Book Review: The Valley Of Jewels

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Valley Of Jewels     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Mary Saums
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Amateur Sleuth
Series: Willi Taft # 2
Silver Dagger, Jul 2001, $23.95, 179 pp.

When her friend Dr. Karen Evans offers her a teaching job at Alabama’s Grisholm Faulkner University, forty-one years old background musician Willi Taft accepts. Music gigs are not coming as often for Willi and she can use the cash.

Willi meets university history professor and Civil War expert Dr. Jada Winston on campus. He persuades her to join in the Ripley reenactment of a Civil War battle that occurred near the school. However, the reenactment takes a realistic and macabre twist when someone kills Jada with a knife during the heat and chaos of the make believe battle. Willi, who supplements her meager income with private investigations, begins to look into the homicide of Jada as well as threats to semi-retired opera legend Althea Preston. When Willi begins to connect the two cases, she places herself in danger.

THE VALLEY OF JEWELS is an entertaining private investigative southern cozy that is a pleasure to read. Willi is a wonderful lead character whose love for music and justice comes through the enjoyable plot. The support cast provides the feel of campus life as well as that of participation in a reenactment gala. In her second tale (see MIDNIGHT HOUR), Willi shows that author Mary Saums is quite talented at the regional who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner

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