Effigies
A
Faye Longchamp Mystery
Mary Anna
Evans
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-342-6 (1590583426)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-342-5 (9781590583425)
Publication Date: January 2007
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Archaeologist Faye Longchamp and her friend, Joe Wolf Mantooth, have traveled to Neshoba County, Mississippi,
to help excavate a site near Nanih Waiya, the sacred mound where
tradition says the Choctaw nation was born. When farmer Carroll Calhoun
refuses their request to investigate an ancient Native American mound,
Faye and her colleagues are disappointed, but his next action breaks
their hearts: he tries to bulldoze the huge relic to the ground.
Faye and Joe rush to protect history--with their bodies, if necessary.
Soon the Choctaws arrive to defend the mound and the farmer's white and
black neighbors come to defend his property rights. Though a popular
young sheriff is able to defuse the situation, tempers are short.
That night, Calhoun is found dead, his throat sliced with a handmade
stone blade. Was he killed by an archaeologist, angered by his wanton
destruction of history? Neshoba County farmers have been plowing up
stone tools like the murder weapon for centuries. Did one of them take
this chance to even the score with an old rival?
The sheriff is well-aware that Faye and Joe were near the spot where
Calhoun's body was found and their combined knowledge of stone tools is
impressive. They had motive, means, and opportunity....but so does
almost everyone in Neshoba County.
Review: Mary Anna Evans continues to impress readers with the third entry in the Faye Longchamp mystery series, Effigies.
Faye, together with Joe Wolf Mantooth, are working on a project team
that was hired by the state of Mississippi to excavate a region prior
to putting a new road through. The local Choctaw tribe had its origins
in the area, and considers much of the land sacred. When a local
property owner is murdered with a Choctaw artifact, Faye gets involved
with the investigation. Was it a case of property rights versus the
preservation of ancient history? Or could the murder have been
personally motivated? The latter case seems possible when an aging,
prominent, black politician makes a speech that he was the victim of a
hate crime in the area many years ago, and would like to see justice
done before he dies.
Evans is masterful at weaving a historical thread through her mysteries, with Effigies
being no exception. Interspersed between chapters are Choctaw stories,
as told by one of the local residents. Most of these stories are
related in some way to the main plot, though they don't necessarily aid
the reader in solving the mystery of the property owner's death.
Towards the end, Evans turned what could have been a typical
"heroine-in-peril" scenario and made it something spiritual and
special, not unlike the Choctaw themselves. It's a captivating moment.
If there's a weak element of Effigies,
it's Faye herself. She seems to lack the passion exhibited in earlier
books; it's as if this murder mystery is simply an academic exercise to
her. Faye has been evolving dramatically since Artifacts
(the first, and arguably, the best book of the series) and she is a
more interesting character when she has something personal vested in
the outcome.
Following the main text, the author adds a guide for teachers,
students, and (in her words), the incurably curious, a nice touch to a
well-researched and written novel.
Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing the ARC of Effigies for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Artifacts
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), April 2003
ISBN-10: 1-59058-056-7 (1590580567)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-056-1 (9781590580561)
Relics
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), August 2005
ISBN-10: 1-59058-119-9 (1590581199)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-119-3 (9781590581193)
Effigies
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), January 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-342-6 (1590583426)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-342-5 (9781590583425)
Findings
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), July 2008
ISBN-10: 1-59058-483-X (159058483X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-483-5 (9781590584835)
Omnimystery keywords for Effigies ...
Location(s) referenced: Mississippi.