Stranger Room

June 9, 2008
Two locked-room murders, nearly 150 years apart, confound Sheriff Ike Schwartz of Picketsville, Va., in Ramsay’s suspenseful fourth regional mystery (after 2007’s Buffalo Mountain
). Schwartz discovers that both crimes, with sinister undertones of Poe, occurred at the antebellum-era Lydell mansion. The estate’s owner, Jonathan Lydell IV, is distraught to find his renovated “stranger room” (a guest room with its own outside entrance) soiled by death and the intrusion of law enforcement. While Schwartz and acting deputy Karl Hedrick (on loan from the FBI) contend with Lydell’s condescension and racism, they’re soon distracted by a growing meth epidemic, vandalism and even another death in Picketsville. Ramsay skillfully weaves historical fact into his story, all the while blending brisk action with excellent characterization. Schwartz has matured throughout the series, and readers will eagerly await his next adventure.

Starred review from July 15, 2008
The "stranger room"a separate room in a private home used by 19th-century travelers when the local inn was fullin Jonathan Lydell's Virginia antebellum house is no stranger to locked-room murder. The first killing, which was never solved, occurred in 1864, and now Sheriff Ike Schwartz ("Buffalo Mountain") and FBI agent Karl Hedrick must determine how a new crime, identical to the first, was committed and why. This is for fans of puzzle mysteries and of John Dickson Carr and Ellery Queen, the masters of the locked-room mystery. Featuring great characters, snippets of Southern culture and history, and snappy dialog, this is too good to miss. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 4/1/08.]

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