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Marjorie Trumaine Mystery #2
See Also Deception
In a small North Dakota town in 1964, indexer Marjorie Trumaine investigates the alleged suicide of the local librarian, uncovering a web of secrets that puts her own life in jeopardy. October 1964—Just months after freelance indexer Marjorie Trumaine helped solve a series of murders in Dickinson, North Dakota, she is faced with another death that pulls her into an unwanted investigation. Calla Eltmore, the local librarian, is found dead at work and everyone considers it suicide. But Marjorie can't believe that Calla would be capable of doing such a thing. Marjorie's suspicions are further aroused when she notices something amiss at Calla's wake, but the police seem uninterested in her observations. Despite pressing job commitments and the burden of caring for a husband in declining health, Marjorie sets out to uncover the truth. What she finds is a labyrinth of secrets—and threats from someone who will kill to keep these secrets hidden.
240 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2016
14 people are currently reading
445 people want to read
About the author
Larry D. Sweazy
46 books116 followersLarry D. Sweazy (pronounced: Swayzee) is the author of nineteen novels and five series: the Trusty Dawson series (LOST MOUNTAIN PASS, THE BROKEN BOW), WHERE I CAN SEE YOU, a standalone thriller, the Marjorie Trumaine Mystery series (SEE ALSO MURDER, SEE ALSO DECEPTION, SEE ALSO PROOF), the Sonny Burton series (A THOUSAND FALLING CROWS, THE LOST ARE THE LAST TO DIE, WINTER SEEKS OUT THE LONELY), the Lucas Fume Western series (VENGEANCE AT SUNDOWN, ESCAPE TO HANGTOWN), the Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger series (THE RATTLESNAKE SEASON, THE SCORPION TRAIL, THE BADGER'S REVENGE, THE COUGAR'S PREY, THE COYOTE TRACKER, THE GILA WARS, and THE RETURN OF THE WOLF), and THE DEVIL'S BONES, a standalone mystery.
He won the WWA Spur award for Best Short Fiction in 2005 and for Best Paperback Original in 2013, and the 2011 and 2012 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Fiction for books the Josiah Wolfe series. He was nominated for a Derringer award in 2007, and was a finalist in the Best Books of Indiana literary competition in 2010, and won in 2011 for THE SCORPION TRAIL. In 2013, Larry received the inaugural Elmer Kelton Fiction Book of the Year for THE COYOTE TRACKER, presented by the Academy of Western Artists. He received the Willa Award in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Indiana Authors Award in 2020, both for SEE ALSO PROOF. The Western Fictioneers (WF) awarded THE RETURN OF THE WOLF the Peacemaker Award for Best Western in 2020.
Larry has published over one hundred nonfiction articles and short stories, which have appeared in ELLERY QUEEN'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE; THE ADVENTURE OF THE MISSING DETECTIVE: AND 25 OF THE YEAR'S FINEST CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES!; BOYS' LIFE; HARDBOILED; Amazon Shorts, and several other publications and anthologies. He is also a freelance indexer and written over 1000 indexes since 1998. He lives in Indiana with his wife, Rose, and is hard at work on his next novel.
He won the WWA Spur award for Best Short Fiction in 2005 and for Best Paperback Original in 2013, and the 2011 and 2012 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Fiction for books the Josiah Wolfe series. He was nominated for a Derringer award in 2007, and was a finalist in the Best Books of Indiana literary competition in 2010, and won in 2011 for THE SCORPION TRAIL. In 2013, Larry received the inaugural Elmer Kelton Fiction Book of the Year for THE COYOTE TRACKER, presented by the Academy of Western Artists. He received the Willa Award in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Indiana Authors Award in 2020, both for SEE ALSO PROOF. The Western Fictioneers (WF) awarded THE RETURN OF THE WOLF the Peacemaker Award for Best Western in 2020.
Larry has published over one hundred nonfiction articles and short stories, which have appeared in ELLERY QUEEN'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE; THE ADVENTURE OF THE MISSING DETECTIVE: AND 25 OF THE YEAR'S FINEST CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES!; BOYS' LIFE; HARDBOILED; Amazon Shorts, and several other publications and anthologies. He is also a freelance indexer and written over 1000 indexes since 1998. He lives in Indiana with his wife, Rose, and is hard at work on his next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
March 20, 2021
I am really quite taken with the character of Marjorie Trumaine. This is the second book in the series which takes place in 1964 in Dickinson North Dakota. Marjorie has a difficult life but she doesn't see it that way. She has a strong feeling of commitment to her husband, her home and the land that she loves. What really came across to me in this book is her strong love for her husband who had a tragic hunting accident and became blind and paraplegic from the neck on down.
Marjorie doesn't feel sorry for her life but is committed to caring for her husband and keeping the farm afloat. She has taken a correspondence course on being a indexer for a New York publisher to supplement their income. She has the mind set to be very good at this job. It is one that I never thought about before when I would see indexes in book and what skills would go into making an index.
She calls Calla the librarian when she has a question about what she is indexing. They have become friends. However, when she call with a question, Calla doesn't answer which concerns Marjorie. Calla is found dead and it said that she committed suicide. This goes against everything that Marjorie knows about Calla. She becomes involved in finding the truth.
I really like this series. I hope there will be a third book. I am so taken with the character of Marjorie and the land on which she lives. She is perhaps one of my favorite characters I have read about recently. She is strong and deals with her circumstances. It is just what needs to be done. The book could be bleak but it did not depressed me. I just felt admiration for the character. The mystery portion was very good and I started to get an inkling probably about half way through the book to what happened. The total solution came together at the end.
Marjorie doesn't feel sorry for her life but is committed to caring for her husband and keeping the farm afloat. She has taken a correspondence course on being a indexer for a New York publisher to supplement their income. She has the mind set to be very good at this job. It is one that I never thought about before when I would see indexes in book and what skills would go into making an index.
She calls Calla the librarian when she has a question about what she is indexing. They have become friends. However, when she call with a question, Calla doesn't answer which concerns Marjorie. Calla is found dead and it said that she committed suicide. This goes against everything that Marjorie knows about Calla. She becomes involved in finding the truth.
I really like this series. I hope there will be a third book. I am so taken with the character of Marjorie and the land on which she lives. She is perhaps one of my favorite characters I have read about recently. She is strong and deals with her circumstances. It is just what needs to be done. The book could be bleak but it did not depressed me. I just felt admiration for the character. The mystery portion was very good and I started to get an inkling probably about half way through the book to what happened. The total solution came together at the end.
March 21, 2017
This second book was just as enjoyable as the first, and I think it is due to the characters being true to 1960's rural America...believable stuff. I will look for the third when published - guess I will have to follow the author on this site to get alert to publication date. It surprises me again, because anyone who knows me knows how much I hate flat prairie. Marjorie Trumaine, however, seems happy to have been planted in the prairie, but then she does have indexing.
May 1, 2016
It's not been that long since I last visited Marjorie Trumaine on her North Dakota farm in See Also Murder, and I was happy to be back. Sweazy knows how to put readers right in the middle of farm life in the 1960's, with party lines on the telephones, sewing your own clothes, proper funeral etiquette, and just "making do" in general.
After what occurred in the first book of this series, Marjorie's comings and goings have been seriously curtailed. In some ways it doesn't bother her. Her husband Hank-- blinded and paralyzed in a freak hunting accident-- needs her, and her work as an indexer is done at home. But the mere fact of not being able to go somewhere when the mood strikes is crippling and shows just how isolated Marjorie has become. Her determined attempts to find Calla's killer is the best possible example of how much her friend meant to her.
I like watching how Sweazy's mind works. Just as I foresee a problem that could affect future books, he lays the groundwork to take care of it. (What's done in See Also Deception really has me looking forward to the third in the series.) He can also make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, such as the scene when Marjorie finds out her truck tires have been slashed and her telephone line cut. The killer is making a move, and Marjorie can't get away or call for help... what in the world is she going to do? Sweazy makes that farm house feel like it's a thousand miles to the nearest neighbor.
The tone of See Also Deception is rather bleak, just as it was in the first book, but it's not a gray depressing weight that brought me down. I found Marjorie too interesting as a character, and besides-- with what that woman has to deal with should she really be laughing and kicking up her heels? (I think not.) But as I said before, changes are afoot, and I'm hoping that the author brings Marjorie a bit of happiness because she certainly deserves it.
Time period-- check. Characters-- check. And Sweazy is also good at crafting puzzling whodunits, although I have to admit that I was a bit willfully blind as I read because of the sympathy I felt for one of the characters. Yes, people can live secret lives even in the smallest of towns, and Marjorie Trumaine is just the sort of character to bring those secrets to light. Bring on book three!
After what occurred in the first book of this series, Marjorie's comings and goings have been seriously curtailed. In some ways it doesn't bother her. Her husband Hank-- blinded and paralyzed in a freak hunting accident-- needs her, and her work as an indexer is done at home. But the mere fact of not being able to go somewhere when the mood strikes is crippling and shows just how isolated Marjorie has become. Her determined attempts to find Calla's killer is the best possible example of how much her friend meant to her.
I like watching how Sweazy's mind works. Just as I foresee a problem that could affect future books, he lays the groundwork to take care of it. (What's done in See Also Deception really has me looking forward to the third in the series.) He can also make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, such as the scene when Marjorie finds out her truck tires have been slashed and her telephone line cut. The killer is making a move, and Marjorie can't get away or call for help... what in the world is she going to do? Sweazy makes that farm house feel like it's a thousand miles to the nearest neighbor.
The tone of See Also Deception is rather bleak, just as it was in the first book, but it's not a gray depressing weight that brought me down. I found Marjorie too interesting as a character, and besides-- with what that woman has to deal with should she really be laughing and kicking up her heels? (I think not.) But as I said before, changes are afoot, and I'm hoping that the author brings Marjorie a bit of happiness because she certainly deserves it.
Time period-- check. Characters-- check. And Sweazy is also good at crafting puzzling whodunits, although I have to admit that I was a bit willfully blind as I read because of the sympathy I felt for one of the characters. Yes, people can live secret lives even in the smallest of towns, and Marjorie Trumaine is just the sort of character to bring those secrets to light. Bring on book three!
February 13, 2019
For in this sleep of death what dreams may come...
For it being the second book in the series I think I enjoyed it better. I was nervous the whole time. It also had me very emotional.
For it being the second book in the series I think I enjoyed it better. I was nervous the whole time. It also had me very emotional.
January 28, 2016
Welcome to Dickinson, North Dakota, 1961—a place so real, you can smell the rakfisk cooking. Marjorie Trumaine cares for her blind, quadriplegic young husband—the fallen love of her life—and struggles to keep the family farm afloat. To make extra money, she writes indices for books on the side.
When Marjorie’s close friend Calla apparently commits suicide—an eternal sin—Calla’s memory is tainted and, even in death, she is shunned by the community. But when Marjorie views Calla’s body, the evidence is clear. Someone murdered Calla.
Bookish farmwoman Marjorie Trumaine is the ideal amateur sleuth—steely, steady, and in tune to the subtle rhythms of small town life. Sweazy’s perfect pacing, spine tingling tension, and living, breathing characters make SEE ALSO DECEPTION one of the best mystery novels I’ve read in a long time. You’re going to love this book.
When Marjorie’s close friend Calla apparently commits suicide—an eternal sin—Calla’s memory is tainted and, even in death, she is shunned by the community. But when Marjorie views Calla’s body, the evidence is clear. Someone murdered Calla.
Bookish farmwoman Marjorie Trumaine is the ideal amateur sleuth—steely, steady, and in tune to the subtle rhythms of small town life. Sweazy’s perfect pacing, spine tingling tension, and living, breathing characters make SEE ALSO DECEPTION one of the best mystery novels I’ve read in a long time. You’re going to love this book.
December 19, 2018
Marjorie Trumaine is a farmers wife living in North Dakota in the 1960’s. To supplement their income, she took a correspondence course to become an indexer. Majorie’s husband, Hank suffered a farming accident that left him paralyzed and blind. The income Marjorie earns barely keeps them afloat. When a good friend of hers and the local librarian, Calla, is found dead at her desk, Marjorie is stunned. The police believe it was a suicide but Marjorie is positive Calla would never take her life.
When she approaches the local police, they brush her off and her husband wants her to forget about doing any further investigation but she meets a woman leaving the library who is distraught when hearing the news of her friend’s death too. When Marjorie meets her again, she finds the other woman does not believe Calla took her own life either.
As Marjorie continues to investigate, she finds someone wants her to stop asking questions. As Hank’s condition worsens and ends up in hospital, Marjorie has no choice but to abandon her own investigation.
I enjoyed this book as much as I did the first one in the series. I find the career she has very intriguing and learn more with each book.
When she approaches the local police, they brush her off and her husband wants her to forget about doing any further investigation but she meets a woman leaving the library who is distraught when hearing the news of her friend’s death too. When Marjorie meets her again, she finds the other woman does not believe Calla took her own life either.
As Marjorie continues to investigate, she finds someone wants her to stop asking questions. As Hank’s condition worsens and ends up in hospital, Marjorie has no choice but to abandon her own investigation.
I enjoyed this book as much as I did the first one in the series. I find the career she has very intriguing and learn more with each book.
October 11, 2023
A story set in the early 1960s on the western edge of North Dakota may not sound like the most appealing setting, but this uniqueness of setting really helps "sell" this novel. The author definitely picks up hints of Norwegian culture from earlier immigrants, the predominance of the Lutheran church, the remoteness of the wide open spaces, and the dependence on (extreme) weather conditions such as drought and tornadoes.
The other seriously unique aspect of this concerns the publishing career of "indexing." Those pages in the back of recipe books, academic texts, and other nonfiction books is there because someone took excruciating care to match up pages with subjects. Our main character is an indexer as is the author himself.
The story itself is rather sad and heavy as a farm woman grapples with her husband's health, a recent quadriplegic. The ending takes a surprising turn that definitely will change the tone in the next book in the series. This is a fine series that will especially appeal to those who like books about books, or long for the distant prairie.
The other seriously unique aspect of this concerns the publishing career of "indexing." Those pages in the back of recipe books, academic texts, and other nonfiction books is there because someone took excruciating care to match up pages with subjects. Our main character is an indexer as is the author himself.
The story itself is rather sad and heavy as a farm woman grapples with her husband's health, a recent quadriplegic. The ending takes a surprising turn that definitely will change the tone in the next book in the series. This is a fine series that will especially appeal to those who like books about books, or long for the distant prairie.
November 4, 2018
An interesting premise -- and I was intrigued by the concept of a professional indexer. But parts of the build-up and background didn't gel for me.
Examples: Marjorie had a botany question for the index she was working on. She called the public library (the librarian had been murdered, and the story went from there) -- but why wouldn't she have called a botany professor at Dickinson State College (as it was called in 1964) in the first place? Wouldn't the library have had a clerk (or two) in addition to the librarian and the janitor (who was a red herring)? The pastor of the Lutheran church is named Llewellyn -- a Welsh Lutheran pastor in western North Dakota in the 60's? And Marjorie's husband is paralyzed and blind, the result of a hunting accident, but there's not much said about what surely would have been tremendous care/therapy/etc.
Examples: Marjorie had a botany question for the index she was working on. She called the public library (the librarian had been murdered, and the story went from there) -- but why wouldn't she have called a botany professor at Dickinson State College (as it was called in 1964) in the first place? Wouldn't the library have had a clerk (or two) in addition to the librarian and the janitor (who was a red herring)? The pastor of the Lutheran church is named Llewellyn -- a Welsh Lutheran pastor in western North Dakota in the 60's? And Marjorie's husband is paralyzed and blind, the result of a hunting accident, but there's not much said about what surely would have been tremendous care/therapy/etc.
March 22, 2019
"…I should just leave things to the police, tell Duke what I'd seen when I saw him and leave it at that. It was obvious that I wasn't very good at playing Sherlock Holmes—but I owed it to Calla to find out the truth. I know she would have done the same thing for me." Like almost all main characters in a cozy mystery, Marjorie must justify, to us the reader as well as to herself, her need to go beyond the police in solving a crime, in seeking truth.
We follow along as Marjorie does this in a very nuanced and well-written mystery. The murderer was a surprise with a unique and intense climax. The denouement was touching and poignant. It will be interesting to see what the author does in book three given the changes in Marjorie's situation.
We follow along as Marjorie does this in a very nuanced and well-written mystery. The murderer was a surprise with a unique and intense climax. The denouement was touching and poignant. It will be interesting to see what the author does in book three given the changes in Marjorie's situation.
September 10, 2018
Farming, particularly in the Dakotas, can be isolating, and especially so for Marjorie and Hank Trumaine after an accident leaves Hank blind and paralyzed. Still, Majorie has friends, including the town librarian Calla, who always has an answer to the obscure questions arising from Majorie's indexing jobs. That's why Majorie is disbelieving when Calla is said to have committed suicide and realizes Calla didn't.
The See Also series is an exposition of a strong yet vulnerable woman, of a couple devoted to each other despite the burdens and cruelty of life, of friendships, and of enduring love for the land.
The See Also series is an exposition of a strong yet vulnerable woman, of a couple devoted to each other despite the burdens and cruelty of life, of friendships, and of enduring love for the land.
July 8, 2020
I love Marjorie Trumaine. The setting in North Dakota is such a nice change and the 1960's works well too. I unfortunately read book 3 before 2 so there were a few things that I was aware were going to be happening. **READ THESE BOOKS IN ORDER** You really feel nestled in the small town of Dickinson while reading this book. I have read all three books and can't wait until the fourth comes out, I'll be one of the first to buy the book! Easy nice read, picked up this afternoon and finished by 7 pm (ate dinner etc).
December 1, 2024
North Dakota farmer's wife, Marjorie, also indexes books to help with the family expenses. First her friend, the local librarian, seems to commit suicide; then, her invalid husband is hospitalized. Majoried is naturally upset about both. In addition, she believes her friend was actually murdered. This full cast audiobook is well-narrated, though I believe the background sound effects sometimes detracted from the narration. The story, set in a small, rural, town, is believable; I particularly enjoyed the slight North Dakota accents.
I'll be reading the third volume in the series.
I'll be reading the third volume in the series.
February 12, 2019
This is a very descriptive book. I remember reading about the constant wind in North Dalota and I could hear it from the first chapter on. I found it sad but I had to read it all. Looking for the others in the series. Marjorie is an odd detective but relentless in her need to solve a friend suicide. Recommend it.
May 17, 2017
Second in the series featuring a 1960's North Dakota farm wife. To make extra money she works as an indexer for a New York publisher. This is the interesting aspect to these mysteries. The puzzles themselves are fairly simple, but the characters, and setting, are what makes these so enjoyable.
April 22, 2018
I am disappointed, as this author actually shows some real ability - but the editing of his books is atrocious. I am an admitted grammarian, but the mistakes here are pretty obvious and inexcusable. I wish it could be otherwise because I enjoy this series beyond that one very distracting issue.
March 22, 2019
I am so enjoying this series. It's like a cozy mystery but with a realistic twist. It doesn't feel light and airy like some series do - it feels real, and gritty, and full of real people with real lives. Weird - but so well done. Looking forward to book 3.
September 15, 2021
While this wasn't much of a mystery, there's no confirmation that anything has occurred until halfway through the book, there was still some great character development and emotion in this. That ending though, oof, going to cry for a bit.
June 2, 2018
Excellent!! Even better than the 1st. And with an ending I never saw coming, but that made perfect sense.
November 14, 2018
Probably more 3.5 stars.
July 25, 2019
Moving the arc of the characters along; the ending felt kind of rushed. But not bad.
March 19, 2021
Pleasant series, different people reading each part, interesting plot, no profanity or gore, some LGBA content. Narration more interesting than most.
April 12, 2021
Marjorie must endure more hardships with her bedridden husband. At the same time try to help solve a murder.
July 7, 2024
Absolutely in love with these characters!!
November 23, 2024
Marjorie is sad about her friend’s death- the librarian. But it is not suicide, it’s murder.
November 24, 2024
Once again I am on a farm in North Dakota in 1964 listening to Marjorie Trumaine involving herself in a death - supposed suicide - of her friend, librarian Calla. Marjorie just cannot help herself collecting clues as some pieces of information did not make sense and her 'indexing' mind will not let her rest. Interesting setting, love of the North Dakota accents, and a twisty sort of crime continued to force my involvement in solving the puzzle - sort of like Marjorie.
December 27, 2016
This book broke my heart. It was excellent, but damn, was it heartwrenching. I hope there is somehow a third book.
EDIT: THERE IS A THIRD BOOK!! I'm currently listening to the Graphic Audio podcast's most recent episode, and Nanette Savard, who plays Marjorie, just mentioned it. There will be a third book, where Marjorie goes to NY to meet Richard Rothstein! YESSSS
EDIT: THERE IS A THIRD BOOK!! I'm currently listening to the Graphic Audio podcast's most recent episode, and Nanette Savard, who plays Marjorie, just mentioned it. There will be a third book, where Marjorie goes to NY to meet Richard Rothstein! YESSSS
October 2, 2016
Predictable outcome, easy to find the perpetrator in this one. The one interesting bit is the main character's profession, indexing books.
July 24, 2016
Points for an interesting premise, even if that premise is under exploited. Also, as a rule, a murder series that takes place in a small city/town always gives me pause since the murderous population at some point seems to outnumber that of the available victims. Fortunately this is book two of the series, and it is too soon for Sweazy to frame everyone in his imaginary city for murder. Neither does Sweazy seem to have fallen into a rut yet with his characters, which means that they are still trying to figure out how to react to death and their lives are not yet so over described that we are expected to recognize who is a new arrival and who is an old character with a past.
There is a dreary aspect to this novel that belongs there, given the circumstances; failing farm, dying husband, dependency on neighbors, the coming of a dry winter, the solitude of western North Dakota. Although necessary, reading through this gloom can be tiring, especially since Sweazy continually describes the stage setting as an analogy to Marjorie's own deadened emotions and sense of emptiness.
On the downside Sweazy is not an original writer, one with a talent for dialogue. The encounter with the replacement librarian is stilted and reminded me strongly of a Horatio Alger villain. Neither does he give Marjorie a credible reason to believe that the apparent suicide of her friend was anything more sinister. Neither does Marjorie contribute anything aside from coincidence to the investigation of the suspected murder. Also there is...
I could keep piling on; how the hook of the series is supposed to be Marjorie's 'indexing' of facts that adds nothing to the resolution. The convenient ending, where Marjorie is exactly where she needs to be to avoid a lifelong regret (and one a conclusion that makes several obvious future story lines possible and inevitable). The senselessness of the motive behind the murder. The tired stereotype of the spinster librarian. These moments of retreaded plot just eroded my liking for the novel. This is particularly important since once I realized how barren the invention was behind the novel, I plotted out the entire solution plainly for myself: this was dozens of pages before the whole game is given away at the funeral.
There is also a kicker. Sweazy is a proud indexer himself, a position where attention to detail and factual accuracy is critical. Well,the book includes a reference to the Kübler-Ross model of grieving (Stage one, denial), which was not published until six years after the action in the novel.
There is a dreary aspect to this novel that belongs there, given the circumstances; failing farm, dying husband, dependency on neighbors, the coming of a dry winter, the solitude of western North Dakota. Although necessary, reading through this gloom can be tiring, especially since Sweazy continually describes the stage setting as an analogy to Marjorie's own deadened emotions and sense of emptiness.
On the downside Sweazy is not an original writer, one with a talent for dialogue. The encounter with the replacement librarian is stilted and reminded me strongly of a Horatio Alger villain. Neither does he give Marjorie a credible reason to believe that the apparent suicide of her friend was anything more sinister. Neither does Marjorie contribute anything aside from coincidence to the investigation of the suspected murder. Also there is...
Homes "...the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."
Gregory: "The dog did nothing in the night-time."
Holmes: "That was the curious incident."
I could keep piling on; how the hook of the series is supposed to be Marjorie's 'indexing' of facts that adds nothing to the resolution. The convenient ending, where Marjorie is exactly where she needs to be to avoid a lifelong regret (and one a conclusion that makes several obvious future story lines possible and inevitable). The senselessness of the motive behind the murder. The tired stereotype of the spinster librarian. These moments of retreaded plot just eroded my liking for the novel. This is particularly important since once I realized how barren the invention was behind the novel, I plotted out the entire solution plainly for myself: this was dozens of pages before the whole game is given away at the funeral.
There is also a kicker. Sweazy is a proud indexer himself, a position where attention to detail and factual accuracy is critical. Well,the book includes a reference to the Kübler-Ross model of grieving (Stage one, denial), which was not published until six years after the action in the novel.
June 19, 2016
I picked up this book expecting it to be a slightly zany bit of information professional-related fun. A farmer's wife/indexer solves crimes on the high plains of North Dakota in the '60s! Sounds like a swingin' good time. Instead, it's grim, grim, grim, dark, dark, dark. Like, "We're fixin' to have a ruined crop if we don't get a lick of rain" grim. Like husband-paralyzed-from-the-neck-down-and-wants-to-die dark.
That's okay! Consider your expectations adjusted. This book still did one of the things I really wanted it to: indexer uses her organizational and observational skills to solve mysteries. She even arranges possible clues and suspects into a little psychic index of her own (possibly the worst index ever, but whatever). So that's fun. But then she reminds us of her bills comin' due and how awful her Noo-Yawk publisher is to her and she'd better not be late with her current index or she could lose it all, by golly. Grim, grim, grim, dark, dark, dark. Also, murder, probably. And lots of annoying typos that hopefully got fixed in the final edit. And occasionally overwrought but usually lovely descriptions of barren North Dakotan beauty. In addition, there's a cute dog who doesn't take up too much screen time.
I'm of two minds about the nature and depiction of the actual mystery in this mystery book. On the one hand, while it's definitely there, it seems rather slight, and doesn't really get into gear until we're barreling toward the halfway point of the novel, having made way for lots of farm chores and hand-wringing about library staffing. But maybe that's a good thing, as the clues and possible motives and suspects have a little room to breathe naturally without becoming too crowded and too obviously self-conscious. I don't know, this isn't my usual genre; what do you mystery readers think about that?
If all this sounds good to you, I recommend this book. But maybe start with the first volume, which I didn't. Not very organized of me.
That's okay! Consider your expectations adjusted. This book still did one of the things I really wanted it to: indexer uses her organizational and observational skills to solve mysteries. She even arranges possible clues and suspects into a little psychic index of her own (possibly the worst index ever, but whatever). So that's fun. But then she reminds us of her bills comin' due and how awful her Noo-Yawk publisher is to her and she'd better not be late with her current index or she could lose it all, by golly. Grim, grim, grim, dark, dark, dark. Also, murder, probably. And lots of annoying typos that hopefully got fixed in the final edit. And occasionally overwrought but usually lovely descriptions of barren North Dakotan beauty. In addition, there's a cute dog who doesn't take up too much screen time.
I'm of two minds about the nature and depiction of the actual mystery in this mystery book. On the one hand, while it's definitely there, it seems rather slight, and doesn't really get into gear until we're barreling toward the halfway point of the novel, having made way for lots of farm chores and hand-wringing about library staffing. But maybe that's a good thing, as the clues and possible motives and suspects have a little room to breathe naturally without becoming too crowded and too obviously self-conscious. I don't know, this isn't my usual genre; what do you mystery readers think about that?
If all this sounds good to you, I recommend this book. But maybe start with the first volume, which I didn't. Not very organized of me.
May 19, 2016
Very pleased to find a classical mystery writer who plays by the 'rules', doesn't foreshadow, doesn't leave out steps, and who can tell a story clearly. Sweazy evokes a North Dakota farm and town so vividly that I could go there, look around and identify the entire landscape. His beautiful and sparse descriptions of weather, farm and crop concerns, the land, the town, its bars and funeral home are each essential to the story. The only temple of delight, its Carnegie library, is the scene of love and tragedy, and it became important to me that it should continue, unaffected by - well, go read the book. The main character is a complete personality, not an angel, but without hidden perversity. I will now go read everything I can find by Sweazy. I recommend the book very highly, and I don't do that often. I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.
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