Receive Heritage Of Darkness (Chloe Ellefson Mystery #4) Translated By Kathleen Ernst Represented In Script

this, the fourth book in the Chloe Ellefson series, author Kathleen Ernst captures the Norwegian immigration experience in ways different from her previous novels, The rich artistic traditions are again imbedded within a complicated mystery, this time through a weeklong rosemaling and carving class at Vesterhein, the NorwegianAmerican Museum in northwest Iowa, Chloe, the collator of collections at Old World Wisconsin and her boyfriend, Roelke McKenna, a police officer in the small village of Eagle, accompany her mother, Marit, an awardwinning artisan, to the intensive week of folk art classes in the hope of improving the motherdaughter relationship.


First, however, a murder, a series of accidents and illnesses, andyears of thorny relationships need to be unraveled by Chloe and Roelke,

Carefully researched, Ernst imbeds the artistic traditions within the story along with the Norwegian mythological beliefs of light and darkness, good and evil, Placing the folk art within the context of long Norwegian winters, isolated families, bonebreaking farm work, the reader is led to understand the concept of light and dark and appreciate the hardships endured.
That theme brought chills to me as the plot unfolded darkly,

Another plot strand examined involves the developing relationship between Chloe and Roelke, Will their differences be a deal breaker Reflective of the times,, and the close culture, they are challenged by those who believe unless two people can understand where they have come from, what they know, who they are, their relationship cannot survive.

While I liked her first two Chloe Elefson mysteries, more the first than the second, this one had long and boring stretches about Norwegian rosemaling and folk culture before culminating in a fairly exciting but predictable conclusion.
I've steered clear of sitelinkKathleen Ernst's mysteries for a few years, mostly because the stories seemed to hit too close to home, Chloe, the protagonist, is a NorwegianAmerican academic/public history professional whose mother attended Luther College back in the day, I worried she'd get something wrong or make fun of the NorwegianAmerican culture I knew so well, Nevertheless, I picked this book up and, boy, howdy!, am I glad that I did,

Chloe Ellefson is on a road trip with her mother and her, erm, boyfriend/guy/fella/whatever you call it, Roelke McKenna, They're on their way to Decorah, Iowa, to participate in rosemaling and chipcarving classes and, in Chloe's case, a little mother/daughter bonding, But Chloe stumbles upon a stowedaway body in an antique trunk in the museum/heritage arts center that's at the heart of the story and all their plans go out the window.
There's a murder to solve that threatens the Vesterheim museum and a lot of secrets dating back to a group of artisans known as The SixtySeven,

Ernst did an excellent job at bringing these outoftowners right into the heart of the investigation, Roelke, Chloe and her mom, Margit, make connections with many people in Decorah old friends of Margit's Chloe's mother and investigators who are eager to take advantage of Roelke's insider connection with the NorwegianAmerican community linked to the murder and plagued by frightening attacks.


The mystery is deftly woven into the museum's culture and even thes setting but you're not hit over the head with Ernst's encyclopedic knowledge of the context.
Instead, the folkpainting, carving and customs weave in and out of the gripping mystery that's touched by personal conflicts emerging between Chloe and her artist mother as well as Chloe and Roelke.
Add in some serious peril as the mystery heats up and this book was impossible to put down until I'd reached the end,

Now I have some backtracking to do: books one, two and three are in my toread queue and you can bet I'll be looking for another adventure featuring Chloe and Roelke from this fine author.


Book releases October,: review based on ARE provided by Midnight Ink via Netgalley in return for an honest review, I love these excursions with Chloe back in time before the internet and cell phones, Yes, we did survive :

Chloe really does need to rebuild her relationship with her mother and poor Roelke is caught in the middle, Both women are very stubborn and set in their ways, Can a murder bring them together or will it drive them even farther apart No spoilers here, You will need to read it for yourself,

Beyond Chloe and her mothers story there is a rich story of Norwegian Heritage woven within the murder mystery, I have learned so much but not in a history book way, Some of the traditions I knew from Wisconsin History classes in high school and college but put into a story such as this where they effect actual people you are getting to know gives it so much perspective.
It also helps solve the mystery of the murder,

Ernst creates such vibrant characters, She takes us back to thes and even back toandto help us piece together the clues, You know she has done her research and she does travel to events so that she can bring them to life in these pages for all of us to enjoy.
I picked up the first book in these series because it was set here in Wisconsin and it didnt take more than a few chapters to become a huge fan of Kathleen Ernst.
She is an awesome storyteller,

I believe you can read Heritage of Darkness easily as a stand alone, but I know then you are going to want to read the rest of of the series too.
Just a little warning, I have found with Kathleens books, that once you start them they are extremely hard to put down so plan accordingly, Good installment in the series, glad that they moved the relationship forward, Chloe Ellefson and her boyfriend, Roelke, are spending Christmas with her mother at the Decorah, Iowa Norwegian Center, Her mother is a member of the Sixty Seven, a group of experts in rosemailing, The very first day, Chloe finds the body of Petra Lekstrom in an antique trunk, Roelke is asked to assist the police in solving the crime and, as the week progresses, Chloe is convinced that the members of the Sixty Seven are all in grave danger.
This is an excellent series and I enjoy the history as well as the mystery, This didn't have the same amount of gripping chillfactor that most of the other Chloe Ellefson mysteries, but it was still an engaging read, I loved learning about Norwegian Christmas customs and material culture, A gripping mystery that is focused at a NorwegianAmerican musuem and historical site in Decorah, Iowa, The intrigue and mystery is solid and keeps your attention, Though, lacking a personal interest in Norwegian American rosemaling and woodcarving, I was not as motived as past mysteries in this series, I really enjoyed this book!
Amateur mystery sleuth Chloe Ellefson is in Decorah, Iowa, with her male friend Roelke McKenna and her mother Marit Kallerud to take rosemaling and wood carving classes at the famed Vesterheim NorwegianAmerican Museum.
Rosemaling instructor Petra Lekstom is found murdered in one of the antique immigrant trunks in the museum, done in with a lefse rolling pin, Petra was not well liked, but who disliked her so much to kill her
I learned much about the Norwegian immigrant experience from this story! Did you know that "vesterheim" means "our western home" in Norwegian The author uses the backdrop of the museum andDecorah as the setting while adding in objects of Norsk heritage and folklore: the betrothal carved mangle, the budstrikke wood message tube, the primstav carved calendar stick, the Julebukker and the Julebukk goat head, and early winter traditions.
Photos of the featured artifacts from the real NorwegianAmerican museum are included,
I picked up this book while touring the museum in Decorah, The Vesterheim NorwegianAmerican Museum is the largest most comprehensive museum in the United States dedicated to a single immigrant group, If you have a chance to visit, please do!
Author Kathleen Ernst has writtenother Chloe Ellefson mysteries andnonfiction books, Chloe is determined to work on her relationship with her mother and the two, joined by Chloes boyfriend Roelke, travel to Decorah, Iowa, there the trio explore Chloe and Marits Norwegian heritage and take classes exploring Norwegian folk arts,

After finally reaching the Vesterheim Museum, Chloe's dreams of a peaceful visit are dashed when she and Roelke find rosemaling teacher Petra Lekstrom's body in one of the museum's antique immigrant trunks.
Everyone is shaken by the murder, and almost everyone is a suspect,
Marit becomes the teacher for the class in which Chloe is enrolled, This creates tension for Chloe who feels her mother scrutinizes all she does, Roelke agrees to work with local police to share any information he overhears in the museum and the classes, As Chloe helps Roelke dig up clues, she discovers dark family secrets that could be deadly for her mom and Marits friends,

I love this series, I love this book! The Chloe Ellefson Mysteries combine history with mystery, I learn so much about the area of the country in which I grew up, It makes me want to travel all year long to visit these places, I visit Decorah at least once a year, sometimes more, and I have never visited the Vesterheim Museum, This book made me want to get in the car and drive, The characters in this book do not disappoint, Chloe and Roelke struggle through life and their relationship just like real people, As new characters are introduced they are developed well and easy to picture, This story moves at a nice pace, History is easily interwoven with the storyline and one does not overshadow the other, The author does a fabulous job of using words to draw a picture of the setting, In my mind I picture all of the Nisser looking out of house windows or placed in the yards of homes throughout Decorah, I highly recommend this book, It can stand alone, but the series is a fabulous read,
I'm surprised that I have read four of the mysteries in the series this is the fourth and most recent, because I have no connection with Wisconsin or Scandanavian geneaology or museum curators or small town cops.
When I read the first in the series I found the main characters a little too intense and tense to be very likeable, but somehow I am still here for the fourth episode.


I liked this episode but it isn't as good as the previous novel, The Lightkeeper's Legacy, The mother/daughter tension is believable and interesting and the boyfriend in the middle, trying to alternately mediate and stay out of the line of fire, is fun to watch.


I don't find Chloe's "gift" of sensing previous lives in objects very believable, or necessary, but as long as I can treat it as a quirk of hers, I can go with it.
If it begins to be an important part of her character and the stories, I'm bailing out, Meanwhile, it's a fun series, I just found this author in December and am working my way through her books, This book was fun to read as I was able to learn some facts and history about a small town in Iowa, that I am slowly becoming acquainted with and the college located there that my daughter attends.

Normally when I read a mystery, I have some idea of who did it, before I get to the end of the book, but the Chloe Ellefson Mysteries keep me guessing until the end.
I loved this book. I love all of the Chloe Ellefson Mysteries, but this one piqued my interest even more, One, I read it at Christmastime, which was the perfect time to read it, Second, I loved learning about the Norwegian culture and art forms, It's my own back ground, so it was fun to learn all about that, Fourth book in the Chloe Ellefson series, Chloe goes to Decoraj, Iowa in hopes of bonding more with her mother while taking rosemaling classes in which her mother is an expert.
When one of her mother's old friends is found dead, things get much worse and Chloe continues to question herself and her relationships, Kathleen Ernst's fourth book in the Chloe Ellefson series is perfect for a lazy afternoon,

Chloe and Roelke travel with Chloe's mother to Verterheim NorwegianAmerican Museum in Decorah Iowa, They're participating in Norwegian craft workshops at the museum and, of course, there's a

murder, More than that, it seems someone is threatening the experienced crafters, the SeventySix, Of course Chloe and Roelke investigate, becoming entangled in a web of jealousy and envy that stretches back to,

Ernst writes charming mysteries filled with romance, history of objects and customs, and plenty of twists, Chloe, intent of repairing her relationship with her mother, has signed up for a week of rosemaling classes with her mother, Along for the ride is Roelke, a police officer with whom Chloe has a complicated relationship, Upon their arrival, however, instead of a week of traditional Christmas festivities, they trio finds themselves in the middle of a murder investigation,
This is a traditional mystery, which means that, while there is some romance, there is no sex and no graphic descriptions of violence,
Heritage of Darkness explores Chloe's Norwegian heritage, As a nonNorwegian, I found this completely fascinating, I am a transplant to the midwest and one thing I have loved about living here is learning more about the immigrant experience and how certain traditions have survived.
This book was wonderfully researched and whetted my appetite to learn more, I also really loved that the author wrote a note at the beginning of the book to explain what changes she made to actual events,
Kathleen Ernst, the author, has a wonderful website with auxiliary materials for the books, including more historical research, pictures, and recipes!
Heritage of Darkness is the fourth book in the Chloe Ellefson series.
This was the first that I have read but that did not take away any of my enjoyment of this book, Heritage of Darkness is an excellent mystery even if you haven't read the entire series or any of it, for that matter, I look forward to getting caught up with the series and also to future reads,
.