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Old Money, New Blood, and the
​Timeless Quest for Treasure

Death creeps into Bishop Hill under the cover of darkness and leaves a young man’s body near the cemetery. Shelley Anderson, a recent graduate of Knox College, is the first suspect and must redeem herself in the eyes of the law and her best friend.
     Bishop Hill, a focal point of Swedish immigration in the 1800s, teems with tales of strange creatures, buried treasure, and moonshine outlaws. The new century brings the promise for greater riches to a new class of modern con artists and leaves clues tangled up in the stock market crash and Great Recession of 2008.
     Shelley’s clever plan to ensnare the murderer gets sidelined by arson, kidnapping, and a wild nighttime ride that turns into a race against time for Shelly and her posse of friends.
​“Shelley Anderson is back to solve another mystery…. Relying on her quick wits and keen sense of humor, she navigates through the quiet danger simmering in this former Midwest Swedish Colony.… Davidsaver once again paints a vivid picture of Bishop Hill, full of its alluring tradition, history, scenery, and residents….”         
           –X.H. Collins, author of Flowing Water, Falling Flowers     
 
 “Things aren’t what they seem to be in Bishop Hill anymore. …Shelley Anderson works to solve yet another murder and unravel the strange goings on around town. Along the way, she finds people with hidden identities and hidden agendas, mobsters, treasure hunters, and happenings that harken thoughts of the bootlegging days of the Roaring Twenties. …The tension keeps ramping up and the pace quickens with every page.”                         
          –Dan Moore, Writer’s Studio

Also available at:

  • Wordsmith Bookshoppe, 235 East Main St., Galesburg, IL  (309-351-7767)
  • Prairie Arts Center, Colony Blacksmith Shop, 203  Bishop Hill St., Bishop Hill, IL  (309-927-3008)
  • Colony Store, 101 W. Main St., Bishop Hill, IL  (309-927-3596)
  • The Artsy Bookworm, 1319 30th St.,    ​ Rock Island, IL  (309-558-0278)
  • The Brewed Book, 1524 N. Harrison, Davenport, IA  (563-232-6642)
  • ​River Lights, 1098 Main,  Dubuque, IA  (563-556-4391)
  • Prairie Lights, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA  (319-337-2681) 
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Clouds Over Bishop Hill is a cozy mystery unfolding in a Bishop Hill that is both familiar and unfamiliar to those who have visited the Illinois state historic site. This Bishop Hill is a small town lacking in windmills but packed with intrigue as Shelley Anderson, a young Knox grad, is pressed into finding Olof Krans's last portrait, a painting that has been hidden away for over ninety years.

A cloudy cross in the early morning sky and a half-remembered dream jog the memory of an elderly woman and sends her off in a stolen minivan straight into the path of Shelley. 

Shelley has her return home to Bishop Hill interrupted by the near collision and the discovery of the body of a well-liked woodworker. Centenarians make poor detectives, so it is up to the younger generation to continue the mission to recover the painting.

Shelley pounds the brick sidewalks of Bishop Hill as she navigates between museums and restaurants trying to determine if the old woman's dreams are real or not. If there is a painting to be found, how dangerous will it be to actually discover it? After all, it had to have been hidden for a good reason in the first place. 

Clouds Over Bishop Hill by Mary Davidsaver offers the reader a look into a not-your-average small town. She spins history into an entertaining mystery with present day relevance. Bishop Hill, after all, is in Illinois, a state undergoing an epic struggle to keep things like museums open and functioning.


Also available at:

  • Wordsmith Bookshoppe, 235 East Main St., Galesburg, IL  (309-351-7767)
  • ​​​Colony Store, 101 W. Main St., Bishop Hill, IL  (309-927-3596)                            
  • The Artsy Bookworm, 1319 30th St.,    Rock Island, IL  (309-558-0278)
  • The Brewed Book, 1524 N. Harrison St., Davenport, IA  (563-232-6642)​
  • River Lights Bookstore, 1098 Main St., Dubuque, IA  (563-556-4391)​
  • Prairie Arts Center, Colony Blacksmith Shop, 203  Bishop Hill St., Bishop Hill, IL  (309-927-3008)
  • Prairie Lights, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA  (319-337-2681)

REVIEWS for Clouds Over Bishop Hill

I was eager to read this novel. I am very glad that I did. The book is well written--great plot and character development. By Susan Collins

A good mystery "who done it" in an interesting setting, Bishop Hill in Illinois. I've been there, and that made it even better for me. By Janet

A fast-paced story with the characters encountering greed, deception, murder, and some romance, too. The main character, Shelley Anderson, embarks on a character arc that leaves her changed and more grateful for her hometown. By Jodie Toohey

Very well written with an intriguing plot line. I enjoy mysteries and found this to be an exceptionally good one. By Gail Ripka

It kept my interest with trying to solve the mysteries to the end of the book. By L Miller

I love mysteries, all types of mysteries but the ones I am passionate about are the ones that harken back to the English mysteries – like Agatha Christie. This book is like one of those mysteries only with a modern spin. I LOVED it.  
​By Rosemary K Clark

The author did a wonderful job of bringing notes of area places such as towns, names of highways, businesss in Bishop Hill as well as places near by. I enjoyed the plot of a stolen painting belonging to Olaf Krans. By Irma M Krantz

From the very first sentence, I was hooked. It is a page turner with believable characters who pull you into their story. By Trisha Georgiou

I really enjoyed reading Clouds Over Bishop Hill. The mystery is revealed slowly to keep your interest. There is a potential romance that might develop and subtle humor. By Doris

I really enjoyed this book. Throw in a mystery, a possible budding romance, vivid imagery, and written so that you just want it to keep going and I was hooked! By Patrick Pieper

If you look up and see a cloud cross in the sky, it is only the first sign that you must read Mary Davidsaver’s debut novel, Clouds Over Bishop Hill. A suspected murder, mysterious painting, centenarian’s dream, and intergenerational lineage weave this rich wile largely driven by a meticulous yet delicately restrained imagery of the historical and character complexities of the Swedish prairie colony. ...where art history meets local lore. By Robin Throne

Davidsaver's debut is a treasure. There are plenty of twists and surprises to keep the action moving, the characters are a hodgepodge of quirky but likeable individuals, and the writing is smart and strong. You'll find yourself staying up all night just to find out what really happened to that lost Olof Krans painting. By  Misty Urban

Media highlights

WVIK 90.3 FM
Scribble Nov. 19th at NOON!
My interview about COBH was #106 for Don Wooten and Roald Tweet. 
Listen to it here:
http://cpa.ds.npr.org/wvik/audio/2016/11/SCRIB_1646.MP3

Scribble is on WVIK at noon every Saturday: a collection of conversations, comments, and reviews of reading, writing, editing, publishing, and selling books.

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LIST OF EVENTS

Book event ​dates for 2021:

July 10, Prairie Arts Center & Vintage Goods Shop
Colony Blacksmith Shop 
203 Bishop Hill St., Bishop Hill, IL

July 24, Book Fair, 11 AM-4 PM 
Creative Commons, 309 Bishop Hill St.,
Bishop Hill, IL
 
Sept. 11, Old Settlers' Day
Prairie Arts Center & Vintage Goods Shop
Colony Blacksmith Shop
203 Bishop Hill St. ,Bishop Hill, IL

Sept. 25, Jordbruksdagarna (Agricultural Days)
Prairie Arts Center & Vintage Goods Shop
Colony Blacksmith Shop
203 Bishop Hill St. ,Bishop Hill, IL

Nov. 27, Julmarknad (Christmas Market)
Prairie Arts Center & Vintage Goods Shop
Colony Blacksmith Shop
203 Bishop Hill St. ,Bishop Hill, IL

Dec. 4, Julmarknad (Christmas Market)
Prairie Arts Center & Vintage Goods Shop
Colony Blacksmith Shop
203 Bishop Hill St. ,Bishop Hill, IL

TBA, Lucia Nights
Prairie Arts Center & Vintage Goods Shop
Colony Blacksmith Shop
203 Bishop Hill St. ,Bishop Hill, IL
 

Map

Press Room
Mary Davidsaver is a graduate of the University of Iowa who lived in Bishop Hill, an Illinois state historic site and a national historic landmark for twenty-four years. She wrote for local newspapers and won an Illinois Press Association first place feature photo award. Since returning to Iowa she has won two Iron Pen first place awards, was the first local writer to win the Great River Writer's Retreat contest, and was honored as an Outstanding Literary Artist by the Midwest Writing Center.
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