Gravestone

Marty Hopkins #1

by P.M. Carlson

Assigned to find out who is trying to kill Judge Denton, Lawrence County police officer Marty Hopkins is almost certain that his case has connections to the Goldberger case, which could involve the Klan.

Genres: Mystery, Procedural, Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

P.M. Carlson taught psychology and statistics at Cornell University before deciding that mystery writing was more fun. She has published twelve mystery novels and a dozen mystery short stories. Her novels have been nominated for an Edgar award, a Macavity award, and twice for Anthony awards. Two short stories were finalists for Agatha awards. She edited the Mystery Writers Annual for Mystery Writers of America for several years, and served as President of Sisters in Crime. Besides reading mysteries, she enjoys working on her Victorian house and traveling. She has lived in Guatemala, California, Maryland, Indiana, Paris, and Brooklyn. Currently she lives in New York with her husband and a Belgian sheepdog named Nero Wolfe.

Reviews

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marty married young. Her husband had dreams of making it big as a radio announcer, but didn't want to work for it. She's still madly in love with him, but has a young daughter to raise and a job as a deputy sheriff she loves. He wants to move them to Alaska after she sells the house she inherited from her mother so he can find a 'gimmick' to break into radio in New York City.
When the call comes in, Marty writes it off, but goes out to investigate. The body has been mutilated. The fire reported was from a small cross. A Klan card is there. The sheriff calls her off the case and sends her on what seems to be a wild goose chase.
Years earlier the daughter of a wealthy family disappeared. She is still in her father's will and he is dying. Marty starts following up clues. What she finds opens up family secrets and Klan affiliations to the now two murders and a kidnapping.
This book is a fast read. Some of the characters make you think about life and the Earth in a new way. The action is different. Just how dark is it in a cave with no lights?

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another midwestern woman detective -- this one a deputy sheriff in Indiana, and mother of a 9-year-old girl, with a reckless, feckless husband whom both adore. Marty is mixed up in investigating a series of Klan murders--which actually came back to two people I certainly didn't expect. I wished that one of the characters had turned out to be a nicer person than they did.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't get very far into this book before abandoning it. The plot was scattered, the pacing poor.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the beginning of the book, two cases are being investigated; the current one appears to be a KKK killing of a Jewish musician who is married to a black jazz singer. The cold case is a 12-year-old girl who went missing mysteriously 7 years ago and will soon come into an inheritance, if she is found. Our spunky female cop, Marty Hopkins, is jonesing to investigate the new murder case but is assigned instead to the cold case, both to appease the rich and politically powerful family involved and because her boss thinks it's a suitable job for a woman. The men in the book are, btw, overwhelmingly old-school. It isn't long before Marty finds that investigating the cold case comes with it's own risks and a clue ties the cold case to the new murder.

There were several things about this book that, had I known them ahead of time, might have put it on my AVOID list but, once I got into it, somehow I was absolutely compelled to keep reading (hence the 4th star). I generally avoid mysterious killers who give themselves super-hero names and who are, or at least think they are, much smarter than the cops. If, in addition to that, the killer had turned out to be a continuing character and not solved by the end of the book I would have put this author on my DNR list. College professors Wolfe and Hart were both so incredibly annoying that I'm surprised no one shot them "by accident." And poor Deputy Hopkin's little gray cells seemed to hop around like jumping beans. She was so easily distracted by -- well, just about anything. Show her an interesting rock or "Oh, look, there's a squirrel" and she was off the trail of the killer.

On the plus side, how many mysteries are set in Indiana? Although some Hoosiers may not be flattered. Indiana as it appears in this book is only a safe place to live, work, and play if you are a native-born white Christian. If you are not a cave enthusiast, at least one chapter of the book may leave you feeling a little claustrophobic, but limestone is my favorite rock and I was delighted to see it prominently featured in the book even if it meant a little spelunking.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sheriff deputy Marty Hopkins mystery set in southern Indiana. Twenty-nine year old Hopkins is trying to establish herself on the force as a capable investigator. The mystery is set today with references to Indiana's KKK past as the sheriff's department investigates a couple of murders with Klan links, a dying prominent judge who claims he is being killed, and his family's missing daughter who ran away seven years ago.

It is an intersting read as the story unfolds along with Hopkins personal life.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series presents mystery lovers with a lot to like: a spunky protagonist/sleuth, Southern culture with all of its prejudices, and a really good puzzle that echoes with all the Southern conventions: an established old family, convoluted family relationships, iconoclastic young ones and the consequences of their actions, tense race relations, even a burning cross. The author uses these conventions with skill and enough twists to make the puzzle engaging for even the most seasoned readers.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a more gritty story than her Maggie Ryan first novel, Audition For Murder (amateur sleuth). Here we are dealing with a police procedural, with very real and tense situations. The characters are all well developed, and the writing is very smooth. Don't read this if you can't handle descriptions of caves. I was surprised that one of the characters I had come to trust was the one with the secret that could solve the mystery. Nicely done P.M.

[Lindig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I persisted and was rewarded by a nicely convoluted plot (or two), an engaging heroine, and some interesting characters, plus a most interesting evolutionary biologist. I know a lot about Indiana limestone now. The pacing is a little slow but not glacial. Good book.