Customer Reviews

Fatal Remains

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

 

 

I always enjoy Eleanor Taylor Bland's books. Fatal Remains is no exception. Good research into some of the early history of Native, African and European settlers in the Des Plaines area. Her descriptions of Native and African relationships since the European settlement of North America. Research wise, I did wonder about Isiah's supposed Ethiopian ancestors though. That needed explanation given what is generally known about the slave trade.
Bland continued developing the relationship between the two police partners. Her books indicate they have become a well-oiled team over time as well as good friends.
Her story line completely held my attention. I hope Ms. Bland continues to turn out more Marty McAlister stories. They maintain the readers rapt attention without the slash and gore of many of today's detective stories.

She's up there with great ones. A pleasure just to read a real sleuthing novel for a change, without a lot of fluff or blaxploitation.

Multiple murders dovetail seamlessly with displaced American Indian and fugitive slave history in this latest Marti MacAlister mystery. It all begins with a skeleton on a piece of scrub land in Lincoln Prairie where the African-American former Chicago cop now works and lives with her mother, husband and three children.

The skeleton turns out to be a Potawotami Indian, but before Marti and her partner "Vik" Jessenovick can identify him, a budding archaeologist working on a dig for the prominent Smith family is killed in an apparent accident on the site. The family has been plagued by peculiar accidents throughout its history, which dates from Ibdash Smith, reputed to be a link on the Underground Railroad.

Meanwhile, point of view switches among characters out of the police orbit, which include a black man researching his family history and an Indian trying to put his behind him, as well as the Smith family patriarch, striving to keep the family secrets buried.

These voices give the reader a bit of a lead over the cops, but Marti's boys help fill her in on local history (while Marti reflects on how little was taught of her heritage in her schooldays) while cop smarts and outside experts put them so far inside the picture, they become targets themselves. Bland works family life in without having to create any formula tension and the police procedure is logical, absorbing and spiced with action. A strong series, getting stronger.

Lincoln Prairie, Illinois police detectives Marti MacAlister and Vik Jessenovik investigate the death of an apprentice archaeologist on the property of Josiah Smith. The deceased was working on a dig to prove that nothing of value was on this segment of the Smith property because the elderly Josiah planned to sell the land to a developer. However, instead of cooperation from Josiah and his family, the octogenarian patriarch informed, or perhaps warned his brood to offer nothing to the cops.

To Josiah's chagrin, the dig uncovers the remains of a Potawatomi Indian settlement and slave tags indicating that ancestor Idbash Smith was connected to the Underground Railroad, but not necessarily as a positive helper. Marti and Vik begin their own style of digging in an effort to ferret out a modern day killer amidst the silent Smiths while others from a ghost to slave descendents to Native American preservation groups arrive to convolute the suddenly dangerous investigation.

Fans of complex police procedural tales will appreciate FATAL REMAINS due to two strong mysteries (past and present) and the wonderful lead cops. The story line is at its best when Vik and Marti either investigate or provide a glimpse inside their personal lives especially the male protagonist who struggles with his wife's MS illness. The historical aspects of the case (the Potawatomi tribe and the slave manacles) add a sense of heritage and depth to the modern day inquiries. Though the ghost seems more like a spirit out of water, fans will appreciate this powerful who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner

Marti MacAlister and her partner Matthew "Vik" Jessenovik are called to the scene of a possible homicide where skeletal remains have been found on the property of local rich man, Josiah Smith. The bones show signs of violence and the detectives publish a computerized enhancement of what the man would have looked like while alive. Before they can get telephone responses from anyone who might know the man, the action begins piling up. An archeological student falls into a pit where she is digging. A handy man falls or jumps out of a barn window. Suddenly Marti and Vik are swamped with the investigation as they try to decide if all these "accidents" are really what they seem or if there is some evil afoot.

Marti and Vik discover several family members who have had suspicious "accidents" on the property throughout the years. Now that Josiah Smith is selling some of the land and giving other acreage away to public organizations there could be good reasons for someone to wish to stop the new land distributions.

Marti and Vik not only have to look at the present and the future to solve this crime, they must also delve into the distant past. Plenty of Native American and African American history is uncovered as they search for answers. Along with a very good mystery, we get a marvelous history lesson about the entwined lives of early Native Americans and African Americans. If I had one wish for the book, it would be that the past and present had been tied together in a stronger way at the end. Otherwise, it was a very good read.

Reviewed by alice Holman
of the RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Some families seem prone to accidents. The Smith family is one of them. Throughout their family history accidents have occured on their property involving the loss of a relative and workers. This time around skeletal remains are found on the property and a young female student is found dead. She too had an accident. Marti and Vik think differently as they begin an investigation that has far more complexities than they ever thought.
FATAL REMAINS explores how the death of one person can set off a catalyst of research that goes far beyond the normal collecting of evidence. Marti and Vik must explore the historical connections regarding these accidental deaths that involve Native-Americans, African-Americans and the Underground Railroad. The interconnectedness of those groups are the key in unraveling what appears to be a homocide.
The characters are at times un-nerving. Josiah Smith is the tight lipped patriarch whose controlling hand tries to stop the detective team in their quest. Josiah and his kin carry a secret and will use all of their influence to keep others at bay. As far as they are concerned leave accidents alone.
Marti and Vik are relentless in their pursuit of the murderer but we also see another side of them. Vik's deep concern for his wife impacts the case as he sees her physical condition further deteriorate. Marti shows her greater interest in her children as they mature and help her with the research. In this work we see both the dedication of two detectives over a case and their deepening appreciation for their families.
Bland's novel is well paced and keeps you guessing what move the next character will make. The only flaw in the piece is the ending. It is quite choppy and difficult to understand how the pieces of the homocide puzzle was put together. Aside from that Bland has delivered a great story.

Marti and Vik's latest case is when skeletal remains are found on a wooded and haunted section of land owned by a rich family. The case turns out to be a string of murders dating back hundrerds of years. Fatal Remains is a great history lesson about Africian Americans and Native Americans. A great read with a twist of a ending