Book Review: Rosewood's Ashes

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Rosewood's Ashes     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Aileen Schumacher
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Romantic Suspense
Series: Travers-Alvarez # 4
Intrigue, May 2001, $23.95, 355 pp.

In a segregated section of Florida in 1923, a white woman from Summer accuses a black man from Rosewood of raping her. A lynch mob from all over white Summer want to find and kill the individual blamed for the rape. However, by the time the mob finished its grisly agenda, death reached double digits and Rosewood was burned to the ground.

In the present, engineer Tory Travers receives a call informing her that her father was in a coma in a Gainesville hospital after a hit and run accident. A pregnant Tory and her lover El Paso special cases police officer David Alvarez land in Florida and people connected to Rosewood are dying. Alvarez investigates the rising homicide count while Tory stays by her father's side. Neither one is aware that a killer will murder both of them and others to keep certain Rosewood secrets buried.

This novel is the best Travers-Alvarez mystery yet released because the personal relationship does not take a backseat to the who-done-it. The witty repartee and the feelings flowing between the protagonists bring more depth to ROSEWOOD'S ASHES than the well written pervious novels. Juxtaposing the story of Rosewood against modern day events further lead to a compelling and complex tale worth reading.

Harriet Klausner

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