Quilt City Murders

Quilter Hadley Carroll thinks her life can’t get any worse after being demoted from reporter to newspaper courier and having her fiancé, Matt Ackerman, dump her without explanation. But then, while chucking a sack of newspapers into the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky—known as Quilt City—she finds Matt's body snagged under the transient dock. She knows she’ll never find peace if she doesn’t figure out why he left her and who killed him, so she gets to work. But the mystery deepens when fellow quilters succumb to foul play, so Hadley must use her investigative skills and impressive intellect to connect a series of seemingly unrelated crimes. As QuiltWeek Paducah, the largest quilting event in the world, approaches, then fills the small town with 30,000 textile connoisseurs, Paducah’s mayor tries to instill calm as citizens panic, protests flair up, and visiting quilters flee by the thousands. Despite grieving the loss of Matt, Hadley perseveres, strengthened by her troubled upbringing and aided by her weekly quilting group. She resolutely determines to solve the murders, to bring peace back to her hometown, and to get a good night’s sleep—finally.

Quilter and journalist Hadley Carroll must figure out why her fiancé left her without explanation, who killed him, and why quilters are turning up dead in Paducah, Kentucky, the quilt capital of the world, as QuiltWeek arrives.

Join Po and her sleuthing quilter friends, the Queen Bees, as they uncover murders in this fourbook mystery series. These books can be read in order or as standalone novels.

Retired folk art curator Beatrice Coleman knows everything there is to know about quilts, except how to make them. But with her recent move to Dapple Hills, North Carolina, she’s learning all sorts of new things—including how to solve a murder… As the newest member of the Village Quilters Guild, Beatrice has a lot of gossip to catch up on—especially with the Patchwork Cottage quilt shop about to close. It seems that Judith, the landlord everyone loves to hate, wants to raise the rent, despite being a quilter herself… But when Judith is found dead, the harmless gossip becomes an intricate patchwork of mischievous motives. And it’s up to Beatrice’s expert eye to decipher the pattern and catch the killer, before her life gets sewn up for good. Includes quilting tips!

Winner of the RT Reviewers Choice Award for Best Amateur Sleuth! Professional organizer Charlotte Adams has to clean up a mess from the past to stop a killer in the present . . . Given the number of times she’s dialed 911 in a panic, professional organizer Charlotte Adams is more than a little startled when she answers a distress call from the 911 operator herself. Mona’s calling to alert her that the “mean girls” who terrorized her in high school are back and that she wants to wring their necks. Charlotte writes off the threat as angry exaggeration—until a woman resembling one of the mean girls is killed and Mona goes into hiding. Worried that some lingering trauma from being bullied may have sent her friend over the edge, Charlotte decides she’ll have to investigate the murder to find out who’s behind it. But then another mean girl is run down, and she’s certain that someone from the past is settling old scores. Desperate to learn whether Mona is making her revenge fantasies come true or if there’s a vindictive killer on the loose, Charlotte will have to sort through all the clues to save her friend—and maybe her own life . . . Organizing Tips Included! Praise for the Books of Mary Jane Maffini: “A comedic, murderous romp . . . Maffini is a relaxed, accomplished, and wickedly funny writer.” —The Montreal Gazette “Mary Jane Maffini provides a first-rate, well-organized whodunit . . . A new series that is fun to read.” —Midwest Book Review “Maffini’s new series . . . is off to a brilliant start with this fast-paced mystery!” —Romantic Times “Deserves top marks for creating an entertaining, fast-paced thriller filled with witty one-liners, snappy dialogue and crackling suspense.” —The Strand Magazine “I’ll look forward to a long life for this series.” —Deadly Pleasures “Plenty of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages until the last sentence.” —Dru’s Book Musings

Pat Sloan's 9 folksy quilts and a whimsical penny rug work up quickly with machine appliqué and easy embroidery. This charming collection, featuring spring florals, an Easter Bunny, watermelon slices for summer, an American Flag, fall pumpkins, Christmas gingerbread, and joyful angels, will make every day of the year special! Quilt the Seasons with Pat Sloan (Leisure Arts #3574)

During a weekly Paducah Quilters Quorum session, Hadley worries about her looming deadline for the cookbook she's writing, the pain her best friend is in, her depressed young housemate, and the Paducah mayoral race she's favored to win against her nemesis-corrupt businessman Nick Stoddard. Then she learns that fellow quilter Donna considers the death of a coworker to be suspicious. Adding to her concerns, Hadley will meet the family of her beau, Detective Brandon Green, that night, and her younger sister, Jenny, will arrive for a visit, bringing three kinds of trouble with her. But then bricks shatter Hadley's windows, transforming worry into danger. Just when Hadley fears her burdens will cause her to crack up, people in and around Paducah die in what could become a major public health crisis. She steels herself and enlists the services of private eye Garrett Hunt. They investigate the murders, but when her family's secrets emerge from her late mother's trunk, Hadley questions who she is and whether her future is doomed.

After performing a daring rescue of a fellow quilter during a robbery at a Walmart in Paducah, Kentucky, also known as Quilt City, journalist and mayoral candidate Hadley Carroll vows to bring the perpetrators to justice after the heist turns tragic. Then, a seemingly unrelated murder and two ominous messages cause Hadley to ask the staff at Paducah Pulse, her weekly newspaper, to find answers. Amid the turmoil, Hadley and Detective Brandon Green finally enjoy their first date at Barbecue on the River, the city's largest annual event, only for mayhem to disrupt the festivities. Now, employing the diligence and perceptiveness that helped her solve the Quilt City Murders, Hadley investigates the killings that follow, connecting the invisible dots. As Paducah panics, the Pulse staff sheds light on a wide-ranging conspiracy. Hadley tangles with her nemesis and mayoral opponent, Nick Stoddard, and endures various threats. But she's determined to solve the crimes and to nurture her budding relationship with Brandon. At least that's her plan.

After performing a daring rescue of a fellow quilter during a robbery at a Walmart in Paducah, Kentucky, also known as Quilt City, journalist and mayoral candidate Hadley Carroll vows to bring the perpetrators to justice after the heist turns tragic.Then, a seemingly unrelated murder and two ominous messages cause Hadley to ask the staff at Paducah Pulse, her weekly newspaper, to find answers. Amid the turmoil, Hadley and Detective Brandon Green finally enjoy their first date at Barbecue on the River, the city's largest annual event, only for mayhem to disrupt the festivities.Now, employing the diligence and perceptiveness that helped her solve the Quilt City Murders, Hadley investigates the killings that follow, connecting the invisible dots. As Paducah panics, the Pulse staff sheds light on a wide-ranging conspiracy. Hadley tangles with her nemesis and mayoral opponent, Nick Stoddard, and endures various threats. But she's determined to solve the crimes and to nurture her budding relationship with Brandon. At least that's her plan.