Ghost Cave

Alice MacDonald Greer Mystery Series #1

by Helen Currie Foster

Big-city lawyer Alice MacDonald Greer moves her office to the small town of Coffee Creek, in the heart of Texas Hill Country. As she is learning to enjoy the quirky residents, brusque, elderly rancher Ollie West walks into her office.

Ollie wants her to create a trust to protect prehistoric rock paintings on his ranch. Alice obliges, intrigued by the unexpected power of the ancient paintings.

When Ollie is murdered, Alice is determined to honor his wishes-in spite of his family. And what starts as a series of inept break-ins at Alice's office and ranch escalates into violence by an unknown adversary. Climbing the cliffs of Cloud Ranch once more to seek inspiration from the rock art, Alice finds herself not only fighting to vindicate Ollie, but fighting for her life.

The first of the Alice MacDonald Greer Mystery series, "Ghost Cave" plunges the reader into a world of ancient shamans and murderous greed. In the heart of Texas, the passion for land runs deep-sometimes dangerously so.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 18, 2014

About the author

Helen Currie Foster writes the Alice MacDonald Greer Mystery series, set in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin, with its quirky characters, hidden springs and spectacularly rough landscape.

Helen taught high school English and covered local politics for a weekly newspaper which gave her a ringside seat for battles over sewers, water mains, and development. She headed for law school and after thirty years practicing environmental and regulatory law and litigation, she found the character Alice and her stories had suddenly appeared in her life. From childhood Helen loved mysteries...and still does.

Married with two children, Helen lives north of Dripping Springs, Texas, supervised by three burros. She's deeply curious about human history and how, uninvited, the past keeps crashing the party. Current preoccupations include the impact of mass production of weapons in the Bronze Age, debates over altruism vs. competition in human nature, and the fascinating research on human prehistory.

Helen serves on the boards of Austin Shakespeare and the Heart of Texas Sisters in Crime.

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting read over the weekend. I usually do not give 5 stars for a book, but this is an exception since I am half-Texan. The beginning starts a bit slow, but I reminded myself that this is Texas, and Texas characters are living in Texas Time. But what really pulled me in was how the author wove a story of ancient cultures into a modern dilemma - putting windfarms on every windy hill and desert in Texas. Go Green so many say, but the legalese of these wind giants leave large ranch owners with the problem of what happens to these structures if a company pulls out? Who cleans up the mess? What treasures lay beneath the concrete embedded equipment and how much say does a landowner have after signing away their lease agreements? But at the heart of this, there is an intriguing story that Ranchland lawyer, Alice McDonald Greer must dig for. Small towns have deep secrets but under the scrutiny of a hot, blazing sun and the thousands of bright stars, lies and secrets don't remain buried. Decades only add ripple effects which touch many innocent lives. From exquisite, world class pictographs (Indian paintings) to middle of the night truck chases, the story underlines that not all people are who we believe them to be and there are other fantastical mysteries in the Texas hills and sands. Some that make me pause and wonder, even several days after reading the hill country (Fredericksburg, Dripping Springs) book. For an excellent Texas fiction book, which nails Texas culture, now and thousands of years before, I recommend this Totally Texas Novel. Best read with Sweet Tea and Coconut Cream Pie!

[Dian Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not only a book club selection but it's also written by a friend, a member of the club. I really enjoyed it. It is set in a fictional little Hill Country town and the geographic references were all ones I was familiar with. She also did a good job of her character descriptions. I can imagine meeting people just like them in this part of the world. But she didn't just stick with the familiar. Many of her references showed that she is very well traveled and well read, all of which contribute to her being a really good writer. The book is about the death of a much beloved rancher but eventually we see that his death was the last of many suspicious deaths. I didn't have too much trouble figuring out who the villain was but she did do a good job of building up suspense until the final confrontation. This is the first of her Alice Greer series and I have a feeling I'll be wanting to spend reading time getting to know this character and her little Hill Country town better.

[Susie Turk · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is really neat to read a book written by someone I know about places near where I live: Austin, New Braunfels, Fredericksburg. This book introduces us to Alice Greer who is an attorney who has set up her law office in Coffee Creek, a fictitious town in the Hill country area in Central Texas.

She is hired to rewrite the will of Ollie West who has lung cancer. He’d like to protect the cave drawings on his ranch as well as put the ranch in trust. Then Ollie is found dead and, mysterious things happen to Alice: an intruder below hiding below her home, someone breaks into her office, someone tries to run her off the road. Alice suspects it has something to do with Ollie’s will.

[Judy Alter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just discovered Foster's Alice MacDonald Greer series, and I am hooked. Each of the seven or so books have Ghost in the title, and she's successful in carrying out the theme. Alice Greer is a lawyer who gave up the bigtime to practice in Coffee Creek, Texas. But the cases that land on her desk are amazing. And the supporting case of characters are believable and intersting. I'm loving the time spent in Coffee Creek, with occasional road trips. I'm now on Book Three, The Ghost Letter, and loving my time in Coffee Creek with these folks.

[Peggy Hess Greenawalt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun Texas book to read!!! I was right there in the Hill Country visualizing as the mystery unraveled. I truly enjoyed the characters, and the reality of what ranch life is like in rural Texas, especially because I live in Austin. Well done Helen Currie Foster! I will look forward to reading more in this interesting Alice MacDonald Greer Mystery series. There are a total of 9 books, all with great stories. 4.4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Robert Meloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super read

I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Easy to follow story line. Enjoyed descriptions of the land. The characters were easy to identify with.
Look forward to reading more from Ms Foster.

[JoyceCharbonneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed very.much

NOT a paranormal or ghost story. AND a good look at the West, and strong, successful women. Also insightful characterizes of how people deal with tragedy in their lives. Good Read

[Susan Sarabasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked this book so well I have ordered the rest of the series from B&N.
Unusual but strong heroine. Does not follow the cookie cutter method of many of today’s mystery series.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun mystery

I really liked the characters and the way the mystery played out. Lots of adventures and the way she started investigating was a natural process. It was a fun story.

[Virginia Adi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging story and characters!

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice first mystery written by a friend of a friend. Looking forward to more.

[Janie Pequeno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghost Cave

First time reading one of Helen Currie Foster’s books. Kept my interest until the end, which says alot. Highly recommend this first book in her series.

[Jennine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series! Fast, entertaining read!

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written. It's refreshing to have a mature main character.

[Rachel Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved all the Texas / Hill Country details. Enjoyed the layers to the crime as well. Starts slow but really picked up and built a nice pace once the action got going!

[Mary Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Super book. Love the setting and characters, and the plot was most interesting and satisfying. Looking forward to reading more!

[Marisel Saucedo-Tarin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery set in my home state. Greed,wills, and estates always bring out the worst! But idk why it's called ghost cave though.

[Kerry M Milliken · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and engaging read!!

Really enjoyed the plot and character development!!! Looking forward to the next in series! Glad there are quite a few!

[Linda A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stumbled across this in my college newsletter, as it was written by a classmate. I had no idea! I went ahead and read it because it has to do, in part, with Native American archaeology and contemporary clashes over whether to preserve or develop the land it sits on -- sort of down my alley (I'm more into the linguistic aspects, but the archaeological aspects are always there in the background. The female lead is a lawyer (like its author) so the legal aspects may be taken as accurate. Lots of strong, engaging female characters, although perhaps too wise and wonderful across the board to be completely credible. Otherwise a very engaging read.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!!!

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quite and engaging read. Well written and fun and clever. Can't wait to find time to consume the next 2 in the series!