Continuing on my path to try out books that include a genealogical theme. This is my second read in the Victoria O'Shea series written by Rett MacPherson.I'm either getting more used to the concept of a genealogist running around chasing murderers, or this author put together a group of characters and venues that actually work. The stories are set in a charming little tourist town in Missouri, with characters requisite to a good small town and oddly similar to the one in which I grew up--the local historian, the town gossip, the sheriff that serves more than one community in the area, the neighbors that that don't like the animals next door, etc. etc. etc. I found this to be a fun little story, although I still marvel at how the author weaved an ancient piece of history into the present to create the motive. I'm looking forward to checking out his next book in the series.
For me, this series is a personal favorite for a lot of biased reasons. The setting is a fictionalized version of a small town in Missouri that isn't far from where I live. The humor suits me. The fierce town-historian turned sleuth wears things like, "my bright orange sweatshirt with the white ghosts and black cats on it" while going to confront a potential killer. Our heroine is pretty much everything my 10-year-old self would have loved to be. If I'm being technical, then yes, I felt there were some loose ends at the conclusion. But I still plan on reading every single book in this series with glee.
Do You like book A Veiled Antiquity (1998)?
MacPherson writes chatty mysteries set in a quaint Missouri town overlooking the Mississippi River. Amateur sleuth Victory "Torie" O'Shea works for the local history society as a researcher and tour guide.Amazon recommended this series to me several years ago. The first book, Family Skeletons, wasn't all that great but when I found a cheap used copy of the second book I decided to give MacPherson another look. I won't make that mistake again but, if you enjoyed Nancy Drew as a child, you might enjoy the Torie O'Shea mysteries. There are similarities. Alas, neither Nancy nor Torie is a character with whom I can connect.
—Kathryn
