I hadn't done much quilting, so Ms. Libal's book was a great A - Z lesson for me! Not only did her book introduce me to 26 different patterns, but Ms. Libal's great sense of color and beautiful fabric choices really encouraged me to be bold and have fun with my quilting!

I don't own this book yet, but can give you a bit of description (more than what's provided at any rate).

"Joen's book teaches you to draw blocks from all of the basic patch families (4-patch, 5-patch, 7-patch and 9-patch). Learn to blend blocks from the same patch family to form new, exciting designs. Includes more than 150 traditional, historical and original block designs. No math! No graph paper! No fuss! Includes gallery of quilts."

I'm sure this book is excellent. Joen Wolfrom is a pro; check out her book "The Visual Dance".

This is a book to keep coming back to, although the method is so simple that now that I've played with it for a little while, I won't feel so frustrated by the need to change block sizes. I stumbled on it after trying to figure out how to work with a 12-inch repeat with a kalidoscope design that called for rotary cutting from strips 6.25 inches wide. So near and yet so far. We graphed it several times and got the desired result, but it would have been far simpler with her technique.

There were several far more experienced quilters in the class, and their comments during the graphing process make me think that a lot of quilters would benefit from this book.

I also appreciated that it will make designing your own patch or adapting something from a picture a simpler process.

I'll buy it when I order some more books in a couple of days - I spent a bundle on fabric already this week. I say that I can either have fun while I make money selling houses or have fun while I spend money quilting. Hard choice.

I thought I was buying a book written by Mary Higgins Clark. I am one of her biggest fans. The short stories were pointless and poorly written. One story was written by Mary Higgins Clark and even that was pointless. On a scale of 1 to 5, this rates a 0.

This twelve-story anthology loosely focuses on the title, MURDER IN THE FAMILY. Though the tales are well written, they lack the suspense and cutting edge expected of this famous group of popular authors that contributed to the collection and that of previous short story books produced by the Adams Round Table. For most mystery readers, previous Adams Round Table editions are stronger (see MURDER AMONG FRIENDS, etc.). However, die hard fans of Lawrence Block, Mary Higgins Clark, Stanley Cohen, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Mickey Friedman, Joyce Harrington, Susan Isaacs, Judith Kelman, Warren Murphy, Justin Scott, Peter Straub, and Whitley Strieber will want to read the tales. Yet even the strongest of loyalists need to keep the expectations a bit lower than usual as the gaggle of writers fall short of what each one usually provides.

Harriet Klausner

Lawrence Block, et.al.'s Murder In The Family packs in high-profile mystery writers whose new presentations have not seen print elsewhere. Mary Higgins Clark probes a father's motivation for revenge, Susan Isaacs presents a chilling portrait of a family which should not be in business, and Dorothy Davis tells of a letter which transforms lives in this excellent collection.