Effigies

November 20, 2006
In Evans's intriguing third mystery to feature archeologist Faye Longchamp (after 2005's Relics
), Faye and her Native American assistant, Joe Wolf Mantooth, leave Joyeuse Island, Fla., for a dig in rural Mississippi at the site of a proposed highway. They arrive during the Neshoba County Fair, a weeklong celebration during which residents put aside their differences to honor the area's mixed-race heritage. But when the archeologists discover another important site on the property of Carroll Calhoun, a racist with ties to the KKK, he not only refuses to let them excavate but tries to bulldoze what might be a sacred Choctaw burial mound. In the ensuing clash, racial tensions hit the boiling point over who has rights to the mound. Calhoun is then found dead, his throat slit with an ancient Indian blade, and Faye investigates after suspicion falls on Joe and other area Native Americans. Though Evans has been compared to Tony Hillerman, her sympathetic characters and fascinating archeological lore add up to a style all her own.

December 1, 2006
Archaelogist Faye Longchamp ("Relics") with her friend Joe Wolf Mantooth join a dig in Neshoba County, MS, to excavate a Choctaw sacred mound. Soon they realize that on the adjacent property sits an undiscovered mound and that the man who owns the land is about to bulldoze it into the ground. When he is murdered, Faye and Joe become suspects as well as amateur investigators. Starting with racial tension between blacks and whites, Evans adds Native Americans into the mix and comes up with a thought-provoking tale about people trying to live together. Evans lives in Florida. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 10/1/06.]

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