The Map Quilt (Buried Treasure Mysteries, Book 2)

Hart Wingate and his partner Bryce Edwards  have developed a battery that will provide solar power for farm equipment.  Hart's wife Judy, a school teacher, is pregnant with their first child, and all is right in their world.  Until out of nowhere their historical barn is burned to the ground, a colleague dies in the fire, and the prototype battery is stolen.  What is happening?  And, what about the strange dreams Judy is having about a fugitive black woman and her child escaping slave hunters?  Are these dreams related to Judy's old family quilt – a quilt that looks like a map?
 Another odd coincidence is  Julietta  Barslow, who comes to Judy's fifth grade class to reenact characters from slavery times.  She seems to be in town for much more than a fifth grade history lesson.  Hart's mother Ellen comes to help Judy with the upcoming birth, and her involvement with the police chief adds another wrinkle to an already complex story.  
The Map Quilt is a mystery thriller, as the reader follows several story lines involving crime, slave history, a child's birth, and an unexpected romance. Each story line is intriguing but Ms. Lickel introduces so many characters with so much information, it is difficult at times to keep all the threads straight.  More background information on the initial events would have helped the reader follow the ensuing story.  The ending does tie together all the mysteries and relationships, though, making  “The Map Quilt” a satisfying read overall.
Victoria Z. Burg