The Alpine Decoy (An Emma Lord Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Mary Daheim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 1994

An Emma Lord mystery by the author of "The Alpine Christmas."
When a beautiful young African-American nurse with a shady past takes a job in Alpine, some locals show their true bigoted natures, filling editor-publisher Emma Lord with disgust. But when a second newcomer -- a young black man -- is found shot through the head, Emma is stuck with a story she will never forget.
Though Sheriff Milo Dodge connects the victim to the nurse, Emma believes there's something more sinister afoot. So she and Vida Runkel, her formidable house-and-home editor, try writing their own scenario. But the case offers too many subplots, too many suspects, and one crafty killer who leaves no tracks. That is, until Emma hits the deadly trail . . .

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Mary Daheim and I go back a long way -- well, seventeen or eighteen years. That's a long time for a publishing association. Years before I became Mary's editor on the Emma Lord/Alpine series for Ballantine, I was an editorial assistant at another trade house -- and that's where we met, long distance. She lives in Seattle; I live in New York; even eighteen year ago, the phone lines stretched in both directions. At the time Mary was writing successful historical romances for my then-boss, a senior editor. One day Mary and I revealed our unbridled passion for reading crime fiction. Little did I dream then that, soon after I arrived at Ballantine, Mary would become a crime writer herself. Of course, now she's a nationally renowned one . . . and I especially treasure her novels about Emma Lord, the editor-publisher of a small-town weekly newspaper in fictional (but based on fact) Alpine, Washington. The paper is called The Alpine Advocate, which is also the title of the first novel in the series. For any readers who haven't visited Alpine, I heartily recommend starting with Book One -- and then continuing forward (in alphabetical order) to THE ALPINE BETRAYAL, THE ALPINE CHRISTMAS, THE ALPINE DECOY, THE ALPINE ESCAPE, THE ALPINE FURY, THE ALPINE GAMBLE, THE ALPINE HERO, THE ALPINE ICON, THE ALPINE JOURNEY, and (coming soon) THE ALPINE KINDRED.

--Joe Blades, Associate Publisher

From the Inside Flap

An Emma Lord mystery by the author of "The Alpine Christmas."
When a beautiful young African-American nurse with a shady past takes a job in Alpine, some locals show their true bigoted natures, filling editor-publisher Emma Lord with disgust. But when a second newcomer -- a young black man -- is found shot through the head, Emma is stuck with a story she will never forget.
Though Sheriff Milo Dodge connects the victim to the nurse, Emma believes there's something more sinister afoot. So she and Vida Runkel, her formidable house-and-home editor, try writing their own scenario. But the case offers too many subplots, too many suspects, and one crafty killer who leaves no tracks. That is, until Emma hits the deadly trail . . .

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 31, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345388410
• ISBN-13: 978-0345388414
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Daheim, Mary
  • #60 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Series

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alpine Series Is Interesting, December 30, 1999

By 

Mandy Morreale - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Alpine Decoy (An Emma Lord Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading the complete Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman, I decided to give Mary Daheim and her Emma Lord mysteries a try. I have read Alpine Decoy and Alpine Escape so far, and I loved both of them. The books are hard to put down, mainly because of the suspense. The only downfall is how long it takes to get to the real "meat" of the story. If you like murder mysteries on the lighter side, this is a good series of books to go with.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not so long ago --, January 19, 2009

By 

kellytwo "kellytwo" (cleveland hts, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Alpine Decoy (An Emma Lord Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having once lived in Monroe WA for a short time, and visited Stephens Pass on more than one occasion, I find it very easy to picture the area of Alpine in my mind. As a writer, I really like having a series that involves a small-town newspaper. I must confess I like this series much better than the author's other series set in a bed-and-breakfast in Seattle.

I started this series just recently with one of the newer books, but was so intrigued by the characters that I went back to the beginning, and am working my way through the alphabet. What fun! I like everything about this series: the writing, the characters, the plotting.

Also impressive is the author's willingness to tackle the subject of racism and prejudice in this small town, and in my opinion, she does it very well, indeed. It was obviously serendipity that brought me to this book just three days before the inauguration of our new president. I hope life proceeds as well for him as it does for Emma Lord, the owner/publisher of the Alpine Advocate. As for me, I'm off to find the next book in the series.

5.0 out of 5 stars Daheim Decoy, January 10, 2012

By 

Lynda C. Kayes (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Alpine Decoy (An Emma Lord Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

Another one of Mary Daheim's Emma Lord mysteries hits all the right notes. Easy reading, but keeps the suspense up. The only problem I had with it is I finished it too fast. Enjoyed a book with little description of violence and some very funny lines.