Beyond Confusion

After leaving her husband, Rose Strang, a quilt artist, returns to her home state of Connecticut with her daughter, Eve, hoping to begin a new life free of her stormy past. But when she's commissioned to create a quilt to commemorate a nearby historic quarry, she discovers that her first lover, a drug dealer and musician, was murdered there more than 30 years ago. The murder remains unsolved. When Rose learns that her brother, Arm, a talented violinist who shares her home, has been doing some digging on his own, old rivalries flare between them. Separately, the two pursue their preoccupations, leading to surprising insights about themselves and the murdered man. Meanwhile, as Eve searches for a way to return to her father, she meets Taffeta Gates, a local eccentric. Through Taffeta, she comes to learn the truth.

Doretta Wildes received her master’s degree in English from Brown University. She is the author of a previous novel, Rinse Cycle, and a collection, Peril & Other Stories. She lives in Middletown, Connecticut.