Customer Reviews

Murder at Markham

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Hooray for Silver Dagger Press which is reissuing the Sheila Travis mysteries. In this first of the series originaly published in 1988, Travis, a recent 40ish widow, comes to Chicago and the pretigious Markham Graduate School that trains future diplomats. Sheila is well qualified for her job as assistant to the president of Markham because her husband was in the diplomatic service in Japan and she served as his excellent hostess over their married years.
At Markham she is quickly tossed into a murder investigation when the body of a young woman is found in the library stacks at the institute. Suspects include not only the staff but visiting professors and an interesting group of grad students from very different backgrounds.
Sheila vows to keep clear of the investigation but her redoubtable Aunt Mary, a VERY Southern dowager and truly
delightful person, keeps urging her to dig in, despite the fact that Mike Flannagan of the Chicago Police, with an eye for Sheila, keeps reminding her to butt out. Another murder soon occurs for which Sheila feels some responsibility and her investigative skills soon are at full force.
In the end, Sheila gathers the suspects together in a large room (a throwback to the traditional mysteries of the 30's and 40's) and comes up with the solution.
Anyone who enjoys traditional mysteries with a very likable heroine will love the Shelia Travis series. Numer two, MURDER IN THE CHARLESTON MANNER is due for reissue in January.

I recently discovered Patricia Sprinkle and have read many of her books, including the entire Sheila Travis series. Unfortunately, this was not one of my favorites. While Sprinkle's plot lines were impeccable, and it did make for a great mystery, the description of the setting - Chicago - was not as vivid as her descriptions of Atlanta and Charleston, where other books are set. Clearly, Sprinkle is more comfortable and familiar with those settings. This is still a great read, especially if you have read other Sheila Travis titles.