Scraps of Evidence by Barbara Cameron

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Scraps of Evidence
(Abingdon Press - January 21, 2014)
by
Barbara Cameron
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Word from the author:

CBD, CBA, and ECPA bestselling author of 35 books (including new series upcoming for Abingdon Press in 2011/2012) including fiction and non-fiction books for Abingdon Press, Thomas Nelson, Harlequin, and other publishers.

I sold three films to HBO/Cinemax and am the first winner of the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award.

My two novellas won the 2nd and 3rd place in the Inspirational Readers Choice Contest from the Faith, Love, and Hope chapter of RWA. Both were finalists for the novella category of the Carol Award of the American Christian Writers Award (ACFW).

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Tess has taken some ribbing from her fellow officer, Logan, for her quilting hobby. He finds it hard to align the brisk professional officer he patrols with during the day with the one who quilts in her off-time. Besides, he’s been trying to get to know her better and he’d like to be seeing her during those few nights a week she spends with her quilting guild. Then one afternoon Tess and Logan visit her aunt in the nursing home hospital, and the woman acts agitated when Tess covers her with the story quilt. Aunt Susan Kathy is attempting to communicate a message to them about Tess’s uncle. There’s a story behind this quilt, they realize, one that may lead them to a serial killer. Will they have a chance to have a future together, or will the killer choose Tess for his next victim before they find him?

My thoughts:

I'm a big fan of this Quilts of Love line of books and mystery/suspense is one of my favorite genres, so I was really anticipating this latest offering from the series.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and it started out fine (other than the fact that Aunt Susan in a nursing home on the back cover blurb turns into Aunt Kathy in the hospital in the opening scene) and I liked how Tess and Logan seem to connect as patrol partners pretty much from the outset. I also loved seeing the city of St. Augustine through the eyes of the native Tess.

The use of the quilt as part of the clues to the mystery was also a great idea and I especially like how that pulled the story together. Unfortunately, the plot did seem a bit transparent, and the story could have used a bit more polish. But all things considered, if the reader can overlook those two small flaws, then I'm sure they will still enjoy the book.

My sincerest thanks to CFBA and Abingdon Press for generously providing a copy of the book for my honest review.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Scraps of Evidence, go HERE.