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British-born Jane Thistle traveled through the small town of Tullulah, Alabama, years ago and felt a strong pull for the location. Jane was married for many years to a colonel in the US military and they moved from place to place, never having a real home. Now as a 60-something widow she returns to buy a house and live in Tullulah, the small town that filled her thoughts and called to her since the first time she saw it. Once there she meets Phoebe Twigg, a woman who seems to be her complete opposite but they become fast friends. Phoebe has lived in Tullulah her whole life and knows everyone there. She is extremely level-headed and doesn't hold with new age ideas like ghosts and spirits – something Jane secretly believes in. Phoebe doesn't hold back when she gives her opinion and she finds she admires Jane right away. Jane also meets her neighbor, elderly and frail Cal Prewitt, who is known in town as an unfriendly recluse and troublemaker. But she and Cal also find that they have a lot in common personality-wise and when dealing with love of the land. They get along famously. Before very long Cal offers Jane the sale of his land, a place that is more important to him than his life. He makes the sale after Jane agrees that she will make certain the land is safe and will keep it pristine and never sell it. One day, as Jane and Phoebe are taking a walk on Cal's land, they come across the body of a man shot and killed, who's been dead for a while. Right away the police think that Cal must have done the deed since he was well-known for shooting at people who trespassed. Although Cal is suddenly missing, Jane can't believe he was responsible for the death and she gets Phoebe to join her in looking into what really must have happened. Much more than a cozy starring two elderly women from different backgrounds who decide to investigate a murder, THISTLE AND TWIGG is also a book about love of the land and respect for the people who lived before and for the Indians who first lived on this continent. This book also touches on the idea of ghosts and people who are sensitive to seeing the spirit world. The book is written with each of the women taking the first person in different chapters, and we get to see the world though both sets of eyes belonging to very different people. Phoebe is very much a local person and Jane very much a sophisticated world traveler, one whose history hints at much more than just the wife of a military man. There are moments of great humor here and moments of heart-pounding suspense. And most surprising of all, there are moments of tearful sentiments when the reader feels all of the awe and respect for traditional ways as the characters in the book do. This is the first in a new series and, though it can also be viewed as another amateur sleuth series, it also shows also a love of the history of the South and respect for the Indians who once lived on the land. The natural world of forests and rivers is described with amazing clarity and you can tell that author Mary Saums is indeed a real daughter of the South. This first book of a new series has all the indications that it will be a treasure for mystery lovers. I am already longing to read the next book in the series!
Reviewed by A. L. Katz, May 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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