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The St. Rose Quilting Bee takes a trip to Hawaii to learn about Hawaiian quilting, but murder complicates matters. The tour group includes a few others from the parish and a few locals in Hawaii who are friends with members of the group. They stay at the Blue Lily, a bed and breakfast run by a Hawaiian quilter located in Hilo. When the Cary Grant look-alike husband of the inn’s owner is murdered, the Bee members set to work to find the killer and clear their hostess.

The deeper the good ladies dig, the more complicated the situation grows. It seems the Lothario of a husband made passes of most of the Bee members and plenty of other women. He had a tempestuous relationship with his wife. Several of non-bee trip members knew the victim or had one-night stands with him.

The ex-husband is part owner of the inn and the chef. He stills loves his ex and wanted to remarry her. He also fathered their daughter and is protective of her and his ex. The daughter has eating problems that worry Bee members. Like her mother, she has a fiery temper.

The various personalities of the quilting bee members come together to solve this troubling mystery. The two major sleuths are Maggie and Louise although all the members make some contribution. The possible suspects are many. His wife, stepdaughter, a former wife, his wife’s ex, the various women he has seduced, and their husbands. Attention shifts from one to another as the women try to puzzle out the clues.

This mystery is primarily working out of who did it and why. Unlike many mysteries, the ladies are never in danger. The killer is identified, but no one else is threatened.

An accomplished and multi-published author, Mahon has written thirteen Hawaiian romance novels and four mysteries. The St. Rose Quilting Bee mysteries have been set mainly in Scottsdale, Arizona, with the exception of St. Rose Goes Hawaiian. The first appeared in 2000. No overt sex or excessive use of foul language occurs.