Fatal Remains (A Marti MacAlister Mystery) [Hardcover]

Eleanor Taylor Bland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 2003

When Marti MacAlister and her partner Matthew "Vik" Jessenovik respond to a report of skeletal remains found on a wooded piece of land, the pair has no idea it's just the first indication of a convoluted case of murder and conspiracy dating back hundreds of years. The skeleton turns out to be quite a mystery in itself, leading Native American groups and historians specializing in the Underground Railroad to flock to the site.

Unfortunately for all involved, the violence associated with the area is not confined to the distant past, and soon reports of mysterious accidents and suspicious deaths are coming in faster than Marti would like. A small contingent of locals even swears the land is haunted by a ghost intent on exacting a vicious revenge for some unknown grievance. Marti knows there must be a more traditional explanation, and it's her job to find out what it is. Eleanor Taylor Bland is at the top of her form in this taut, well-researched, suspenseful entry in her award-winning Marti MacAlister series.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

African-American police detective Marti MacAlister is used to "simple" murders, not ones whose roots are as old and entwined with history as those she encounters in Bland's 11th meaty mystery (after 2002's Windy City Dying). Set in Lincoln Prairie, Ill., home to Potawatomi Indians, past and present, and to an early settler, Idbash Smith, who was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, the story has a supernatural element that only mildly distracts amid the otherwise realistic crime-solving. When Marti and partner Matthew "Vik" Jessenovik look into the death of a young archeologist working alone at a site on the vast estate of Josiah Smith, they discover an odd history of accidents, most involving members of the Smith family. An aging black Jewish convert tracing his lineage from slavery to freedom and an unidentified Native-American body provide other threads that will take Marti into uncharted areas for an urban homicide investigation. Patience and persistence are the keys to the solution as Marti and Vik uncover the ghosts of the past literally and figuratively. This is a strong addition to a strong series, with a delightful kick of an ending.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The tenth entry in Bland's series starring Marti MacAlister, an African American detective, formerly of the Chicago Police Department and now working in nearby Lincoln Prairie, is a historical excavation as well as a mystery. As MacAlister and partner Vik Jessenovik investigate suspicious deaths connected to the site of an archaeological dig, readers will learn a great deal about remains from Potawotami Indians as well as from runaway slaves seeking the Underground Railroad. A young archaeology student is hired to excavate on the grounds of a mansion whose inhabitants have long been plagued by bad luck. The student ends up crushed to death by a boulder, as does a workman sent after her to excavate. Unearthing a trove of long-kept secrets, MacAlister suddenly finds herself in the middle of a fight between preservationists and developers. A skillful blend of history and mystery, enlivened by MacAlister's jauntily determined character. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (December 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312300972
• ISBN-13: 978-0312300975
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fatal Remains, September 23, 2005

By 

Popeshistory - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fatal Remains (A Marti MacAlister Mystery) (Hardcover)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great! Eleanor is back!, July 1, 2004

By 

P. Rhodes (St Louis, Mo.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fatal Remains (A Marti MacAlister Mystery) (Hardcover)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful and gracefully written, December 8, 2003

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fatal Remains (A Marti MacAlister Mystery) (Hardcover)

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.