Mariner's Compass

What an incredibly solid and engaging cozy mystery! I picked it up because it uses the setting of Morro Bay, a California central coast town I knew well as I was growing up as it was a quick getaway from where I was raised in the Central Valley. I ended up relating to the book throughout, as it was not only clear that the author knew the area well, but the very make-up of Californians.

This is the 6th book in the series but I jumped in with ease. Benni Harper works in folk art and knows a lot of people around her (fictional) town of San Celina, but she's baffled when she inherits a house and a lot of money from a total stranger in nearby Morro Bay. His will stipulates that she must stay in the house for two weeks to inherit the show more estate--which doesn't please her police chief husband one bit. Benni soon finds creepy details, like a wood-carved statue of her childhood horse, a favorite old jacket of hers that vanished years ago, and clues that guide her to different people and places around the coast. At the same time, her new neighbors--who thought they'd inherit--are a threatening presence. Benni needs to solve the mystery of Jacob Chandler before something bad happens.

This book came out in 1999, and I loved that aspect. CD-ROMS are mentioned, and Benni has a newfangled cellular phone that she can use just-in-case but usually uses landlines instead. The characters are fantastic, well-drawn with sensitive portrayals. The mystery kept me guessing all the way through. I hope to read more in the series. show less

The theme of Mariner's Compass is, in a word, home. Benni Harper learns a lot about what 'home' means when she becomes the sole heir of a stranger's fortune. Jacob Chandler, dead of an apparent heart attack, leaves everything to Albenia Louise Harper with the condition that she live in his house for two weeks straight. She takes two weeks off from her job at the museum and does just that. However, there are many ways this particular premise for a plot could fall flat. Benni could decide she doesn't need a stranger's inheritance and refuse to stay in the house (who's watching to see that she does it anyway?). Or she could live in the house for fourteen days straight and not be curious enough to investigate this mysterious Jacob Chandler. show more Luckily for Fowler fans, Benni not only takes the challenge but goes to great lengths to solve the mystery. The plot thickens when this stranger for all intents and purposes seems like he had been Benni's stalker. He knows the name of her childhood horse. He has a picture of her deceased mother. He has newspaper clippings of every major event in Benni's life. Just who is this guy? show less

Benni is shocked when she gets the phone call telling her that a man she never heard of, named Jacob Chandler, has died and left everything he owns in this world to her. There is one catch to the legacy -- she must spend two weeks alone in his seaside home in Morro Bay, several miles north of San Celinas. Against her husband Gabe's wishes, Benni follows her instincts and her curiosity to Morro Bay, where she discovers that this man she never knew had followed her life intimately and left a series of clues for her to follow on a sort of scavenger hunt that takes her not only up and down the entire state of California, but years and years into the past to unearth a truth that will change the way she looks at family for the rest of her show more days.

I thought this was a terrific twist in the Benni Harper story, told with just enough tantalizing hints to keep me turning the pages. Ms. Fowler's talents are getting better and better with each book she writes in thie series. I honestly think that this one is the best one yet. 5 show less

This was an interesting book that for once did not place the main character in any sort of danger, although all throughout the book the reader is not certain of that fact. I do wish that Benni would not get so worked up about her husband's concern over her welfare. About 1/3 of the book she is either angry at her husband or they are in a "discussion" about Benni's safety. Enough already!

Mariner’s Compass by Earlene Fowler is the second of ten books I’m reading for the Book Awards Reading Challenge. It’s kind of fun trying to find books that I ordinarily would not read. And this is one of them. Mariner’s Compass won the 2000 Agatha Award for Best Novel. I don’t know too much about the Agatha Awards, but I believe they are reader generated for mystery writing, so there are really no standards except popularity.

Fowler has written quite a few books with the same main character, Benni Harper. This is the first I’ve heard of Fowler and Benni Harper. It’s sometimes difficult warming up to a character mid-series, but I had no problems here. Benni Harper lives in the fictional town of San Celina, located on show more California’s central coast. She is newly married to the town’s Chief of Police, Gabe Ortiz.

As the book opens, Benni receives a phone call from her friend Amanda, who is a local lawyer. Amanda informs Benni that she is the sole beneficiary of the estate of the recently deceased Jacob Chandler, a man Benni has never met. In order to inherit the estate, Benni must sleep at Chandler’s now vacant house alone every night for two weeks.

As soon as Benni takes up the challenge, complications ensue. There are friends and acquaintances of Chandler’s who don’t think Benni is entitled to Chandler’s estate. There is a dog who comes with the house. And of course Gabe, the ever suspicious policeman, does not want Benni involved in this at all. Benni, however, is determined to see this through and discover who Jacob Chandler is, and why she is his heir.

Chandler left clues for Benni, and she follows them in a scavenger hunt fashion. These clues take her all over central and southern California. In fact for me, the most interesting parts of the book are the descriptions of rural California.

Benni (like Fowler) is an avid quilter. Jacob Chandler was a highly skilled woodworker. These two crafts are woven into the story, and also add some interest. Basically, this book was easy and fun to read. it was, however, rather bland and lacked the excitement of a great mystery. show less

Benni Harper is an heiress. Jacob Chandler has left her all his worldly possessions. The only problem is, Benni has never heard of Jacob Chandler. In order to claim her inheritance, however, Benni must stay in this stranger’s house for two weeks—alone. Not everyone in Morro Bay is happy about the situation, least of all Benni or her newly-wedded, protective husband, Gabe.

While living in Jacob Chandler’s house, with his (and now her) dog, Scout, Benni must figure out why this man has a picture of her in his wallet, a scrap book following her career, 1st marriage, and the death of her first husband, and a wood carving of her childhood horse. Was he obsessed with her? Was he stalking her? She has two weeks to follow Chandler’s show more scavenger-hunt-like clues to discover who this man was and how he is connected to her.

Very enjoyable mystery that explores how our history and the people we lose shape our lives. Full review: http://passionforthepage.blogspot.com/2008/04/mariners-compass-by-earlene-fowler... show less

This was my favorite of the series.