Customer Reviews

Calling the Dead (Tempe Crabtree Mystery)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mystery writer Marilyn Meredith has a unique writing style that makes all her tales not only wonderful stories but also so easy to read. It is pure enjoyment every time I read one of her books. I have now read so many of them that I am beginning to feel like a real "fan". Her latest book in the "Temple Crabtree Mystery Series" is titled "Calling The Dead". This is her best work to date. She actually appears to be getting better with each of her books.

Her Native American heroine is Deputy Temple Crabtree who uses her own intuitions as much as investigative tools to solve crimes. This time her little community of Bear Creek has two events that leave two people dead; one looks or appears to be from natural causes and the other could be a murder. On closer look and on her and her husband's feelings, it becomes much more complicated. Was the murder actually a suicide or an accident? And who were those two young people who reported finding the body and why did they give false names and addresses and leave so quickly? Was the other death really from natural causes? Or do we have something more going on with our new widow?

The plot of this book is gently unfolded and laid out so that as Deputy Crabtree finds clues and sorts things the reader feels a real satisfaction and can almost feel like they are working the case themselves. I enjoyed putting the pieces of the puzzle together and it made the book kind of an inter-active reading adventure for me.

This book is given FIVE STARS by The American Authors Association. It also receives my personal endorsement. It is enjoyable and entertaining and makes for a nice weekend reading adventure.

Well, Marilyn Meredith has done it again - created a page-turner. Her characters are compelling, the plotting is excellent and without holes. Her writing is tight and ingeresting. Thanks for another delightful read!

Over the course of this series I've grown quite fond of Tempe Crabtree as she deals with conflicts arising from her Yanduchi heritage and her marriage to Hutch, pastor of Bear Creek Chapel.

Tempe is resident deputy of Bear Creek, a small community in California's southern Sierra foothills. In this series entry she has two unexplained deaths to deal with.

Arthur, a member of Bear Creek Chapel, dies after a trip to the ER. His widow, Felicity, seems more relieved than bereaved. Was it natural causes? Was it murder? Hutch is suspicious.

Then a woman's body is found in Bear Creek at the site of an old bridge. Her name is Doreen and she's been having trouble with her boyfriend, Jimmy. He says she jumped. Tempe believes him.

Tempe's investigation of Arthur's death takes her to Southern California, where the couple lived before coming to Bear Creek. As is often the case, their former neighbors love to chat.

Meanwhile, Jimmy is suspected of Doreen's death. To prove his innocence, Tempe wants to talk to the only other person who knows the truth: Doreen. She consults Nick Two John, who instructs her on how to call back the dead.

Meredith is a polished writer. She wraps up this story in 154 pages without sacrificing plot, characterization or sense of place. She introduces a new character, Deputy Oxley, a kind of Barney Fife on steroids, and includes Indian legends on how mountains are made, why people die and what happens when you die.

I loved the element of American Indian mysticism, and I loved this book.

Pat Browning, author of Full Circle

Christianity meets American Indian religion over a cozy homicide, or was it a suicide? Either way, the protagonist (Deputy Tempe Crabtree) sets out to find the answers and almost gets murdered in the process.

If you are anything like me, then you are in the dark when it comes to Indian beliefs and traditions. My perception on this topic consist of how the Indians acted in Dances With Wolves or in a John Wayne movie. Calling the Dead is a modern-day sleuth novel that sets the record straight, while examining a homicide. There's also a woman who's suspected of killing her previous husbands too--kind of like a black widow theme.

It's an easy read that you can tackle in a weekend. Great story and well written.

Calling the Dead is an intriguing mystery which delivers suspense Native Americans who practice in calling back the dead. The story unfolds in Bear Creek California, where Deputy Tempe Crabtree is investigating two deaths. One of the deaths appear to be from natural causes and the other looks to be murder. She investigates these murders by using her insticts and her intuitions as well as investigative tools to solve these crimes. Upon further investigation things become complicated and now the question is was this a murder or an accident or suicide? Other questions arise concerning the two young people who actually reported finding the body, why did they give false names and addresses? And why did they flee so quickly? Then did the other death occur to natural causes or something else? As she continues her investigation into these deaths she is forced to gain answers by use of drastic measures, which puts her own life in danger as she comes closer to solving these deaths.

Marilyn Meredith has her own unique writing style which brings her readers in and allows them to put the pieces together like a puzzle, and to help solve the mystery as they are engaged in the reading of her work. This is a great story with good characterizations, and well developed plot. I highly recommend this book which can be read in a day or two.

"Calling The Dead is an intriguing mystery. Delivering suspense and folklore about Native Americans and their technique of calling back the dead."

"Deputy Tempe Crabtree is in the middle of investigating two deaths in Bear Creek a small community in the southern Sierra."

"One case appears to be a death by natural causes and the other looks like murder. Tempe continues to search for evidence in both cases based on her instincts that everything isn't as it seems."

"Tempe receives reluctance from the police sergeant and other investigators looking into the cases. She is forced to take drastic measures to gain answers, which puts her life in danger as she comes close to solving the cases."

"This is a great story that mystery lovers will thoroughly enjoy."

In Bear Creek, California, Felicity Pence calls Pastor Hutchinson because her spouse Arthur is badly ill. Hutch, his wife Deputy Sheriff Tempe Crabtree and her son form her first marriage eighteen years old Blair arrive at the Pence home. However, Arthur is dead.

Two teens report finding a body in a nearby river; Tempe investigates and finds Doreen Felton dead. The teens give a fake name and leaves before the detectives Richards and Morison arrive. They assume that Doreen's lover Jimmy Patton killed her.

Hutch believes that Felicity killed Arthur so he asks Tempe to investigate though her superior Sergeant Guthrie warns her to stay out of the investigations. Tempe learns that Felicity has had two previous husbands die and soon begins to uncover evidence to support Hutch's contention. She also seeks to prove that Doreen committed suicide though the detectives have two suspects; the only seemingly means to learn what really happened is a paranormal interview of the deceased, which in of itself would never hold up in court.

The latest Crabtree police procedural (see JUDGMENT FIRE) is a excellent police procedural in which the hero investigates two cases that could cost her job even if she proves to be right. Ironically, in the Arthur scenario, Tempe tries to prove murder when natural cause has been ruled; in the Doreen inquiry, she tries to prove suicide when murder is the official position. Readers will enjoy this delightful investigative mystery starring an intrepid heroine seeking justice for the dead and the living.

Harriet Klausner