Lesa's Book Critiques: Dusk along the Niobrara by John D. Nesbitt

Lesa's Book Critiques: Dusk along the Niobrara by John D. Nesbitt

Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Death and the Icebox by Linda Berry

Downsizing the book collection has made me look at books I haven’t read or considered for years. This series by Linda Berry is one. Death and the Icebox (Five Star, 2004) is the third Trudy Roundtree cozy mystery. Set in the small town of Ogeechee, Georgia, where Trudy grew up and her family has lived for generations, everyone knows everyone else and their cousins too.

Trudy is taking a bit of a break from her job patrolling the town and showing police presence, part of Chief Henry Huckabee’s community policing campaign, and visiting her best friend Stacy as they watch excavations for a new house near Stacy’s mother-in-law’s home. An old refrigerator is unearthed and falls open when it hits the hard ground, displaying the body of a long-dead woman.

The ensuing cold case investigation reveals cracks in some of the facades presented by prominent names in the town and worries some of her friends, who fear their family members know more about the death than they are telling anyone.

I always liked this series, which combines standard components of cozy mysteries in a new way. The small Southern town setting automatically provides strong family and friend relationships and the investigator’s best helper, a long-time resident who knows everyone and most of their secrets. Putting the main character on the police force allows the incorporation of police procedural elements and does away with one of the hardest parts of an amateur detective series, explaining why the character is becoming involved in police business. The family tie between Trudy and the chief of police who is her boss as well as her cousin adds a great source of dialog and behavioral motivation. Anytime Trudy can’t get what she wants from him, she can go to his mother, her aunt. Typical in a small town, not at all permissible in a city. The inevitable love interest is the son of the local newspaper owner, not an attractive FBI agent or state police detective, another nice difference.

There are six titles in this series that ran from 1998 to 2009 and were released later in paperback. WorldCat indicates many libraries still hold copies.

·         Hardcover: 248 pages

·         Publisher: Five Star Publishing; 1st edition (April 2003)

·         Language: English

·         ISBN-10: 0786252332

·         ISBN-13: 9780786252336

Aubrey Hamilton ©2019

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Review: "Scalp Dance: A Sam Chitto Mystery" by Lu Clifton

Blending mystery and the complexities of criminal cases on the tribal lands in Oklahoma, Scalp Dance: A Sam Chitto Mystery by Lu Clifton opens just outside of Hugo, Oklahoma. Lieutenant Sam Chitto is a member of the Oklahoma Choctaw Police. A man of honor and principles haunted by his past, he is also very frustrated with the rules and regulations regarding crimes and jurisdictional land

boundaries. Frustration stemming from situations such as the current rape case he working where a non-Indian is the assailant and most likely nothing is ever going to happen to him.

Sam Chitto has made it clear to Director Daniel Blackfox that he wants and needs a change from the normal daily grind though this new case he had handed to him is not what he had in mind.  The case involves the homicide of a man found on the Tuskahoma council house grounds. The victim was decapitated which, while clearly the cause of death, was also done in such a way to leave very little evidence behind. The head, once removed, was placed next to the body. It is also apparent that prior to death the deceased had been spread eagled and staked down to the dried ground made hard by the summer heat. Despite what must have gone on there is nearly no evidence on or around the body. Since the dead man, one Delbert Wilcox not listed on the tribal roll,  was married to Emma Love Wilcox of the Chickasaw,  Director Blackfox is going to pair Sam Chitto with Police Sergeant Frank Tubbe of the Chickasaw Nation. The director wants Tubbe and Chitto to work the case hard and fast and do as much as they can before the FBI swoops in and takes over.

That might have worked better if the person or persons involved had stopped at just one. They didn’t. As the bodies begin to accumulate, it slowly becomes clear the who and why behind it all in Scalp Dance: A Sam Chitto Mystery by Lu Clifton.

This is one of those cases where the review buzz and hype is actually warranted. Author of the middle school books titled Freaky Fast Frankie Joe, Immortal Max, and Seeking Cassandra, Lu Clifton has created a very strong novel of mystery as well as psychological complexity. She has taken the clichés of a son haunted by the unsolved case of his murdered father and a husband haunted by the death of his wife from cancer where the simple act of eating and enjoying food made by a woman could be viewed as a sign of disrespect to the dead wife, and managed to rework them both in ways that are fresh for readers. Add in various ongoing cases made more difficult by the legal complexities with regards to crimes on Indian lands in Oklahoma and more makes Scalp Dance: A Sam Chitto Mystery a solidly good read.

It will also be interesting to see what happens in the next book in the series. While the ending works and reveals the identities and motivations, it also raises at least a couple of questions in the mind of this reader as how this series will move forward. Nothing more can be said without very possibly ruining the book. That certainly will not happen here. It also would not be surprising if Scalp Dance: A Sam Chitto Mystery racked up several awards for author Lu Clifton.  It truly is that good.

Scalp Dance: A Sam Chitto Mystery

Lu Clifton

http://www.lutricia-lois-clifton.com/

Five Star

http://www.gale.cengage.com/fivestar

February 2016

ISBN# 978-1-4328-3129-5

Hardback (also available in eBook format)

256 Pages

$25.95

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016