Book Review: Artifacts

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Artifacts     Amazon US TPB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada TPB Amazon Canada HC
Mary Anna Evans
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Archaeology
Series: Faye Longchamp
Poisoned Pen Press, May 2003, $24.95, 290 pp.

Off the coast of the Florida Panhandle lay the Last Isles and on Joyeuse lies the antebellum mansion belonging to Faye Longchamp. It is badly in need of repairs but Faye barely can pay taxes and the last thing she wants is lose the home that has been in her family for generations. She earns the money to pay the taxes by illegally digging up artifacts on her land and the National Wild Refuge and selling them to collectors whom don’t care about the source.

Faye also works on an archeological dig on nearby Seagreen Island when two students in the group disappear. On a hunch, Faye starts digging and finds the two bodies, both shot to death. The dig is closed and Faye looks for artifacts on Water Island when she comes under attack by a man she thought was a friend and his partner who are digging up priceless Clovis artifacts. When she digs up the body of a young debutante who disappeared many years ago she comes to the attention a killer who intends to make Faye his fourth victim.

Faye is biracial and doesn’t feel as if there is a place for her in mainstream society, which is why she is determined to hold on too her land, the only place she believes she belongs. She doesn’t realize she has two killers who want her dead before she discovers and reveals their secrets. ARTIFACTS is an exciting and colorful amateur sleuth novel that is rich in atmosphere giving the reader a picture of what it takes to live in an island culture.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner