3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally, a mystery series set in America!, March 23, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: No Escape (Masey Baldridge/Luke Williamson Mystery) (Hardcover)
No Escape is for every historical mystery buff who enjoys all those mysteries set in England, Egypt or Ancient Rome, but asks - why aren't there any good mysteries set here in America? Here it is. The Civil War is over, but the country will never be the same again, nor will the men and women who survived it. It was a terrible time for them, but it makes great reading for us, especially when the story is told with James Brewer's skill.
Masey Baldridge, a wounded Confederate veteran struggling in alcohol's grip, teams up with former Union officer turned riverboat captain Luke Williamson to solve crimes along the Mississippi. Of course, they'd be lost without the help of Sally Tyner, who's determined to leave her career as a prostitute by becoming a private investigator. This threesome has been building since the series began, and they're now a formidable team.
No Escape presents a dual danger - murder and epidemic. Will they find the killer before one of them succumbs to Yellow Fever? Will Masey once again stumble to the rescue?
Besides presenting a good mystery for readers to enjoy, No Escape lets us immerse ourselves in life along the Mississippi (the Father of Waters) in the years after the Civil War. And no, this is not just another western. There really was more to American life 130 years ago than cowboys, Indians, and cavalry. And this book takes us there - the waterfront, life and death in Memphis, the fear, the danger.
The Baldridge, Williamson, Tyner detecting trio really make the stories, never getting overwhelmed by the fascinating backdrop, the history, life on the Mississippi. They'll make a new reader want to go back and get each book in the series, and then wait for the next one to come out.
And now, one gripe. The stories are good enough to sustain a longer book, go for it. Readers will enjoy the added pages, not wanting to leave the sleuths and return to the 20th century.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A historical mystery that entertains while it teaches, June 6, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: No Escape (Masey Baldridge/Luke Williamson Mystery) (Hardcover)
In the late summer of 1873, yellow fever grips the southern half of the Mississippi River. Since the first death in Memphis by the deadly disease occurred over a month ago, over a hundred fatalities has been reported. Besides worrying about the disease, Mayor Johnson is concerned that someone is stealing funds from the Howard Association, a charitable organization fighting yellow fever. Johnson hires the Big River Detective Agency to learn who is robbing money needed for the city during this crisis.
The three partners, who make up Big River Agency begin to investigate. Salina Tyner goes undercover as a nurse, working for the Howard Association. Masey Baldridge begins to look into the strange murders of two men, who were already dying from the disease. Though quarantined to his riverboat, Luke Williamson keeps his irate passengers from mutiny as they await the okay to finally enter the city.
NO ESCAPE is a fabulous entry in one of the best historical mystery series on the market today. Though the characters are all intriguing, it is the disease that stars in this fast-paced novel. Readers will also quickly be caught up with the fear that a true serial killer is on the loose, making for a real life horror tale. This is one author who's the brew-master of historical mysteriese. Readers who have not tried Mr. Brewer's Big River Detective series should try this novel and the previous four books for a great historical sleuthing experience.
Harriet Klausner
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, readable mystery, February 22, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: No Escape (Masey Baldridge/Luke Williamson Mystery) (Hardcover)
This isn't great literature or particularly "deep" writing, but it's a fun, readable book about a yellow fever epidemic in postwar Memphis. As in Brewer's other book, the most appealing character is veteran Masey Baldridge, with his bad leg, drinking problem and indifferent manners. In No Escape Brewer starts to hint at a romance between Salina, the rather anachronistically spunky female lead, and Masey, which all seems a bit stereotypical and silly. In this book, the setting and the descriptions of the epidemic are better than the plot, which is a little shallow. Still, it's an entertaining evening's read.
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