Synopses & Reviews
Archaeologist Faye Longchamp and her friend, Joe Wolf Mantooth, have traveled to Neshoba County, Mississippi, to help excavate a site near Nanih Waiya, the sacred mound where tradition says the Choctaw nation was born. When farmer Carroll Calhoun refuses their request to investigate an ancient Native American mound, Faye and her colleagues are disappointed, but his next action breaks their hearts: he tries to bulldoze the huge relic to the ground.
Faye and Joe rush to protect history--with their bodies, if necessary. Soon the Choctaws arrive to defend the mound and the farmer's white and black neighbors come to defend his property rights. Though a popular young sheriff is able to defuse the situation, tempers are short.
That night, Calhoun is found dead, his throat sliced with a handmade stone blade. Was he killed by an archaeologist, angered by his wanton destruction of history? Neshoba County farmers have been plowing up stone tools like the murder weapon for centuries. Did one of them take this chance to even the score with an old rival?
The sheriff is well-aware that Faye and Joe were near the spot where Calhoun's body was found and their combined knowledge of stone tools is impressive. They had motive, means, and opportunity....but so does almost everyone in Neshoba County.
Review
"In Evans's intriguing third mystery to feature archeologist Faye Longchamp (after 2005'sRelics ), Faye and her Native American assistant, Joe Wolf Mantooth, leave Joyeuse Island, Fla., for a dig in rural Mississippi at the site of a proposed highway. They arrive during the Neshoba County Fair, a weeklong celebration during which residents put aside their differences to honor the area's mixed-race heritage. But when the archeologists discover another important site on the property of Carroll Calhoun, a racist with ties to the KKK, he not only refuses to let them excavate but tries to bulldoze what might be a sacred Choctaw burial mound. In the ensuing clash, racial tensions hit the boiling point over who has rights to the mound. Calhoun is then found dead, his throat slit with an ancient Indian blade, and Faye investigates after suspicion falls on Joe and other area Native Americans. Though Evans has been compared to Tony Hillerman, her sympathetic characters and fascinating archeological lore add up to a style all her own.(Jan.)" --Publishers Weekly
Review
"We mystery lovers who've enjoyed ARTIFACTS and then decided that RELICS was even better may not believe this but Ms. Evans has done it again, and EFFIGIES
is the best one yet. Again, she makes a lesson in our past a fascinating read."
Tony Hillerman.
Review
"We mystery lovers who've enjoyed ARTIFACTS and then decided that RELICS was even better may not believe this but Ms. Evans has done it again, and EFFIGIES
is the best one yet. Again, she makes a lesson in our past a fascinating read."
Tony Hillerman.
Review
""The crew hired to document an endangered area on the property of a Choctaw archaeologist whose family and tribe have mixed feelings about digging up their past can't help eying farmer Carroll Calhoun's spectacular mound across the road. The day after he refuses permission to investigate to the professor in charge, Calhoun attempts to destroy the mound, fearing the authorities will confiscate his land. A dangerous standoff is defused when Nashoba County Sheriff Neely Rutland arrives and agrees to look into the legal issues. Racism rears its head when a locally born black man, Lawrence Johnson Judd, a retired congressman, gives a speech at the county fair in which he tells of being hooded and nearly beaten to death before the last-minute arrival of an unseen man. When Calhoun's throat is cut by a stone weapon and Judd almost dies from an overdose, Faye's curiosity gets the best of her. Faye, Joe and attractive visiting racial activist Ross Donnelly set out to find the site of Judd's attack. Trapped in a cave, they manage to escape and confront the killer at a public forum where the sins of the past prove to be the motive for murder.
A captivating combination of archeology, Native-American tales, romance and detection. A must-read for those so inclined."" --Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Archaeologist Faye Longchamp (Artifacts, 2003) and her Native American friend Joe Wolf Mantooth are in Neshoba County, Mississippi, working on an excavation near Nanih Waiya, the sacred mound that is said to be the birthplace of the Choctaw Nation. A nearby farm has an ancient mound that appears to be rich in artifacts, but the owner, Carroll Calhoun, refuses to let the team investigate. In fact, he gets on his tractor and tries to bulldoze the mound along with a few of the archaeologists. The local sheriff diffuses the situation, but, later, Calhoun turns up dead. Since the murder weapon is a handmade stone blade, and Faye and Joe were nearby, they become suspects. As thepair works to clear themselves, the county's history of racism surfaces. Like Randy Wayne White in his Doc Ford novels, Evans adds an extra layer of substance to her series continues by drawing readers into the fascinating history of ancient American civilizations."--Booklist
Review
"In all three of Faye Longchamp's adventures Mary Anna Evans has given us insights into little known aspects of America's past. As an archeological tour alone the book would be worth reading, but it's the fascinating and complex characters that give the story life and vibrancy"
Rhys Bowen
Synopsis
When local farmer Carroll Calhoun threatens to bulldoze a sacred Choctaw mound in Neshoba County, Mississippi, archaeologist Faye Longchamp, her friend Joe Wolf Mantooth, and members of the Choctaw nation race to defend their heritage, sparking a confrontation between Native American activists and locals that leads to Calhoun's murder.
Synopsis
2007 - Florida Book Award Bronze Medal Winner
"As an archeological tour alone the book would be worth reading, but it's the fascinating and complex characters that give the story life and vibrancy." --Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author
Faye Longchamp and Joe Wolf Mantooth have traveled to Neshoba County, Mississippi, to help excavate a site near Nanih Waiya, the sacred mound where tradition says the Choctaw nation was born. When farmer Carroll Calhoun refuses the archaeologists' request to investigate an ancient Native American mound, Faye and her colleagues are disappointed. But his next action breaks their hearts: he tries to bulldoze the huge relic to the ground.
Later Calhoun is found dead, his throat sliced with a handmade stone blade. Was he killed by an archaeologist angered by his wanton destruction of history? Did a Choctaw take up arms to defend an embattled heritage? Did someone decide to even the score with an old rival?
Synopsis
PLA journal, PMA mailings, Bloomsbury Review, Reader reviews on Dorothy L, Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, review copies to all major media
About the Author
Mary Anna Evans has degrees in physics and chemical engineering. Her background includes stints in environmental consulting and university administration. Writing lets her spend weeks indulging her passion for history, archaeology, and architecture, and months making up stories. Mary Anna lives in Florida with her three children and a cat.