Paying the Piper [Hardcover]

Sharyn McCrumb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1991

"She's Agatha Christie with an attitude; outrageous and engrossing at the same time."
Steven Womack,
NASHVILLE BANNER
Book four in Sharyn McCrumb's Elizabeth MacPherson murder mystery series.
A motley crew of American and British professionals and amateurs gathers for an archaeological dig into prehistoric burial rites on a small Scottish island. Things already aren't going so well, when one of the strongest in the crew dies suddenly. Afraid for her life, fellow digger and forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson probes the rocky topsoil for a reason behind the evil aura of death that seems to hover over them. Is the excavation cursed by the ancient dead...or is there a more modern explanation behind the group's strangely rising mortality rate...?

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

It's hard to say which is my favorite of McCrumb's Elizabeth MacPherson murder mysteries. She's a funny lady and every one of her very well-plotted MacPherson novels is full of all manner of zany characters. In some ways, though, this early one -- 1988 -- is one I'd recommend first to a reader new to Sharyn McCrumb. It's set on a small Scottish island, full of ominous atmosphere, naturally, where Elizabeth, a forensic anthropologist, and a crew of archaeologists are looking into prehistoric burial rites. And then, of course, a crew member dies. I tried to play detective while I read, but Paying the Piper totally faked me out -- McCrumb used one of the most ingenious murder methods I've ever come across in a lifetime of reading mysteries.

--Margaret Sanborn, Senior Publicity Copywriter --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

"She's Agatha Christie with an attitude; outrageous and engrossing at the same time."
Steven Womack,
NASHVILLE BANNER
Book four in Sharyn McCrumb's Elizabeth MacPherson murder mystery series.
A motley crew of American and British professionals and amateurs gathers for an archaeological dig into prehistoric burial rites on a small Scottish island. Things already aren't going so well, when one of the strongest in the crew dies suddenly. Afraid for her life, fellow digger and forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson probes the rocky topsoil for a reason behind the evil aura of death that seems to hover over them. Is the excavation cursed by the ancient dead...or is there a more modern explanation behind the group's strangely rising mortality rate...? --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Pub Ltd (August 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727842471
• ISBN-13: 978-0727842473
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,565,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an award-winning Southern writer. I am probably best known for my
Appalachian "Ballad" novels, set in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountains. These books include New York Times Best Sellers She Walks These Hills and The Rosewood Casket, which deal with the issue of the vanishing wilderness, and The Ballad of Frankie Silver, the story of the first woman hanged for murder in the state of North Carolina; The Songcatcher, a genealogy in music; and Ghost Riders, an account of the Civil War in the Appalachians.

My newest novel St. Dale, the Canterbury Tales set in NASCAR, was published by Kensington Books of New York in 2005, and is currently a nominee for the Library of Virginia Literary Award in Fiction and a finalist for its People's Choice Award.

Honors include: the 2003 Award for Literature given by the
East Tennessee Historical Society; AWA Outstanding Contribution to
Appalachian Literature Award; Chaffin Award for Achievement in Southern
Literature; Plattner Award for Short Story; and AWA's Best Appalachian
Novel.

I was the first writer-in-residence at King College in Tennessee. In 2001 I
served as fiction writer-in-residence at the WICE Conference in Paris, and
in 2005 I was honored as the writer of the year at the annual literary
celebration at Emory and Henry College. (And I was the first Southern writer to take along a NASCAR driver to that literary seminar. Thank you, Ward Burton!)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A NICE LIGHT TOUCH, September 28, 2000

By 

BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Paying the Piper (Mass Market Paperback)

Elizabeth MacPherson is a delightful, clever lady who is a very likable character. She does not pretend to have full knowledge and she does not come across as being pretentious. She also has a nice sense of humor. Like all the books that feature her, this one also has that nice, light touch that will certainly evoke laughter. Sharyn McCrumb has a delightfully lyric voice and she breathes life and freshness into her characters. This is a book I would gladly recommend to anyone. This is excellent.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good entertainment!, December 17, 2003

By 

B. Hauck "bettiola" (Cambridge MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paying the Piper (Mass Market Paperback)

I really enjoyed this mystery, and while it followed (in a satisfying way) some of the traditions of the genre, it also avoided a lot of the cliches through the depiction of interesting, non-stereotypical characters and relationships. Strangers stuck on an inhospitable island together, unexplained accidents and mysterious deaths, the haunting sound of bag pipes coming across the water, a brewing storm - these all come together to provide pleasantly shivery reading. The reader of the audio version has a lovely lilting voice, and while it's a little odd to have her speaking in the voice of the American female protagonist's diary, she does a great job with the Scottish accents!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharyn McCrumb is wonderful!, October 21, 2003

By 

B. Mckee "beemac" (Alma, AR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paying the Piper (Mass Market Paperback)

I recently re-read this book and enjoyed it thoroughly. I really like the Elizabeth McPherson stories. She's an anthropologist, not a detective, but she can add two and two.

This time she joins an archeological group on a remote Scottish island, and her companions are quite diverse. You never know quite where anyone stands, and when people start dying of some unknown cause, it doesn't occur to anyone that it might be murder.

Ms. McCrumb has a wonderful sense of humor and uses it appropriately in her stories. My favorite McCrumb story (and title) is "If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him..."