American/Cozy Mysteries

In Sweeney's latest outing, she's researching gravestones in historic Concord, Massachusetts, a place so full of history she's practically tripping over it at every turn. She's on hiatus from her job; her research in Concord thus puts her on the scene of the crime in a believable way, where she's able to contribute her very specific expertise to solving it. This is unusual in mystery series at the moment where characters are chefs, seamstresses, bead makers, wedding planners, etc, who, like Jessica Fletcher in "Murder She Write" stumble over bodies with the flimsiest of excuses. Not only do I appreciate that Stewart Taylor has taken the time to believably fold her amateur into a police investigation, I think it's a flexible enough set up that she can continue to use it. In this installment, she meets an ill 12 year old in the graveyard and follows him home because she's worried about him getting there safely. When he takes a detour into the woods and finds a body, the story really heats up.

One of the things I like about this series is that it wears its heart on it's sleeve; there's not much emotion that's not wrenched out of the illness of the 12 year old boy, Pres Whiting, but at the same time, it's never corny. His family, conveniently enough, is in the monument making business, i.e. gravestones, and their gratitude to Sweeney, who's befriended Pres and helped him out when he discovered the body, gives her an in that even the local police don't have. The cop from the last book, (Mansions of the Dead) Tim Quinn, turns up to investigate the murder with his infant daughter in tow. Sweeney ends up providing a good bit of child care; but his struggles with finding out how to take care of his daughter when she's sick, etc., are completely real. I was glad to see him return as well because he and Sweeney have an interesting friendship which has lots of room for change and growth.

The book involves Revolutionary War era re-enactors, and provides a good but far from intrusive dose of Revolutionary War history; Stewart Taylor is also able to highlight many of the various characters in town with a sharp and perceptive eye. The "sidebar" characters are never unmemorable or carelessly dealt with. The plot is both complex and moving; and the resolution is very satisfactory. This is a new young author who richly deserves to be discovered and savored. (Robin)