The Fugitive King (Professor Simon Shaw) [Paperback]

Sarah R Shaber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007 | Series: Professor Simon Shaw

Deep in the woods beneath the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, a forest ranger finds the remains of a young woman who disappeared forty years ago, entombed in an old pickup truck. Back in Raleigh, the confessed killer, who is serving a life sentence for her murder, now asks Professor Simon Shaw to help prove his innocence. Reluctant to accept the case, but happy to escape the city's summer heat and his brewing romantic troubles, Shaw heads into the mountains to the scene of the crime--his hometown of Boone. Shaw puts old memories, small-town gossip, and obliging relatives to good use, but finds a surprising lack of evidence against Roy Freedman. What would drive a man to admit to a murder he didn't commit? Did Roy kill Eva Potter or was he a convenient scapegoat? A second murder disguised as an accident points Simon in the right direction, leading him to a stunning discovery hidden deep in the hills, to a secret worth lying--and killing--for.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his third winning cozy (Simon Says; Snipe Hunt), history professor Simon Shaw's journey to "the homeplace" in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains is interrupted by an escaped convict, Roy Freedman, who at gunpoint asks his help in finding evidence to support Freedman's claim of innocence for a murder committed decades before. Once home, the obliging prof taps into the local collective memory, gossiping with his kin and acquaintances at the sheriff's department. What he finds is unsettling. Why was so little evidence recorded at the time of the murder? What motive would drive Freedman to plead guilty to a crime he didn't commit and serve 40 years in prison? Learning the answers to these questions may prove more dangerous than Simon bargained for. Shaber excels at depicting local color, from Appalachian geology and native flora, to evocative glimpses of postwar rural America. With his migraines, tenure worries and wounded feelings after a spat with his girlfriend, the 30-something Simon comes across as likable and all too human-we understand why his relations are glad to see him. Minor characters also have their appealing foibles, especially Simon's uncle and aunt, Mel and Rae, who are separated because Mel looks forward to retirement and Rae would "die if she stopped working." A chatty style is perfectly suited to an investigation that depends so much on conversation and characters' reminiscences.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Shortly after authorities discover a female skeleton just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, Professor Simon Shaw (Simon Says) is taken hostage by an escaped convict in Raleigh. Said convict confessed to killing the woman back in 1958, though her body was never found, but now he wants Shaw, a forensic historian, to prove him innocent. The convict returns to prison, and Shaw finally decides to investigate, putting a huge glitch in his love life. Forensic research details, historical facts about ethnic Melungeons and Appalachia, and frequent reminders of North Carolina academia provide plot cement. Solid, middle-of-the-road prose recommends this cozy to larger collections.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Bella Rosa Books (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933523212
• ISBN-13: 978-1933523217
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #434,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Shaber is an award-winning mystery author from North Carolina. Her new historical series begins with LOUISE'S WAR. It stars Louise Pearlie, a young widow working for the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, DC, during World War II. A sequel, LOUISE'S GAMBLE, will be published in May 2011. Her Professor Simon Shaw murder mysteries are now available as ebooks and trade paperbacks. She's also the editor of Tar Heel Dead, a collection of short stories by North Carolina mystery writers. Shaber lives, writes, cooks, reads, and chills with her husband, Steve, in Raleigh.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and clever mystery, January 4, 2003

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Fugitive King: A Professor Simon Shaw Mystery (Hardcover)

Simon Shaw has achieved some notoriety as a "forensic historian"; that is, a history professor who has a knack for solving really, really cold murder cases by examining them from a historian's perspective. Now a convicted murderer who has read about Simon escapes from prison and takes Simon hostage. He demands that Simon investigate the decades-old murder for which he is serving a life sentence. He did confess, the convict says, but the confession was beaten out of him.

After this exciting opening, Simon manages to get the guy to give himself up. Nothing much happens for the next 70 pages or so as Simon half-heartedly looks into the matter while dealing with his shaky relationship with his non-committal girlfriend, Julia, and his university students desperate for passing grades. But after reading some old newspapers and talking to a couple of people, he decides something about the 1958 murder is out of whack. And since it took place near his hometown of Boone, North Carolina, and since he needs to get away for a while, the old murder is a perfect excuse to pay a visit to his relatives.

The plot doesn't really get rolling until about halfway through the book, but it didn't seem to matter too much. The characters are engaging and amusing, Simon is likable and very human, and the novel has a sharp sense of place that makes me homesick for my mother's cooking. The family relationships have a ring of truth to them that makes this book a fun read, and the solution to the mystery was satisfying and clever without being outlandish.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down..., June 20, 2003

By 

J. Emfinger "jtxjee" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fugitive King: A Professor Simon Shaw Mystery (Hardcover)

I picked up this book to pass a few minutes, and wound up unable to put it down. The characters were varied and well-presented allowing them to all fit comfortably into the story. The setting, the Blue Ridge Mountains, is an area full of legends and stories that boosted the storyline. All in all, I read it in one day and wish I had another in the series to start right now. It's one of those books where the characters are so well-done you don't want to lose touch with them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars delightful amateur sleuth, September 14, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fugitive King: A Professor Simon Shaw Mystery (Hardcover)

Over forty years ago in the North Carolina Mountain town of Boone, Roy Freedman was courting his landlord's daughter Eva Porter. When he proposed to her, she refused saying her parents would disown her if she married a Mulingeon. Roy was arrested after the family found a lot of blood in the area where Eva was last seen.

Roy confessed to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison. He was in a minimum-security prison, had a lot of privileges and even worked in the governor's mansion. Roy risked everything he had by walking out of the mansion and holding Professor Simon Shaw at gunpoint. He tells the professor he was forced to confess and wants Simon to find out what really happened to his beloved Eva. Despite his doubts, Simon is drawn into the man's story and after Roy surrenders to the law, the professor decides to find out what really happened forty years ago.

THE FUGITIVE KING is a delightful amateur sleuth novel though why Roy chose the professor rather than a pro remains questionable. Still the engaging tale stars a lovable protagonist who is very much in touch with his feelings. His sensitivity is the reason he decides to help out a man who held him at gunpoint. The support cast consists of a bunch of amiable eccentrics, the kind of people who live in a rough and ready mountain town.

Harriet Klausner