Available:*
Library | Material Type | Item Barcode | Shelf Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library | Adult Mystery Fiction Book Hardback | 120791001875544 | M EVA | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
2011 - Mississippi Author Award Winner
"Evans has written a fascinating tale linking the history of New Orleans' levee system to the present and weaving into the story aspects of the city's widely diverse cultures." --Booklist STARRED review
Centuries of tragedy shadow New Orleans: wars, slavery, and a monumental flood that killed a thousand people and still threatens to wash all that history away.
Faye Longchamp and her team of archaeologists, fighting to save New Orleans' past, are horrified when they discover a corpse that's far too new to be an archaeological find. The police presume it's just another dead body in the long, sad sequence of bodies left by Hurricane Katrina, until Faye shows them a truth that only an archaeologist could see: the debris piled on top of the dead woman is all wrong. Someone brought Shelly Broussard to this flooded-out house and left her dead body behind.
Faye and her assistant Joe Wolf Mantooth are drawn into the investigation by a detective who believes their professional expertise is critical to the case. They quickly learn that trouble swirled around the victim like winds around the eye of a hurricane. Is Shelly's heroic rescue work in the aftermath of Katrina the reason for her death? Or does the sheaf of photos in her work files hold the answer? Will Faye and Joe be the next victims engulfed in this deadly deception?
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
At the outset of Evans's engaging if somewhat thinly plotted fourth mystery to feature archeologist Faye Longchamp (after 2008's Findings), Faye and her team are excavating a plantation site outside New Orleans, next to the battlefield where Andrew Jackson's army defeated the British in 1815. When students doing post-Katrina cleanup find the remains of what appears to be a drowning victim from the hurricane, a dumbbell resting atop the pelvis suggests foul play to Faye. The police ask Faye and her fiance, Joe Wolf Mantooth, to assist in what becomes a murder investigation, the victim having been identified as a fellow archeologist, Shelly Broussard, who worked with rescue teams after the storm. Passages from a book about the Katrina disaster by a local author and extracts from the memoirs of a 19th-century military engineer provide insights and historical perspective. Faye's landlady, a part-time voodoo-mambo or priestess, adds spice. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Post-Katrina New Orleans hides many tragic secrets, including one that leads to murder. Archaeologist Faye Longchamp and her little crew are excavating a plantation site at Chalmette battlefield. When park ranger Matt Guidry offers her a tour of a flood-stricken area, she's eager to go along. Adventure turns to tragedy when a body is discovered in a ruined house. Immediately noticing that the corpse could not have been washed into its present position by the flood, Faye works with Detective Jodi Bienvenu to help solve what turns out to be a murder. The victim was Shelly Broussard, an archaeologist cousin of Matt's who spent the frantic days after the flood using her map-reading skills to rescue people while searching for her parents, who were eventually found drowned in their attic. Two lists and several maps found in Shelly's pocket provide clues for Faye, her fianc Joe Wolf Mantooth, who's enthralled with the history of drainage in the city, and her assistants Nina and Dauphine. Joe provides especially valuable assistance when he and Faye rescue Nina after someone's hit her over the head and dumped her in the Mississippi. Faye can't help but suspect Nina's smarmy boyfriend Charles, who had worked with Shelly in the rescue effort. Their work leads to some success but also some danger from a killer ready to strike again. Evans's fifth (Findings, 2008, etc.) is an exciting brew of mystery and romance with a touch of New Orleans charm. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Archaeologist Faye Longchamp is taking a break from her doctoral studies to do some fieldwork in New Orleans. She is working at the site of the Revolutionary War's Battle of New Orleans when a park ranger offers to show her a neighborhood destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Volunteers cleaning up a damaged home find a body there. The police think that it's another drowning victim, but Faye notices that the debris piled on the corpse is all wrong. A young female detective brings Faye and her fiancé, Joe Wolf Mantooth, into the case because their archaeological expertise will be useful in sorting out what happened. They soon discover that the victim, Shelly Broussard, played an important role in the poststorm rescue work but may have made some serious enemies in the process. Evans has written a fascinating tale linking the history of New Orleans' levee system to the present and weaving into the story aspects of the city's widely diverse cultures. Voodoo, Native American spirituality, greed, and corruption all play roles in what is easily the best installment yet in a too-little-known series.--Bibel, Barbara Copyright 2009 Booklist
Library Journal Review
As Faye Longchamp excavates an archaeological site in New Orleans, a body is found. The police assume it is a corpse left by Hurricane Katrina, but Faye notes that the debris surrounding the dead woman is wrong; someone left her body in that flooded-out house. A police detective wanting to use their archaeological expertise in tracking down the killer draws Faye and fiance Joe Wolf Mantooth into the investigation-an involvement that leads to some surprises and plenty of danger. Verdict Evans's fifth series mystery (after Relic) reveals her skill in handling the details of a crime story enhanced by historical facts and scientific discussions on the physical properties of water. Along with further insights into Faye's personal life, the reader ends up with a thoroughly good mystery. Sure to attract those who enjoy Lyn Hamilton's archaeological mysteries. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 3/1/09; see also Kenneth Abel's Down in the Flood, reviewed above.-Ed.] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.