The Bug Funeral (Simon Shaw Mysteries, No. 4) [Hardcover]

Sarah R. Shaber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2004

Although there is a murder in Shaber's Bug Funeral, the bugs themselves aren't the victims. In the engaging series launched by Shaber's Malice-winning first novel, Simon Said, the author's amateur sleuth is a professor of history, particularly that of a relatively recent period. In each of the stories, Shaber has set her pleasant, somewhat bumbling and extremely likeable detective figuratively and often literally digging into a happening that could reveal its long-ago tale to him.

But even Simon finds is very reluctant to be involved in the current cry for help from a woman sent to him by a professor friend - a man whose judgment has always seemed before to be excellent. The woman, who amazes Simon by turning out to be intelligent, sophisticated and very attractive woman indeed, confesses that she believes she has murdered an infant in a past life. Although Simon is as skeptical and even scornful as any decent historian should be, the woman's nature herself convinces him to help her. With unexpected finds, and the story makes its way through a path of surprises to a most surprising - and thoroughly believable finish. It's a delightful and challenging game that Ms. Shaber has invited her readers to join; and they'll love it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Shaber's fourth intriguing Simon Shaw whodunit (after 2003's The Fugitive King), the mild-mannered professor at Kenan College in Raleigh, N.C., has earned a reputation as a "forensic historian," that is, an expert in solving long-ago crimes. When a friend's goddaughter, Helen Williams, tells him that she may be the reincarnation of a woman who murdered her child a century earlier, Simon is ready to dismiss Helen's claim as nonsense. A cursory inquiry reveals nothing, and he thinks he's off the hook. After a curious incident changes his mind, Simon becomes engrossed in a methodical and thorough investigation that not only will put him and Helen in danger but also will heat up a cold case to the boiling point. The reincarnation debate between believers and skeptics, epitomized in epigraphs that head each chapter, adds to the suspense. Credible characters, smooth and natural dialogue, charming descriptions of Raleigh at Christmastime and a creative solution to the mystery all lift this well above the cozy average.
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Review

"...the clues fall neatly into place, revealing family secrets in this unique, well-written installment of Shaber's enigmatic series." -- Romantic Times Magazine

"unique...ingenious plot defies genre classification...part genealogy, part psychological puzzle, part detective work with a touch of modern gothic." -- Rocky Mount Telegram

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (May 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312322186
• ISBN-13: 978-0312322182
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,074,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Shaber is an award-winning mystery author from North Carolina. Her new historical series begins with LOUISE'S WAR. It stars Louise Pearlie, a young widow working for the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, DC, during World War II. A sequel, LOUISE'S GAMBLE, will be published in May 2011. Her Professor Simon Shaw murder mysteries are now available as ebooks and trade paperbacks. She's also the editor of Tar Heel Dead, a collection of short stories by North Carolina mystery writers. Shaber lives, writes, cooks, reads, and chills with her husband, Steve, in Raleigh.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unpretentious, delightful cozy, August 22, 2004

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bug Funeral (Simon Shaw Mysteries, No. 4) (Hardcover)

I gave The Bug Funeral four stars because it delivers what it promises: a cozy with charming characters, not quite as clever as those in the MC Beaton series but definitely enjoyable.

Simon Shaw, award-winning history professor, gets drawn into a case proposed by an attractive woman. She remembers events that took place nearly a hundred years ago, imagining herself as a woman named Annie Evans. Reincarnation? False memories? But how does she get the data to create false memories? She's been tested by psychologists and found sane.

Simon discovers Annie Evans existed after all. She worked in an orphanage that's long gone, but there's ample evidence to corroborate her story. Together with Helen, he tracks down friends and relatives who remembered Annie. And working from careful observation, he solves the dual mystery of what happened to Annie and how Helen got caught up in Annie's memories.

The story held my interest to the end, with charming details of Simon Shaw's comfortable bachelor life, the North Carolina culture and forays into history. I would have liked an author's note to tell us what she researched: what's plausible about the ending, how realistic the historical touches are, and more. Yet for a cozy, this type of neat ending seems just right.

3.0 out of 5 stars Listening to The Bug Funeral with Amazon Robot, August 18, 2011

By 

drkhimxz (Freehold, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Bug Funeral (The Professor Simon Shaw Murder Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

The robot was quite adequate to the task of giving a good reading of this sort of quaint entry in what has been quite an entertaining series. I can say little without revealing aspects of the mystery; suffice to say that it involves a "client" whom our hero, a history professor, takes on because of her fear that she was the reincarnated mother of a woman who had killed her child. In past episodes of the series, he has proven adept at being able to unravel the events surrounding long dead people; at a friend's behest he takes up the challenge of explaining the miraculous reliving of a previous life. Well, the author does indicate that the Professor, has just lost a close girl-friend and is in a state of social and sexual deprivation.
I can understand where this could be an appealing story for some or many; to me it was more a book in which the author didn't really find her way, leaving her hero looking more a silly ass than a scrupulous historian. One scene in a graveyard went over the edge into incredibility.
In sum, I found this to be a weak entry in a good series; it happens. It may be quite entertaining for readers who can take it seriously..

4.0 out of 5 stars Another enjoyable, but darker, outing with Professor Shaw, April 2, 2011

By 

NC Reader (Greensboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Bug Funeral : A Professor Simon Shaw Mystery (College Professor Simon Shaw, 4) (Hardcover)

This is the fourth in the Professor Simon Shaw series, set in and around Raleigh, NC. Shaw is a young history professor at a small liberal arts college and his previous adventures have earned him a reputation as a forensic historian. In this story, a young woman approaches him with a request to help her figure out if she lived a previous life in turn-of-the-century Raleigh; she's been haunted with memories and nightmares of a woman's life for as long as she can remember, and visions of burying a baby. At first Simon is sure she must be mentally ill, but the mutual friend who introduces them convinces him to investigate.

I really enjoy the vibe of these novels, very much in the "cozy" mystery mold, but with some interesting twists: Simon has to endure the politics of academia, has a wide, diverse group of friends and relatives (many recurring characters), and an interesting family history, which has left him rather confused about religion and where he fits in. He's an orphan now, but mom was a New York City Jew who came to the North Carolina mountains to serve as a public health nurse and married dad, a classics professor at Appalachian State and a die-hard Southerner with a large Baptist family. Simon is only in his early thirties and single (one brief, failed marriage in his past, and just getting over a serious relationship as this story opens) so his quest for true love is also a recurring theme. All of this makes (for me) an enjoyable, quirky series, and for history lovers and frustrated nerds who thought being a history professor would be the coolest job EVER!, you get that extra dose of history and research as our hero works through the mysteries. What's not to love?