Still as Death, Sarah Stewart Taylor, St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95.
In her first novel, O' Artful Death, Sweeney comes across a gravestone so unique much of the book is spent analyzing it and who the artist might have been. In Mansions of the Dead, Sweeney's case centers on Victorian mourning jewelry, which was made with the hair of the deceased, and then braided and baked before assuming its final role as jewelry. In Judgment of the Grave Sweeney travels to history-rich Concord, Massachusetts, and finds her work centering on the creators of contemporary gravestones. In Still as Death Sweeney has been curating an exhibit about the various forms funeral art can take, starting with the ancient Egyptians. In each novel, the different forms of funeral art or gravestones are often so fascinating that you almost wish for photos, or in the case of Still as Death, an actual exhibit to attend. One of the things that's so delightful about this series is the true enthusiasm Sweeney (and, I can only assume, her creator) feels for her work, and the reader is easily drawn into it and ends up learning a bit despite themselves. In the best fashion, though, the learning bits are always an integral part of the plot, never an obvious lecture. Sweeney's knowledge just infuses the story, it doesn't overwhelm it.
In most good academic mysteries I think it's important that the detective uses his or her actual academic skills to bear when solving the crime - it gives them a natural entree and also showcases their knowledge in a way that services the narrative without holding it up. Joanne Dobson's books are excellent examples of this method; in her first book I think the perpetrator is actually caught when he/she is brained by a copy of Jane Eyre. Stewart Taylor uses Sweeney's skills to help solve the crimes she runs across as well, as the police often need her expertise. What, after all, do the police know about Victorian mourning jewelry, or Egyptian funerary art? In Still as Death, which I think is Stewart Taylor's most traditional mystery, the actual murder occurs within the confines of the exhibit itself and gives the author a licence to play with a kind of locked room scenario that's very effective. The characters within the museum are introduced and described as skillfully as any golden age author would have done - and then when a murder is added to the mix, all kinds of things follow. Part of the story is brought to light through Sweeney's conflicted relationships - she's living with British Ian, an art theft expert, but has been friendly with (and is almost annoyingly clueless about her feelings for) Tim Quinn, a cop, recent widower, and single dad who has insinuated himself more and more into each book. And the man she often turns to, Toby, her friend from college, is off canvas for this installment, leaving Sweeney to figure things out for herself, something she is doing very badly. The contrast between the academic and arty world represented by Ian, and the more down to earth one represented by Quinn, is something Sweeney has to try and balance. Because she's fairly young, her struggle is certainly believable, even if you sometimes wish you could reach through the pages and give Sweeney some advice yourself.
Stewart Taylor's skills as a straight mystery writer are also excellent. In traditional golden age fashion, the details of police work are not the point, it's the investigation and the questions posed of each character. While Stewart Taylor may leave Sweeney's emotional life up in the air, she certainly doesn't leave the mystery part up in the air; it's sharply rendered and well paced, and will leave you with a sigh of satisfaction - good resolution - and a sigh of sadness too, as any good mystery will often get the reader to either like or understand the killer. The combination of Sweeney's work life and emotional life, and the gift of the good mystery on top of that, make this series not to be missed.
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