I probably would have given this book a better rating if the depiction of the police had been a little more believable.The relationship Detective Timothy Quinn and his partner was confusing and unfocused. The author begins by suggesting that the older of the two, Marino, resents his partner the rookie and then makes nothing of it in their interactions. Their tolerance for the amateur sleuth's meddling is impossible to believe, particularly at the end when they step aside to allow her to deliver the classic summing up for the benefit of all. It worked for Agatha Christie, but not so well in a contemporary novel.Nevertheless, I enjoyed other aspects of the story. I found the historical part of the story fascinating, particularly the cemetery trivia and the mourning jewelry. The plot and some of the characters were pretty well done, and it had a couple of plot twists I didn't see coming.
Mansions of the Dead has some good things going for it. For starters, the protagonist is interesting and has depth. Not all of her personality quirks are so charming, and that adds a little credibility to her. Her background in funerary art and mourning jewelry is unique to the mystery genre and adds a nice intellectual aspect. (I even found myself looking up images of mourning jewelry and its history on the net.)Sweeney St. George has, of course, a cop who both hinders and helps her in her sleu
