Reviewed By Liz

Today’s featured author is Mary Anna Evans. I was blown away when I read her first book, ARTIFACTS. And, frankly, it is books like ARTIFACTS that inspired the Summer Mystery Reading Challenge. I walked into the library and picked the book up at random off the shelf, having heard nothing about it. And when I finished it, I wanted to know why I hadn’t heard of the book or author before! There are fantastic mysteries out there that not enough people know about. But now YOU know, so spread the word.

In EFFIGIES, Faye Longchamp and 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 a farmer, Carroll Calhoun, refuses the archaeologists’ 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. The situation grows more dangerous as 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? Did a Choctaw take up arms to defend an embattled heritage? Neshoba County farmers have been plowing up stone tools for centuries. Did someone 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. The whole county saw their confrontation with him over the mound. And their combined knowledge of stone tools is impressive. They had motive, means, and opportunity. The only thing saving their skins is the fact that the same thing is true of almost everyone in Neshoba County.

Her first novel, ARTIFACTS, won the Benjamin Franklin award for best mystery published by a small press. It also won the Florida Historical Society’s Florida Literature Award, and it was named by the Voice of Young America (VOYA) as an “Adult Mystery with Young Adult Appeal.” Mary Anna is proud of being recognized for writing a page-turner for people of all ages while, at the same time, getting the historical facts right. Her second novel, RELICS, was an Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) bestseller, and it was nominated for the Southeastern Independent Booksellers Alliance’s SIBA Book Award.

Learn more about the author at www.maryannaevans.com.

The Lady Killers is a blog that Mary Anna Evans shares with fellow mystery authors Rhys Bowen, Cara Black, Jane Finnis, and Lyn Hamilton. Visit Mary Anna Evans at The Lady Killers.

Read our reviews of these great books here.

If you haven’t signed up for the Summer Mystery Reading Challenge yet, click here for directions. You are welcome to read along on your own, of course, but only registered participants are eligible for the prizes.

If you would like to comment on a book by a featured author or ask them a question, please leave the comment on their daily page so they can find it easily. Comments about what you are reading, books you have finished, requests for readalikes or recommendations, or mystery related links can be made on the SMRC post for that day so we can all see them. Thanks!

Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2007

ISBN 1-59058-342-6

Faye Longchamp and Joe Wolf Mantooth return in Effigies, the third book by Mary Anna Evans. Faye and Joe are part of a team excavating a site in Mississippi in advance of road construction. But as soon as they arrive on the site, they notice a very intriguing mound on a neighboring property. When the leader of the team abruptly approaches the property owner, Carroll Calhoun, and asks about excavating the possibly ancient Native American mound, Calhoun is outraged and tries to destroy the mound rather than tolerate people on his property. The situation quickly gets out of hand as the archaeologists and local Choctaw try to protect the mound and its history and Calhoun and his fellow farmers try to protect his property rights. An impasse is reached, but Calhoun is murdered that night.

Unable to proceed with excavating the mound, the archaeologists relax at night at the Neshoba County Fair. There they hear an impassioned speech by a former resident of the area, later a Congressman, who is seeking the identities of two men – one tried to kill him many years ago and the other who saved him. His story intrigues Faye and Joe and they offer to help him in his quest. The fact that he passed a large mound during his escape strongly hints that he may have been nearby their current excavation site on the night of his ordeal.

Evans is an excellent writer who loves her subject and it shows in her characters and settings and in the way she draws the reader into the world of history and archaeology. However, this book has a few very awkward moments when she needs to introduce specific pieces of information. The coincidence factor is too high and the reader is pushed out of the story as they question the credibility of the turn of events or changes in characters. However, the book is still a very good read.

Favorite character? Joe. Did I guess it? Mostly. Will I read another? Yes.

Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2007

Buy it from Amazon!

ISBN 1-59058-056-7

Artifacts is one of those books that isn’t written, it is crafted. It is Evans’ first book and it is packed with descriptive detail, multiple plot lines, and interesting characters with lots of back story. This book is a page-turner as the reader gets sucked into Faye Longchamp’s struggle to save her historic home, solve the murders of two co-workers, solve the mystery of the disappearing skeleton and… but I don’t want to ruin it for you.

Faye is a fascinating character. She has a background in archaeology and knows that the illegal artifact hunting she is doing to generate cash and keep her historic home in the family is wrong, but she is desperate. She is without family and doesn’t have much of a support group or a safety net, but she has a goal and she is determined. Evans has given us so much detail about Faye and her situation that the reader has a great deal of empathy for her and her plight. As events unfold, Faye has to make some hard decisions. Evans clearly plotted this book carefully and keeps Faye’s choices true to her character – she doesn’t take the easy way out and leads the reader down paths that are sometimes unexpected but feel right.

This book is a delight to read. It is a wonderful blend of the past and present and, along the way, you learn a little bit about archaeology, flint-knapping, historic homes, slavery, and the illegal trade in artifacts. This is the kind of book you recommend to everyone you know – and anxiously await the author’s next book.

Favorite character? That is a hard one. Joe, Liz, and Magda are all friends of Faye, are great characters, and are all given great moments in which to shine. I think it has to be a three-way tie. Did I guess it? Yes – but that didn’t detract from the book one bit. Will I read another? Just as soon as it comes out!

Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2007

Buy it from Amazon!