -- so it's nice to get a bit of time to clarify each character. This meant the story took a little bit longer to get up and running after the discovery of the body, but I think it was worth it in the long run.

Once the story starts, some get a lot more attention than the other (some could probably be cut or combined) but I'm hoping further books with play around with which women to focus on. In this book, my favourites (and the two we spent the most time with) were Po (a widowed writer and mother-figure to most of the group) and Kate (recently returned home from the big city). It's a nice way to work in several of the traditional 'types' of cozy protagonists all in one.

I did feel like this one was a little light on the mystery aspect. Po's curious throughout, but the gang don't start sleuthing til pretty late on, and there's more nosiness than the actual investigation. I think this book is far more about the town and the characters lives. Since I found the characters interesting, this worked for me, but I'd hope future novels became more involved.

The mystery itself was pretty good, there were plenty of suspects and shady motives to keep you guessing.

I really enjoyed this book, but perhaps because I didn't feel like we really got invested in any one character, I'm not sure I'd continue with it: I'd probably decide based on how intriguing the plot sounds.

Fans of this sub genre of cozies will happy with this book.
I found there were too many characters to keep my interest.

When I think of a cozy mystery, this book checks off all of the boxes! Beautifully written characters, a magnificent setting, and a murder that the characters cannot help by get involved in. A wonderful read and series I hope goes on and on.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Firstly, three stars is a rather low rating for me, but it wasn't because this book was bad exactly. It was just so slow to get into the mystery, and spent far too long on each character and their sweaters than I had time for. I wanted some sleuthing to get done, but it was a long while into the book before anything on that count was even attempted. I get that it was setting us up to know the characters, but the suspense was just too much. Normally this is what I love about cozies, but you can have too much of a good thing I guess.

Maybe now the characters are set up the next book will be better. I'd still give it a chance but with misgivings. Three stars for this one!

A Patchwork of Clues by Sally Goldenbaum is the beginning of what I hope is a long running new cozy series. Ms. Goldenbaum is a "new to me" author and I thoroughly enjoyed this first book.

The well-crafted story introduces the members of the quilting bee held in the back room of the Queen Bee Quilt Shop. The characters are a variety of ages and backgrounds but their love of quilting and their friendships are strong. I liked each woman and was glad that Ms. Goldenbaum took her time to introduce each one with some background so that I felt like I knew them all by the end of the book. Though the murder was discovered in the first chapter the sleuthing didn't actually begin until later in the book; but I was intrigued enough to know about each character that I was okay with this slow start. There were very few suspects, lots of suspicions and gossip and enough twists to keep me guessing.

multigenerational cozy mystery

I enjoyed Sally Goldenbaum’s previous series so I was excited to find A Patchwork of Clues the first book in A Queen Bees Quilt Shop Mystery series on Netgalley.
I was happy to see the wide range of ages of the women quilting/sleuthing unfortunately it seemed like too much of the book was taken up with introducing them to the reader rather than their solving the mystery. I found myself skimming the book at times to get to the meat of the mystery. However I did enjoy the relationship the woman share which is at the foundation of the series.
I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley.

A slow start to this series, as each member of the quilting group is introduced and details about them all made my head spin. Wish there would have been more focus on just one, and the others could have a focus in other books. As a quilter myself I was eager to read this one, but all the intro details bogged me down. Would recommend, but be ready to skim the beginning.

I’ve read a few of this authors works and am generally happy with what I read. This book had highs and lows, and at times it tended to drag a bit.
It did perk up about halfway through and I did find the end a surprise. Overall, this is a good book.

What a fun start to a series! I can't wait to read more of these as they come out.
This is the second cozy mystery in a row I've read that deals with a group of people working to solve a mystery, instead of a single person and I am loving the change. It's so enjoyable to read about a group of women working together to solve problems.
The story is mostly told from the perspective of Po, a sixty something year old women and a character whom I would love to have as a grandmother. Another thing I'm not used to in my stories, and having read this one, I want more older female leads! Grandmas are BA too!
It has the comforting feel that I pick these books up for, exciting murders that liven things up, and everything I want in my stories.
As a rabid quilter myself, I enjoyed hearing about the projects they worked on, and it even gave me a few ideas in my own projects.

No warning apply.

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

With thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Description:
"On her morning jog, Portia Paltrow comes upon the dead body of antiques store owner and college professor Owen Hill, sprawled across the back doorstep of Selma Parker's fabric and quilt shop on Elderberry Road. The site of their Saturday morning quilting bee just became a crime scene. Violent crime is rare in the charming village of Crestwood, Kansas, and rumors are soon circulating of a burglary gone wrong. But who would rob a quilt shop? No, Owen Hill has been murdered."
This is a book for 'cozy mystery' fans. It was a good mystery with well defined characters, most of whom share a love of quilting. It will keep you engaged from start to finish (but don't expect white knuckle, edge of the seat stuff), has plenty of motives from various players and a satisfying and logical conclusion. I think it is one of the better books in this genre and I look forward to future outings with Po et al.

The first book of a new series, Queen Bee Quilt Shop was slow going as each member of the quilt group was introduced with a personal background.
Portia Paltrow is jogging through an area and when she reaches Elderberry road and its shops she found Owen Hill murdered body in the entrance of Selma Parker's shop, the site of the quilting group. The story takes several turns as the quilting group learns about the different opinions of the shop owners. Owen Hill was in charge of the Elderberry Shops Organization. The ending is a surprise. I highly recommend this book.

Disclosure: Thanks to Lyrical Underground for a copy through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.

A Patchwork of Clues tells the story of a group of quilters who meet to quilt and share their lives. While they are all friends sometimes a friend has a secret.
When a local businessman is killed everyone is puzzled. Who would kill such a nice man? But then motives start slowly appearing. The motive for the murder is not what you would expect - and there were plenty of motives.
As the quilters work through the patchwork of clues, carefully piecing it together much as they would piece a quilt, they suddenly start to understand - but will the killer get to them first?

This book kept my attention nicely. The characters were well written. This is a great read.

This is the first in a new series. I enjoyed the main character and her friends are all distinct characters, joined by a love of quilting. A very easy read, without a lot of tension. Rather like just hanging out with good friends, things happen but at a relaxed pace. I look forward to more in the series and hope that we get a picture of the quilt that is made when the physical book comes out.

Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A good start to a new series. There are several main characters however each is introduced in a way that doesn't cause confusion. Each character is unique in their own right and all are described nicely.
The story was well written and interesting, it held my attention till the end.
I'm looking forward to the next in this series.

I had been really looking forward to reading this and it didn't disappoint. The story is gentle but realistic. Maybe no one else has found a dead body on the the doorstep of their favourite fabric shop but we all know, or are, people like those who inhabit this story.

There are quite a few main characters and so the beginning is a little crowded as they are all introduced but gradually they all find their own place in the storyline and any confusion disappears.

As a quilter the descriptions of the quilting bee fascinated me, I could picture all the different things going on and would have happily claimed a place at their table. In fact I found it very easy to picture each scene; there was just enough descriptive detail for Crestwood Kansas to be right there in front of me as I read.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good cosy crime mystery and if you quilt, that would be an added bonus. At the end there was brief details of book 2, I can't wait.