Snipe Hunt (Professor Simon Shaw Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Sarah R. Shaber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 2000 | Series: Professor Simon Shaw Mysteries

THE DISCOVERY OF AN OLD CORPSE DREDGES UP THE PAST FOR A SMALL TOWN WITH A LOT TO HIDEProfessor Simon Shaw wants nothing more than to spend a peaceful Thanksgiving with friends, staying in Perlie Beach, a small town on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. But even as the turkey roasts, he finds himself embroiled in a fifty-year-old mystery of strange disappearances, suspicious deaths, and treasures lost and found.The holiday disruption begins when the body of a local man is dredged from the waters of Pearlie Beach. In his hand, several rare confederate coins; in his decaying ribs, the sharp blade of a knife. Soon Simon, aided by Julie McGloughan, a mesmerizing police attorney, discovers that secrets in this small town run as deep as the waterways that surround it.Simon knows that finding another cache of coins is about as likely as getting the guarded residents of Perlie Beach to talk.But he also knows that if he doesn`t continue to investigate, a decades-old murder will remain unsolved-and another may be close at hand....AUTHORBIO: SARAH R. SHABER lives in Raleigh, North Caroline.Her first novel, SIMON SAID, won the 1996 St. Martin`s Malice Domestic Award.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Forensic historian Simon Shaw, who made his debut in Simon Said, gets an unexpected and unwelcome opportunity to exercise his unique skills during a Thanksgiving vacation on Pearlie Beach--a small island off the North Carolina coast. Simon, a college history professor and winner of a Pulitzer Prize, is joined for the holiday by his friend David Morgan, an archeologist; romantic interest Julia McGloughlin, a police attorney; and the Cleggs--Marcus, who is Simon's colleague, his wife and three young daughters. When a dredger dislodges an old WWII diving suit, with an occupant, Simon and his friends are soon involved in a mystery that seems too old and too difficult to solve. Both the coastal waters and the denizens of Pearlie Beach hide their secrets well, and prizing them loose proves difficult and dangerous. Confederate gold, German U-boats, blockade runners, murders old and new all surface to play their part in this appealing cozy, which pleasingly mixes regional history and lore, a bit of romance and a soup on of suspense. (Mar.)

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A relaxing trip to North Carolina's fictional Pearlie Beach turns into much more for professor Simon Shaw when dredgers discover World War II-vintage skeleton. As a "forensic historian," Shaw helps to be carrying a collection of Confederate gold coins. Did the river-possibly a local navy frogman who disappeared-accidentally drown, or did the gold provide a motive for murder? At first reluctant to become involved, Shaw ends up researching and conjecturing, as in Simon Said. Recognizable life-at-Carolina beach scenes, folksy locals, and mild humor should endear this especially to regional audiences.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (March 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312253370
• ISBN-13: 978-0312253370
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #825,444 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

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mystery that has a fresh plot, February 17, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: Snipe Hunt (Professor Simon Shaw Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Professor Simon Show is the youngest teacher with tenure at prestigious Keenan College, North Carolina. The Pulitzer Prize-winning history professor has become a media darling dubbed the "Forensic Historian" after solving a decades old mystery. A few months of fame has Simon needing a vacation. So by Thanksgiving he escapes to Pearlie Beach, a Carolina Barrier Island, to relax with his friends.

A decades old body in a diving suit is found encrusted with brine and barnacles beneath the nearby waters. Someone stabbed to death the deceased, identified as an AWOL soldier Carl Chais. The victim was found holding a valuable cache of Confederate gold coins that leads to the conclusion that an undiscovered chest containing more must be nearby. Simon finds the case interesting and begins to investigate with the permission of the victim's family. He will soon learn that curiosity endangers more than just the cat, as someone wants certain secrets to remain buried.

The protagonist of SNIPE HUNT is a redeeming individual with a heroic streak that compels him to do the right thing in spite of his own misgivings. Sarah Shaber surrounds this admirable character with strong writing highlighted by a perfectly paced story line. The captivating mystery with its introspective academic star leads to a fresh amateur sleuth tale that will make the author a sub-genre favorite.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Hunting, July 11, 2000

By 

Brenda "MYSHELFDOTCOM" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Snipe Hunt (Professor Simon Shaw Mysteries) (Hardcover)

SNIPE HUNT is the second book in the Professor Simon Shawmystery series, the first being SIMON SAID. Professor Shaw is knownfor solving mysteries of the past.

Professor Simon Shaw teaches history at Kenan College in Raleigh, North Carolina. In this mystery, he travels to Pearlie Beach, North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving vacation with his friends, David Morgan, an Archeologist, Marcus and Marianne Clegg and their three younger children, and his former crush Julia McGloughlin, a police attorney. Simon is expecting to spend Thanksgiving vacation working and preparing for the finals week that's ahead, but is talked into solving another mystery of the past. Simon, Morgan, and Julia try to find the missing links between a diver's suit that is dredged from the water, a cousin of the Pearlie family that went missing in 1942, a dark family secret, and confederate gold.

I found the plot in SNIPE HUNT to be very educational. The twists and turns were like a complex puzzle that was mind-boggling and a challenge I was ready to accept. The characters were so life-like, setting was perfect, and the historical tie-ins of the book helped keep me interested, not to mention the recipes were mouth watering.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mystery in North Carolina, April 20, 2000

By 

Patricia H. Harris (Raleigh NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snipe Hunt (Professor Simon Shaw Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I truly enjoyed this mystery written by a fellow North Carolinian. I could relate to alot of the incidents in the book like going crabbing and eating boiled peanuts!

I also saw the author and heard her read at Quail Ridge Books; it was wonderful. I do thoroughly recommend you read her other book, "Simon Says" prior to reading "Snipe Hunt". "Simon Says" sets the stage for Simon as the sleuth.

I truly enjoyed this mystery because I did not figure it out before the end!