The Rosewood Casket

April 29, 1996
Two missing children, unscrupulous land grabbing (past and present), a shooting, a manhunt and visits from both an angel and a ghost are rendered with little suspense or mystery in McCrumb's fourth ballad novel, following the bestselling She Walks These Hills. As Randall Stargill lies in a coma in a Tennessee hospital, his four sons-a career soldier, a car salesman, a country singer and a naturalist-gather at the Appalachian family farm to prepare for his approaching death: while the men work on the handmade coffin daddy wants, their wives (one is a girlfriend) sew a quilt to line it. Old Nora Bonesteel, a neighbor and clairvoyant, brings something to tuck into Randall's coffin: a small box containing a child's skeleton. Sheriff Spencer Arrowood can't persuade Nora to tell whose bones they are; that trickle of frustration turns into a flood of bad luck when an oily real-estate developer enlists Arrowood's assistance to evict a neighboring family from their debt-encumbered farm (land that was originally swiped from the Cherokee, as McCrumb notes). The shooting of Sheriff Arrowood is a crime unrelated to the question of whose bones are in the box, though both issues are eventually resolved in the same mountain location. With few characters to care about and its low punch and puzzle quotients, this bland and cobbled tale is a miss for the accomplished McCrumb. 75,000 first printing; Mystery Guild and Literary Guild selections.

Randall Stargill is in a coma. His four sons come home to find a detailed list to follow upon his death, including instructions to build his casket from rosewood. Sally Darling reads with a soft Southern accent that immediately places the listener in Tennessee mountain country. Her voice is flexible and moves easily among the story's characters, whether sympathetic or not. In this small, close community residents have different dreams and conflicting goals. Our emotions are engaged as residents attempt to gain recognition from others and make their lives meaningful. Sally Darling's narration helps us understand these mountain people in a delightful way. D.M.W. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine