Stitches in Time »

Elizabeth Peters (writing as Barbara Michaels) was born and brought up in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. Peters was named Grandmaster at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986, Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar® Awards in 1998, and given The Lifetime Achievement Award at Malice Domestic in 2003. She lives in an historic farmhouse in western Maryland.

When an antique bridal quilt appears under mysterious circumstances at the vintage clothing shop where Rachel Grant works, she is fascinated. She has never been able to resist handmade textiles from the past, for she believes that through the ages, women wove protective magic into their fabrics in order to mark the important events of their lives: birth, marriage, and death.

But there is more than good in the quilt's magic power. Day by day Rachel sees and feels the power growing, as she senses the quilt influencing her thoughts and actions. Much as Rachel's logical mind longs to deny the supernatural, the aura of evil coming from the quilt is terrifyingly real, and it seems to carry a sinister legacy into the lives of the people Rachel loves.

Library Journal

Barbara Rosenblat's skills as a reader could make the dictionary a best seller. A well-known narrator of unabridged audiobooks, she doesn't skimp on her talent in the abridged arena either. In this instance, however, her verbal dexterity is undermined by a sketchy abridgment. The story itself is fascinating: Rachel Grant finds her personality overshadowed by a woman long since dead but not yet avenged. The key is an antique album quilt, which comes into Rachel's hands when it arrives at the vintage clothing shop where she works. Events escalate when Rachel's actions turn sinister. Unfortunately, too many gaps are present in the plot, as key scenes begin from nowhere and subplots suddenly reappear to tie up loose ends. Rosenblat's considerable narrative skills compensate somewhat but not entirely. The popularity of both the author and the reader makes this a must purchase despite its inconsistencies.Jodi L. Israel, Westwood, Mass.