Christine Jeffords
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Reviews
A Draught For A Dead Man
by Caroline Roe
"More a Thriller Than a Mystery"
Posted October 2, 2002
This is the sixth volume in the Chronicles of Isaac of
Girona, a recently-established (1998) series in the ever-
burgeoning subgenre of historical mystery, which
scarcely existed before the introduction of Brother Cadfael
25 years ago.
Isaac, a blind Jewish physician, and his daughter and
assistant, Raquel, are residents of Girona, in Read more...
Tears Of The Giraffe
by Alexander McCall Smith
"The Return of Mma Ramotswe"
Posted October 4, 2002
Here is the second in Smith's acclaimed new series about
the only female private investigator in Botswana. Although
more episodic than his debut volume, it maintains the
latter's quality with its lyrical style, careful pace, and
rich evocation of culture, country, and characters. (I am
inevitably reminded of Read more...
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith
"A Delightful New Detective"
Posted October 4, 2002
Mma Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's only female private
investigator, should probably have called her agency "No. 1
Lady's," since she's its sole operative. But apart from
that grammatical slip, she doesn't miss a trick.
A "traditionally built" (read: stout) person creeping up on
40, she decides to enter this Read more...
Cat on the Scent
by Rita Mae Brown
"The Marvellous Mrs. Murphy Does It Again!"
Posted July 23, 2002
The sixth "Mrs. Murphy Mystery," featuring Mary
Minor "Harry" Haristeen and her pets (Mrs. Murphy, the
tiger cat; Tee Tucker, the corgi bitch; and Pewter, the fat
gray cat who used to live in Market Shifflett's grocery),
takes some interesting new tangents.
There's a Civil War
re-enactment, a haughty Read more...
The Shadow of Albion
by Rosemary Edghill, Andre Norton
"When is a Regency Not a Regency?"
Posted August 4, 2002
THE SHADOW OF ALBION, described as the first volume in
the Carolus Rex Trilogy, includes many elements of the
traditional Regency romance: a concentration on the "ton"
(British nobility) and its manners and activities, a
marriage of convenience (by order of the King!) that turns
into something more, a cold-hearted Read more...
Wish You Were Here
by Rita Mae Brown
"For Lovers of Cats, Dogs, and Murder"
Posted July 7, 2002
If you're one of those people who sometimes looks at your
pet and thinks, "What is he *really* thinking?" or "I
wonder how much she *really* understands?," this delightful
mystery and its sequels are right up your alley. Mrs.
Murphy, a gray tiger cat, and Tee Tucker, a corgi Read more...
Black on Black
by K. D. Wentworth
"An Auspicious Debut for Series"
Posted August 11, 2002
One of my favorite subdivisions of the vast sf field is
what I call the "culture-dependent" story--one that takes
place on an alien world and turns upon the differences
between its native race and humanity. It's not an easy
type to write convincingly, because a human author
naturally tends Read more...
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