MacPherson's Lament

September 28, 1992
Although billed as an Elizabeth MacPherson mystery, there is too little mystery and too little McPherson in this convoluted tale, which will please Civil War buffs more than mystery fans. Elizabeth's brother, Bill, a new lawyer, sets up shop in Danville, Va., with Amy Powell (A. P.) Hill, descendant of the southern general known by the same initials. The firm's first few cases aren't auspicious. Bill's mother hires him to secure her divorce from his father, and eight elderly women ask him to sell their mansion, the Home for Confederate Widows, so they can move into a nursing facility; meanwhile A. P. defends a man who bounces checks. The pace picks up when the body of a young woman is found in the trunk of A. P.'s client's car and a wealthy businessman from New York wants to buy the house very quickly. Elizabeth, who has been represented in letters sent from Scotland, finally flies home to help the fledgling attorneys. Interspersed is the tale of Civil War soldier Gabriel Hawks, who with a friend confiscates a part of the Confederate treasury. Although McCrumb ties the disparate threads together nicely, most mystery readers will wish for more suspense.

November 1, 1992
The newest addition to McCrumb's bright and saucy Elizabeth MacPherson mystery series melds Civil War history with sly digs at good old-fashioned chauvinism. Elizabeth's brother Bill, fresh out of law school and decidedly wet behind the ears, has just opened a modest little law firm in a thrift-store furnished Danville, Virginia office with a far more energetic partner named A. P. Hill. The great-great-granddaughter of one of Robert E. Lee's generals, Hill's secret hobby is dressing up in a Confederate uniform and taking part in Civil War battle reenactments. Her first client is a killer; Bill's is his mother, who wants him to oversee her divorce. Bill's next case is even more disastrous. It involves a group of "helpless old ladies" who have been living in the Home for Confederate Women. They can't afford the upkeep on the antebellum mansion and want to sell it--that is, they want Bill to sell it, cash only, to be deposited in a numbered bank account in the Cayman Islands. Soon Bill is suspected of murder and fraud and sister Elizabeth is making a transatlantic rescue flight. Once again, McCrumb has found inspiration and drama in southern lore, constructing a neatly embellished and always witty story that will beguile both mystery buffs and Civil War enthusiasts. ((Reviewed Nov. 1, 1992))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1992, American Library Association.)