Fatal Remains (A Marti MacAlister Mystery) - Hardcover

Bland, Eleanor Taylor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312300972 ISBN 13: 9780312300975

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2003

Synopsis

When Marti MacAlister and her partner Matthew "Vik" Jessenovik respond to a report of skeletal remains found on a wooded piece of land, the pair has no idea it's just the first indication of a convoluted case of murder and conspiracy dating back hundreds of years. The skeleton turns out to be quite a mystery in itself, leading Native American groups and historians specializing in the Underground Railroad to flock to the site.

Unfortunately for all involved, the violence associated with the area is not confined to the distant past, and soon reports of mysterious accidents and suspicious deaths are coming in faster than Marti would like. A small contingent of locals even swears the land is haunted by a ghost intent on exacting a vicious revenge for some unknown grievance. Marti knows there must be a more traditional explanation, and it's her job to find out what it is. Eleanor Taylor Bland is at the top of her form in this taut, well-researched, suspenseful entry in her award-winning Marti MacAlister series.

About this title

About the Author:

Eleanor Taylor Bland is the author of nine previous mysteries featuring Marti MacAlister, most recently Windy City Dying. She lives in Waukegan, Illinois.

From Publishers Weekly:

African-American police detective Marti MacAlister is used to "simple" murders, not ones whose roots are as old and entwined with history as those she encounters in Bland's 11th meaty mystery (after 2002's Windy City Dying). Set in Lincoln Prairie, Ill., home to Potawatomi Indians, past and present, and to an early settler, Idbash Smith, who was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, the story has a supernatural element that only mildly distracts amid the otherwise realistic crime-solving. When Marti and partner Matthew "Vik" Jessenovik look into the death of a young archeologist working alone at a site on the vast estate of Josiah Smith, they discover an odd history of accidents, most involving members of the Smith family. An aging black Jewish convert tracing his lineage from slavery to freedom and an unidentified Native-American body provide other threads that will take Marti into uncharted areas for an urban homicide investigation. Patience and persistence are the keys to the solution as Marti and Vik uncover the ghosts of the past literally and figuratively. This is a strong addition to a strong series, with a delightful kick of an ending.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0312300972
• ISBN 13: 9780312300975
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288