|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
THE ALPINE PURSUIT is the 16th in a long-standing series by Mary Daheim, and lives up to her previous work in this series. Emma Lord is the editor/publisher of the Alpine Advocate, a weekly paper. Rather than attend yet another county commissioner's meeting, she opts for the dress rehearsal of a play being put on by the local college. When she attends the actual opening of the play, the gunfire in the final act is for real, and the dean of students is dead. The usual supporting cast is on hand: Vida Runkel is Emma's fountain of knowledge about anything local. Her detestable grandson Roger has a part in the play, and also (perhaps) in solving the crime. Sheriff Milo Dodge is a long-time friend, with occasional forays into a more intense relationship with Emma; their official positions sometimes make them adversaries, sometimes partners. I've managed, in the last few years, to have lapsed in my reading of this series. In the last one I read, Emma was engaged to Tom Cavanaugh, the father of her son. In this one, she is still mourning Tom's death by assassination. While THE ALPINE PURSUIT can certainly stand alone, I think someone picking it up would be interested in catching up on the series. There is obviously history with Milo, history with Tom, and one or two other characters who crop up here and there. One needn't know all that history for this book to be interesting, but I want to catch up on what I've missed. My only complaint about THE ALPINE PURSUIT is one that may be peculiar only to me. I like to be able to solve the mystery with the clues given to me; I don't think that can be done here. One significant clue is given to Emma but not to the reader. Other than that, this is an eminently readable mystery.
Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, January 2004
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
