Synopses & Reviews
Faye Longchamp is doing something she hates, finding and selling artifacts. But she's doing it to save something she loves. Joyeuse, the plantation manor held by the women in her family ever since it was her great-great-grandmother inherited it. Faye makes a little money on the legitimate dig on a nearby island until that work is interrupted by the murder of two young members of the crew. Then bones of a much older murder are uncovered, and clues lead Faye to suspect an old friend, a long-time business partner, and a new love interest.
Review
"The shifting little isles along the Florida Panhandle--hurricane-wracked bits of land filled with plenty of human history--serve as the effective backdrop for Evans's debut, a tale of greed, archaeology, romance and murder.... Readers should welcome this strong new sleuth."
Publishers Weekly
Review
"First-novelist Evans introduces a strong female sleuth in this extremely promising debut, and she makes excellent use of her archaeological subject matter, weaving past and present together in a multilayered, compelling plot."
Barbara Bibel, Booklist
Review
"The distinctly Southern flavor of this book is amplified by an eclectic cast of characters, all quirky and memorable long after the last page has been turned.... You will read this novel for its gripping plot and interesting cast, but you'll savor it for its rich tutorial in slavery, coastal history and heritage."
Karen P. Fowler, Curled Up with a Good Book
Review
"The shifting little isles along the Florida Panhandle--hurricane-wracked bits of land filled with plenty of human history--serve as the effective backdrop for Evans's debut, a tale of greed, archaeology, romance and murder.... Readers should welcome this strong new sleuth."
Publishers Weekly
"You will enjoy this book for the mystery story and the interesting history and archaeological information the author freely dispenses. Books from Poisoned Pen Press are always a good bet with an interesting twist be it a new author or an almost forgotten one." -- I Love a Mystery
"First-novelist Evans introduces a strong female sleuth in this extremely promising debut, and she makes excellent use of her archaeological subject matter, weaving past and present together in a multi-layered, compelling plot." -- Booklist
"Artifacts is a haunting, atmospheric story in which a mysterious island holds the clue to long-buried family secrets. Mary Anna Evans brings passion and insight to her subject and has written a modern southern gothic novel about a biracial woman's search for her heritage." -- PJ Parrish, Edgar nominee and New York Times best-selling author
"A fresh contemporary protagonist, Faye Longchamp gives the phrase 'scraping to get by' a whole different meaning. Past and present merge in an intriguing story ably demonstrating that Miami doesn't have a monopoly on murder in Florida." -- Aileen Schumacher, Anthony award nominated author
Synopsis
2004 - Benjamin Franklin Award for Mystery/Suspense
"A haunting, atmospheric story." -P.J. Parrish, New York Times bestselling author
Faye Longchamp has lost nearly everything except her determination to hang onto Joyeuse, a moldering plantation hidden along the Florida coast. No one knows how Faye's great-great-grandmother Cally, a newly freed slave barely out of her teens, came to own Joyeuse in the aftermath of the Civil War or how her descendants hung onto it through Reconstruction, world wars, the Depression, and Jim Crow. But Faye has inherited the family tenacity. When the property taxes rise beyond her means, she sets out to save Joyeuse by digging for artifacts on her property and selling them on the black market.
But instead of pot shards and arrowheads, she uncovers a woman's shattered skull. If Faye reports the 40-year-old murder, she'll reveal her illegal livelihood, risk jail...and Joyeuse. So she probes into the dead woman's history, unaware that the past is rushing toward her like a hurricane across deceptively calm Gulf waters....
Synopsis
To save her ancestral plantation home in Florida, Faye Longchamp illegally digs for and sells artifacts on the black market. But while she's on a legitimate dig on a nearby island, two young members of the crew are murdered and the bones from an older murder are found.
About the Author
Mary Anna Evans has degrees in Physics and Chemical Engineering, but her heart is in the past. Her background includes stints as an environmental consultant and a youth choir director. She has also worked offshore and wrapped gifts for pay. Writing lets her indulge her passion for history, archaeology, and architecture, while giving her a great excuse for making up stories. Simply put, writing novels is fun. Mary Anna lives in Florida with her husband, three children, at least sixteen musical instruments, and a cat. Artifacts is her debut novel.