Effigies

Description

Faye Longchamp and Joe Wolf Mantooth have traveled to Neshoba County, Mississippi, to help excavate a site near Nanih Waiya, the sacred mound where tradition says the Choctaw nation was born. When farmer Carroll Calhoun refuses the archaeologists' request to investigate an ancient Native American mound, Faye and her colleagues are disappointed. But his next action breaks their hearts: he tries to bulldoze the huge relic to the ground. That night, Calhoun is found dead, his throat sliced with a handmade stone blade. Was he killed by an archaeologist angered by his wanton destruction of history? Did a Choctaw take up arms to defend an embattled heritage? Or was it someone else with a grudge...?

Mary Anna Evans is the author of the Faye Longchamp archaeological mysteries, which have received recognition including the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Mississippi Author Award, and three Florida Book Awards bronze medals. She is an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, where she teaches fiction and nonfiction writing. Check out her website, enewsletter, facebook author page, and twitter. Winner of the 2018 Sisters in Crime (SinC) Academic Research Grant

"As an archeological tour alone the book would be worth reading, but it's the fascinating and complex characters that give the story life and vibrancy." - Rhys Bowen, author of the Constable Evans mysteries "...the best one yet....a fascinating read." - Tony Hillerman, New York Times bestselling author "Though Evans has been compared to Tony Hillerman, her sympathetic characters and fascinating archeological lore add up to a style all her own." - Publishers Weekly "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." - Library Journal "A captivating combination of archeology, Native-American tales, romance and detection. A must-read for those so inclined." - Kirkus Reviews "Like Randy Wayne White in his Doc Ford novels, Evans adds an extra layer of substance to her series by drawing readers into the fascinating history of ancient American civilizations." - Booklist