Sue's Reviews > The Lacemaker's Secret

I have not read all the Chloe Ellefson mysteries but after reading this latest installment and meeting the author I certainly intend to read all these stories set in Wisconsin. These cozy mysteries are unique for several reasons: 1. First, they take place in the 1980's, so they are refreshingly pre-cell phones/technology, meaning mysteries are solved by observation, common sense, and even a few well executed hunches. 2. All the mysteries have a Wisconsin connection, as the main character works at Old World Wisconsin, a living museum in southern Wisconsin, about 25 minutes from where I grew up. As Chloe Ellefson is called to consult at other Wisconsin historic sites , it seems murder, theft, and other deceitful acts follow (much like Murder She Wrote) 3. Each book is actually two tales, one the 1980's mystery and the other a historic look at that particular location in an earlier time, the details somehow connecting to Chloe's reason for being there. In THE LACEMAKER'S SECRET, Chloe has traveled to Door County to meet an old friend and to help the nearby Green Bay Heritage Hill (real place) historic site set up a donated farmstead from the Door County Belgium community. Packed with historical details, the book tells about the early Belgium settlers and how the same fire which destroyed much of Peshitigo also hit Southern Door County. Behind both stories is the story of Belgium lacemaking, a truly fascinating story. I was personally drawn to this book and became totally involved in its tiniest details after hearing Kathleen Ernst speak. The research behind each of her books is her passion and it was a delight to hear her speak about how she does it. My daughter is currently the archivist for the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay which includes Door County and its high Belgium Catholic population so I already knew about the Walloon language, the Belgium pies, the tiny chapels and the earliest settlers, but seeing them become part of a mystery story was very special. That my youngest granddaughter has this interesting piece of Wisconsin as part her ancestry made the whole read even more fascinating.