Effigies (Faye Longchamp Mysteries, No. 3) [Hardcover]

Mary Anna Evans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2007

Archaeologist Faye Longchamp and her friend, Joe Wolf Mantooth, have traveled to Neshoba County, Mississippi, to help excavate a site near Nanih Waiya, the sacred mound where tradition says the Choctaw nation was born. When farmer Carroll Calhoun refuses their request to investigate an ancient Native American mound, Faye and her colleagues are disappointed, but his next action breaks their hearts: he tries to bulldoze the huge relic to the ground.

Faye and Joe rush to protect history--with their bodies, if necessary. Soon the Choctaws arrive to defend the mound and the farmer's white and black neighbors come to defend his property rights. Though a popular young sheriff is able to defuse the situation, tempers are short.

That night, Calhoun is found dead, his throat sliced with a handmade stone blade. Was he killed by an archaeologist, angered by his wanton destruction of history? Neshoba County farmers have been plowing up stone tools like the murder weapon for centuries. Did one of them take this chance to even the score with an old rival?

The sheriff is well-aware that Faye and Joe were near the spot where Calhoun's body was found and their combined knowledge of stone tools is impressive. They had motive, means, and opportunity....but so does almost everyone in Neshoba County.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Evans's intriguing third mystery to feature archeologist Faye Longchamp (after 2005's Relics), Faye and her Native American assistant, Joe Wolf Mantooth, leave Joyeuse Island, Fla., for a dig in rural Mississippi at the site of a proposed highway. They arrive during the Neshoba County Fair, a weeklong celebration during which residents put aside their differences to honor the area's mixed-race heritage. But when the archeologists discover another important site on the property of Carroll Calhoun, a racist with ties to the KKK, he not only refuses to let them excavate but tries to bulldoze what might be a sacred Choctaw burial mound. In the ensuing clash, racial tensions hit the boiling point over who has rights to the mound. Calhoun is then found dead, his throat slit with an ancient Indian blade, and Faye investigates after suspicion falls on Joe and other area Native Americans. Though Evans has been compared to Tony Hillerman, her sympathetic characters and fascinating archeological lore add up to a style all her own. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Archaeologist Faye Longchamp (Artifacts, 2003) and her Native American friend Joe Wolf Mantooth are in Neshoba County, Mississippi, working on an excavation near Nanih Waiya, the sacred mound that is said to be the birthplace of the Choctaw Nation. A nearby farm has an ancient mound that appears to be rich in artifacts, but the owner, Carroll Calhoun, refuses to let the team investigate. In fact, he gets on his tractor and tries to bulldoze the mound along with a few of the archaeologists. The local sheriff diffuses the situation, but, later, Calhoun turns up dead. Since the murder weapon is a handmade stone blade, and Faye and Joe were nearby, they become suspects. As the two work to clear themselves, the county's history of racism surfaces. Like Randy Wayne White in his Doc Ford novels, Evans adds an extra layer of substance to her series by drawing readers into the fascinating history of ancient American civilizations. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 301 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (January 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590583426
• ISBN-13: 978-1590583425
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,453,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of the award-winning Faye Longchamp archaeological mysteries: ARTIFACTS, RELICS, EFFIGIES, FINDINGS, and FLOODGATES. The sixth in the series, STRANGERS, will be published in October.

I'm a a chemical engineer by training and license, with a degree in engineering physics thrown in for spice, but I love reading about history and writing about an archaeologist. Truth be told, I'm a little jealous of Faye and her archaeological adventures.

I enjoy reading, writing, gardening, spending time with my family, cooking, and playing my 7-and-a-half-foot-long monster of a grand piano. My cat helps me write, so I should probably put his name on my books. Check them out here on Amazon or at your favorite bookstore.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MUST READ MYSTERY, March 28, 2007

By 

kmorical (Belmont, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Effigies (Faye Longchamp Mysteries, No. 3) (Hardcover)

I've just finished the second reading of this third installment, which only happens with books I truly enjoy, and it was as entertaining as a the first. This is one of my favorite mystery series' because I get so caught up in the story that I don't spend a lot of time trying to think ahead of the author's vision and simply let the story unfold naturally. The characters are so thoroughly developed that I never find myself questioning their actions, as I often do with most mystery series. I don't feel that the protagonist or sidekick is ever doing something completely out of character; instead, I find myself understanding them more clearly, which is thoroughly refreshing.

Fay's honest objectivity and Joe's quiet strength and complete loyalty makes this duo irresistible and endearing, although it's obvious to everyone but herself that no one else will ever "get" Fay the way Joe does.

Mary Anna Evans, I admire your work - keep them coming!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery, Archeology Make For Great Reading, November 21, 2007

By 

Bettye Johnson (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Effigies (Faye Longchamp Mysteries, No. 3) (Paperback)

The author's setting in Mississippi gives the reader an insight on the little known history of the Choctaw nation in the Mississippi region. Evans write a fast-past murder mystery while bringing in the racism, bigotry and prejudice still embedded in certain areas of the deep south. Her expertise in archeology makes the story a great combination of archeology, mystery, romance and the heroine a female sleuth with brains. I cannot compare her writing to Hillerman's because their styles are totally different. The only comparison with Hillerman's is that both write of Native Americans. Her characters come to life and I found it a
very enjoyable read. Bettye Johnson, award-winning author, Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another deep dig!, February 28, 2007

By 

Elizabeth Slater (North Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Effigies (Faye Longchamp Mysteries, No. 3) (Hardcover)

In this third mystery of this series, we are in the world of archeology with Faye Longchamp and her yummy sidekick Joe Wolf Mantooth. They have, once again, left their comfort zone of Joyeuse Island in north Florida to excavate a site for a company building a highway in Neshoba County, Mississippi. The site happens to be very close to Nanih Waiya, a mound considered sacred by the Choctaws. When the archeologists, one of them local to the area, see another `mound' across the street from where they are digging, they ask for permission to excavate it, as well. The owner, Carroll Calhoun, a local man of many years, runs them off the property and then tries to destroy the mound with a bulldozer. A community uprising ensues, with many different tensions causing it. The local sheriff is able to control the crowd and protect the mound until the laws are interpreted, but that didn't stop someone from deciding that Calhoun should die. When Joe and Faye find his body, throat slit, in a grove of marijuana plants, suspicions abound, especially on Joe because of his flint-knapping abilities. As Faye is trying to protect Joe from the outside world, she is trying to work on her assignment while also attempting to save a possible effigy, not to mention her own life and the lives of her friends. While it appears like there are many characters and stories to follow, the plot is sound, as well as the research that went into the story. There is definitely a lot of character development, and some of the descriptions make you want to go out and sift through the dirt with them.