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Faye Longchamp #4
Findings
Faye Longchamp is overjoyed to be paid to do archaeological work she would have done anyway excavating a site that was once her family's. That joy ends abruptly when intruders break into a dear friends house and leave him dead among the scattered remains of Fayes artifacts. But the open wall safe is untouched, and choice artifacts are left in their cases.
There seems to be no motive at all for the vicious crime unless the thieves were aware of the fabulous emerald he had been holding minutes before his death. But Faye had only uncovered it that very evening, and she had told no one.
When his widow asks Faye to organize the relics left broken on the floor, Faye realizes that something is actually missing not an emerald nor a valuable painting, but her field notes.
Faye seeks out the story behind the mysterious emerald. How was her fieldwork connected to her friends death? The key to all her questions must be buried in the field notes now held by the killers. Now, it is only a matter of time before they come for Faye. Findings is the fourth book in the Faye Longchampe series.
There seems to be no motive at all for the vicious crime unless the thieves were aware of the fabulous emerald he had been holding minutes before his death. But Faye had only uncovered it that very evening, and she had told no one.
When his widow asks Faye to organize the relics left broken on the floor, Faye realizes that something is actually missing not an emerald nor a valuable painting, but her field notes.
Faye seeks out the story behind the mysterious emerald. How was her fieldwork connected to her friends death? The key to all her questions must be buried in the field notes now held by the killers. Now, it is only a matter of time before they come for Faye. Findings is the fourth book in the Faye Longchampe series.
274 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2008
70 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
About the author
Mary Anna Evans
36 books457 followersMary Anna Evans is an award-winning author, a writing professor, and she holds degrees in physics and engineering, a background that, as it turns out, is ideal for writing her new book, The Physicists' Daughter. Set in WWII-era New Orleans, The Physicists' Daughter introduces Justine Byrne, whom Mary Anna describes as "a little bit Rosie-the-Riveter and a little bit Bletchley Park codebreaker."
When Justine, the daughter of two physicists who taught her things girls weren't expected to know in 1944, realizes that her boss isn't telling her the truth about the work she does in her factory job, she draws on the legacy of her unconventional upbringing to keep her division running and protect her coworkers, her country, and herself from a war that is suddenly very close to home.
Her crime fiction has earned recognition that includes the Oklahoma Book Award, the Will Rogers Medallion Awards Gold Medal, the Mississippi Author Award, a spot on Voice of Young America’s (VOYA) list of “Adult Mysteries with Young Adult Appeal,” a writer’s residency from The Studios of Key West, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Florida Historical Society’s Patrick D. Smith Florida Literature Award, and three Florida Book Awards bronze medals.
In addition to writing crime fiction, she writes about crime fiction, as evidenced by the upcoming Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie, which she coedited with J.D Bernthal.
For the incurably curious, Mary Anna’s first published work, her master’s thesis, was entitled A Modeling Study of the NH3-NO-O2 Reaction Under the Operating Conditions of a Fluidized Bed Combustor. Like her mysteries, it was a factually based page-turner but, no, it’s not available online.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryAnnaEvan...
Twitter: @maryannaevans
Instagram :https://www.instagram.com/maryannaevans/
BookBub: @maryannaevans
When Justine, the daughter of two physicists who taught her things girls weren't expected to know in 1944, realizes that her boss isn't telling her the truth about the work she does in her factory job, she draws on the legacy of her unconventional upbringing to keep her division running and protect her coworkers, her country, and herself from a war that is suddenly very close to home.
Her crime fiction has earned recognition that includes the Oklahoma Book Award, the Will Rogers Medallion Awards Gold Medal, the Mississippi Author Award, a spot on Voice of Young America’s (VOYA) list of “Adult Mysteries with Young Adult Appeal,” a writer’s residency from The Studios of Key West, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Florida Historical Society’s Patrick D. Smith Florida Literature Award, and three Florida Book Awards bronze medals.
In addition to writing crime fiction, she writes about crime fiction, as evidenced by the upcoming Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie, which she coedited with J.D Bernthal.
For the incurably curious, Mary Anna’s first published work, her master’s thesis, was entitled A Modeling Study of the NH3-NO-O2 Reaction Under the Operating Conditions of a Fluidized Bed Combustor. Like her mysteries, it was a factually based page-turner but, no, it’s not available online.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryAnnaEvan...
Twitter: @maryannaevans
Instagram :https://www.instagram.com/maryannaevans/
BookBub: @maryannaevans
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
September 12, 2022
Faye was heartbroken when thieves broke into the home of Douglass Everett who died after being beaten by two men. Douglass was more than an employer; he was her friend, role model, father figure, and mentor. Yet, at first glance, it appears nothing has been taken.
I liked Findings a little less than I did Effigies. For me, it felt as though there was too much going on, what with Douglass's death, the mystery behind the fab item she had dug up on her own property, bad guys crawling out of the woodwork, another murder, letters between Jedediah Bachelder and his wife, which were written during the years of the Civil War, amateur pothunters, Ross showing up, and of course, Joe. Whew. I would have loved a little more archaeology, to be honest.
I liked Findings a little less than I did Effigies. For me, it felt as though there was too much going on, what with Douglass's death, the mystery behind the fab item she had dug up on her own property, bad guys crawling out of the woodwork, another murder, letters between Jedediah Bachelder and his wife, which were written during the years of the Civil War, amateur pothunters, Ross showing up, and of course, Joe. Whew. I would have loved a little more archaeology, to be honest.
November 30, 2020
Faye is at home on her island in this book, digging and working with a dear friend. Two tragic events—the murder of that friend, and ransacking of his home workspace where both had been working on the artifacts Faye had dug up from her island. Then another acquaintance is stabbed, and gives her a brief message just before he dies. It doesn’t seem safe for Faye; so she moves to a friend’s house, and Joe is her devoted guard. The sleuthing Faye does involves delving into rare documents in the library. A romantic triangle develops that causes Faye to think hard about her life. Changes are afoot. I’m eager to learn what happen in Evan’s next book.
December 4, 2013
I always find interesting tidbits from this author that increases my awareness of people and things and the way they relate to one another. Historical facts are well integrated into the fictional scenerio. Delighted Faye and Joe recoginzed their love for each other and are considering marriage. They are great for each other!
May 19, 2021
Love these characters. Plus, the narrator has a soothing voice & the mystery is intriguing enough to pull me away from my to-do list for a while. A good listen for this hectic time of year at school!
November 25, 2018
This one, number four in the series, has Faye back on her home turf. Just after she discovers a buried emerald, which may mean there is more, her good friend who runs a local museum of slavery is killed, and soon after another local is murdered. The list of suspects is long. Part of the back-story I liked in this book is a series of letters from the latter part of the civil war period.
April 23, 2020
Findings
I loved this book. It finally got Faye and Joe together. This is the second time I have read this series.
I loved this book. It finally got Faye and Joe together. This is the second time I have read this series.
March 10, 2022
"A DIG TO DIE FOR ...
"Archaeologist Faye Longchamp is thrilled when she gets a job back home, close to her dearest friend and confidant, Joe Wolf Mantooth. Excavating the remains of a historic Florida hotel her family used to own sounds easy, but the dig turns deadly when her mentor, Douglass Everett, is attached in his home moments after meeting with Faye. the killers take nothing, except Faye's field notes.
"Could they have been after the enormous emerald Faye and Douglass discovered? And how did Douglass know to hide the gem before the attack? Faye follows a trail that leads to love letters written during the Civil War ... and treasure hunters desecrating the island for their own ends. The motive for murder may lie in the past, but if she can't outwit the culprits -- and bring her friend's killers to justice -- will Faye become the next victim of present-day greed?"
~~back cover
Very exciting! People are so devious, so greedy, so amoral ... and Faye & Joe nearly meet their end because of it. Douglass did, and so did Wayne. And so did the killers ... in the end. And the end was lovely ... just what I'd been hoping for. But I won't share -- that would be a spoiler.
"Archaeologist Faye Longchamp is thrilled when she gets a job back home, close to her dearest friend and confidant, Joe Wolf Mantooth. Excavating the remains of a historic Florida hotel her family used to own sounds easy, but the dig turns deadly when her mentor, Douglass Everett, is attached in his home moments after meeting with Faye. the killers take nothing, except Faye's field notes.
"Could they have been after the enormous emerald Faye and Douglass discovered? And how did Douglass know to hide the gem before the attack? Faye follows a trail that leads to love letters written during the Civil War ... and treasure hunters desecrating the island for their own ends. The motive for murder may lie in the past, but if she can't outwit the culprits -- and bring her friend's killers to justice -- will Faye become the next victim of present-day greed?"
~~back cover
Very exciting! People are so devious, so greedy, so amoral ... and Faye & Joe nearly meet their end because of it. Douglass did, and so did Wayne. And so did the killers ... in the end. And the end was lovely ... just what I'd been hoping for. But I won't share -- that would be a spoiler.
March 5, 2020
I love this series and as this was the 4th in the series I was excited to listen. However, although I adore Cassandra Campbell, this audiobook was atrocious.
Let me begin with the horrific butchering of a southern accent. I am from Tennessee. I know people in every southern state, and ALL of those people pronounce the letter "R". If you are studying an accent, the best place to listen is to people who are living in the region from which the accent originates. By that, I mean do not copy actors who have tried to speak with the accent but who are not, in fact, southern. I felt like I was listening to Miss Scah-let. It was unbelievably distracting. What makes it worse is that Ms. Campbell narrated each of the previous novels with NO accent whatsoever, and it was just fine.
PERFECT IT. Or DON'T BOTHER. Please.
The next major problem was with the audio editing. As an audiobook producer, I am very familiar with patches. I flub a word, I mispronounce, I drop an "s"...all those things mean that I have to rerecord small snippets of text. Those small parts then have to be integrated into the whole recording without drawing attention. It's not that hard.
When a narrator is reading and suddenly lowers in sound or raises in sound for one line, that is a BAD patch job. I have noticed these in many popular books by big authors and it's not usually something that would be noticeable to a casual listener who has never wrestled with a patch. I lost count of how many blatant patch jobs there were in this book. There were even a few unexplainable pauses.
Oh, the story was okay if you can get past that.
Here's hoping Ms. Campbell drops the appalling accent with the next book!
Let me begin with the horrific butchering of a southern accent. I am from Tennessee. I know people in every southern state, and ALL of those people pronounce the letter "R". If you are studying an accent, the best place to listen is to people who are living in the region from which the accent originates. By that, I mean do not copy actors who have tried to speak with the accent but who are not, in fact, southern. I felt like I was listening to Miss Scah-let. It was unbelievably distracting. What makes it worse is that Ms. Campbell narrated each of the previous novels with NO accent whatsoever, and it was just fine.
PERFECT IT. Or DON'T BOTHER. Please.
The next major problem was with the audio editing. As an audiobook producer, I am very familiar with patches. I flub a word, I mispronounce, I drop an "s"...all those things mean that I have to rerecord small snippets of text. Those small parts then have to be integrated into the whole recording without drawing attention. It's not that hard.
When a narrator is reading and suddenly lowers in sound or raises in sound for one line, that is a BAD patch job. I have noticed these in many popular books by big authors and it's not usually something that would be noticeable to a casual listener who has never wrestled with a patch. I lost count of how many blatant patch jobs there were in this book. There were even a few unexplainable pauses.
Oh, the story was okay if you can get past that.
Here's hoping Ms. Campbell drops the appalling accent with the next book!
December 1, 2022
Findings (Faye Longchamp mystery #4), Mary Anna Evans, 2008, 265 pages, ISBN 9781590584835
Murder mystery with romance. Our archaeologist protagonist is home for book 4 on her island off Florida's panhandle.
Thirteen Faye Longchamp mysteries, as of 2022: https://www.orderofbooks.com/authors/...
Previous books in the series:
Murder mystery with romance. Our archaeologist protagonist is home for book 4 on her island off Florida's panhandle.
Thirteen Faye Longchamp mysteries, as of 2022: https://www.orderofbooks.com/authors/...
Previous books in the series:
April 16, 2025
This was an interesting read. Mystery, unique characters, historical references, and an archeologist that kept the story spinning.
Faye is an archeologist that is in the process of restoring a family plantation. Thieves break into her mentor's home, steal her field notes and the bodies start dropping. An emerald from a necklace belonging to Marie Antoinette appears to be the object of interest with greedy treasure hunters digging up the land. Civil War era letters hold clues to locations that promise rich in treasures hidden during the war. Faye and Joe spend many hours in the rare book section of the library searching for answers.
I loved numerous quotes/phrases and listed a few below. There is so much below the surface of these words.
"Sleep isn't for forgetting, that is when healing dreams come. They are so you know everything will be ok."
"To be wordlessly in love."
"To be piecing together a broken world."
I gave the book 4 stars because it gave me the joy of drifting away to another time and place.
Faye is an archeologist that is in the process of restoring a family plantation. Thieves break into her mentor's home, steal her field notes and the bodies start dropping. An emerald from a necklace belonging to Marie Antoinette appears to be the object of interest with greedy treasure hunters digging up the land. Civil War era letters hold clues to locations that promise rich in treasures hidden during the war. Faye and Joe spend many hours in the rare book section of the library searching for answers.
I loved numerous quotes/phrases and listed a few below. There is so much below the surface of these words.
"Sleep isn't for forgetting, that is when healing dreams come. They are so you know everything will be ok."
"To be wordlessly in love."
"To be piecing together a broken world."
I gave the book 4 stars because it gave me the joy of drifting away to another time and place.
February 15, 2018
Mary Anna Evans crafts a very, very good story. The plot is tightly written with the exception that you never know where the next turn is. Although the outcome is expected, but not who the antagonist is; there are always twists and turns that keep you guessing. The female protagonist, Faye Longchamp, is a relatively young, intelligent, likable and accomplished archaeologist. Findings develops a historical time line set during the Civil War era in Northwest Florida. This is brought into the present as she and her close friend Joe, of Creek Indian descent, attempt to solve the murders of two close friend/acquaintances. Lots of characters from the first three of the Faye Longchamp series make appearances. I recommend reading the series in order for character development. However, each story stands on its own. With lots of intrigue, history and archaeology with romantic overtones, this story is well worth reading. One of my favorite new authors.
March 13, 2021
In the post story pages the author noted that she realized she had not only written a Faye Longchamp mystery, but also a book about love. "The book is permeated with romantic love -- Faye and Joe, Faye and Ross, Douglas and Emma, Jedediah and Viola, Magda and Mike, Curry and Sharon -- there is hardly a character in the book who is not affected, for good or ill, by romantic love." (I would add Chip and Elizabeth.) The mystery surrounds the death of Faye's friend Douglas, and soon after an old frenemy dies in Faye's arms. It is up to Faye to determine what links the two murders. Is it the emerald she just found? The article that appeared in the paper just shortly before Douglas's death? Meanwhile Faye needs to decide: does she want to live with Ross in Atlanta and visit Joyeuse occassionally or does she want to stay with Joe at Joyeuse?.....
August 24, 2017
OK I'll admit this story lost me a bit part way through but that may just be because it's the fourth in the series and perhaps I had had enough of the quirkiness of a couple of the characters and should have taken a break from the series. Everything in book four follows the pattern of books 1, 2 & 3. A new plot and new murders but the same pattern and the same storytelling. Readers of the first three are rewarded with continuing character development and the ongoing relationships issues between the main characters but other than that I found this volume rather flat. A solid three stars but nothing too special.
March 13, 2022
The title has so many different meaning in relationship to this story, are the titles also puns.
Faye is an archeologist with murders in her own backyard. Can she figure out who and why before she ends up dead. Plenty of red herrings, lots of suspects, and lots of history. The history is personalized through journals and oral stories, making these long dead people come alive. Greed lead to so many peoples' deaths, why can't people learn from the past.
These are murder mystery that by definition should be considered a cozy but the bodies don't die offstage and bloodless. It's definitely an interesting take on this type of mystery. Will read more in the series.
Faye is an archeologist with murders in her own backyard. Can she figure out who and why before she ends up dead. Plenty of red herrings, lots of suspects, and lots of history. The history is personalized through journals and oral stories, making these long dead people come alive. Greed lead to so many peoples' deaths, why can't people learn from the past.
These are murder mystery that by definition should be considered a cozy but the bodies don't die offstage and bloodless. It's definitely an interesting take on this type of mystery. Will read more in the series.
September 14, 2017
Very suspense, crime fighting mystery. Faye goes beyond her abilities and tries to save everyone around her and gets injured sometimes as well. Very little romance in this series so far. She has a friend die in this book, so sad how he dies and Faye has a mystery on her hands again and helps the cops investigate and she sometimes gets to close . .
The story keeps you right in and you want to find out what is happening and who the killer is . .. you will find out closer to the end if you haven't gotten it figured out as you read. . .
The story keeps you right in and you want to find out what is happening and who the killer is . .. you will find out closer to the end if you haven't gotten it figured out as you read. . .
November 21, 2018
Faye Longchamp has found several artifacts that are now in a museum dedicated to the history of slavery. One of the pieces is a small gold finding. Immediately after Faye finds a large emerald that was probably part of the same jewelry as the gold, the museum’s director is murdered. Too much of the book is about Faye’s romantic life (I was wondering if I had wandered into a Stephanie Plum story). However, much of it describes Faye and Joe’s research in the library as well as the field archeology on Joyeuse Island and was quite fascinating.
October 20, 2020
Faye Longchamp has found something quite valuable. She leaves it with her friend. Unfortunately, Faye's friend is killed after she leaves his home. Why was Douglas killed? Why had the thieves taken her books explaining where she had been digging? What were they looking for in her notes? Faye finds that many of her questions may have answers that date back to the Civil War. If you have been following this series you will find answers to these questions and more. Much of Faye's story in Findings is centered around her beloved home on her island.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2023
I liked this book a lot, and like the series.
Problems for me: I don’t remember Faye and Douglass, having the extremely close relationship that the author uses as a basis for the drama in this book; it may have been a big factor in earlier books though, and I just don’t remember it. There was a minor, but obvious mistake in police procedure.
I liked the way the romantic entanglement was resolved
Cassandra Campbell’s southern accent was distracting, annoying, and just plain bad. I don’t remember that being the case in earlier books.
Problems for me: I don’t remember Faye and Douglass, having the extremely close relationship that the author uses as a basis for the drama in this book; it may have been a big factor in earlier books though, and I just don’t remember it. There was a minor, but obvious mistake in police procedure.
I liked the way the romantic entanglement was resolved
Cassandra Campbell’s southern accent was distracting, annoying, and just plain bad. I don’t remember that being the case in earlier books.
August 9, 2020
So glad to get back to what ever happened with that emerald from the end of book one.
These are characters that are easy to like, except for the greedy ones digging up treasures on other people's property. Faye does what she can to get the law involved, but it just does not seem to be enough.
We get some personal advancement with Joe and Faye at long last as well.
I borrowed a copy from the public library.
These are characters that are easy to like, except for the greedy ones digging up treasures on other people's property. Faye does what she can to get the law involved, but it just does not seem to be enough.
We get some personal advancement with Joe and Faye at long last as well.
I borrowed a copy from the public library.
February 6, 2022
I like the archaeological information and the characters are very likable except for the bad guys. Whereas the first chapters seemed abrupt, the remaining chapters mostly dragged on and on. Also I don’t feel romance is handled convincingly and drags on and on also. This book kept repeating things already known. Many times I had to put it down, or else I would have given up on it. Book #3 was much better.
Nevertheless., the author has kept me interested in reading the next installment.
Nevertheless., the author has kept me interested in reading the next installment.
November 18, 2017
Another great book
I really enjoy this series of books. Archeology is fascinating and learning a bit about how it's done has been edifying. The characters in these books are very well developed and extremely likable. I look forward to reading the next book in the series with great anticipation.
I really enjoy this series of books. Archeology is fascinating and learning a bit about how it's done has been edifying. The characters in these books are very well developed and extremely likable. I look forward to reading the next book in the series with great anticipation.
February 24, 2020
I like the writing and the the story line, but the main character is a terrible racist and ____ist. She immediately and repeatedly makes assumptions about people's thoughts, motives and actions based on their skin color or a single thing she knows about them. Military history buffs = love weapons = no trouble killing her = somewhat sweeping generalization.
June 8, 2022
I love all these Faye Longchamp books! Archeology is one of my fascinations...I am a teacher, so I seem to be drawn to careers of much learning and no dinero. Ha! These books are all about mystery, finding artifacts, and a few other things mixed in. I'm actually sad this is the last one in the series. Maybe MAEvans will write some more!
April 7, 2024
4th in the series. Favorite quote: "I think that Y chromosome is a birth defect. It sure makes men do stupid things. That's why they named it Y."
Finally, Faye and Joe get together!! Too many people died due to greed. Confederate army treasure from Jebediah Batch older. Supposedly buried on Faye's island. Joe proposed at the end.
Finally, Faye and Joe get together!! Too many people died due to greed. Confederate army treasure from Jebediah Batch older. Supposedly buried on Faye's island. Joe proposed at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2024
This series centers around Faye Longchamp, an independent archaeologist whose major focus is rehabilitating her family's run down mansion on a remote Southern island. This mystery revolves around an enormous gem she finds as she is doing research on the island. This novel involves Civil War history and modern illegal souvenir "pot hunting," and selling treasures on the black market.
February 21, 2022
How could looking into the past of your ancestral home stir up so much trouble? Faye is about to find out. When a friend turns up dead and her notes are stolen from the museum he ran, it has only just begun.
May 31, 2022
I was expecting more but maybe I started reading the Longchamp novels too late in the series. It wandered too much toward lust and longing and not enough on mystery and the hints of archeological the interests that initially caught my attention.
September 21, 2017
Excellent series
September 27, 2017
Great book. I just didn't realize it was #4 in the series. Now back to #1.
July 11, 2018
Good plot, workmanlike writing. Enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews