Customer Reviews
Avg. Customer Review:
Days of the Dead, July 24, 2003
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Reviewer:
Kyri Freeman from Ben Lomond, CA USA
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January and Rose must travel to Mexico to rescue
Hannibal Sefton, who has been accused of murder.
An enjoyable, clever historical murder mystery,
not transcending the genre like the last book in the series, but certainly
worth reading. Sentence-level writing seems particularly smooth. The
historical period is evoked with great detail and believably.
Though I guessed the cause of death quickly
(this made me happy), I never quite figured out what the motivation was that
caused the victim to be murdered; the murderer is given various motives but
the exact breaking point remains vague. As well, there are scads o'
characters, and I'm not sure we really need them all. Don Prospero's manic
Homeric crazes and rants about Central American gods are funny, scary, and
believable despite their extremity. Sefton is an attractive secondary
character, and his actions at the conclusion of the book give it a needed
touch of seriousness.
At times, with the atmosphere of old gods and
sacrifices, I felt as if Hambly had been tempted to sneak in a bit of the
dark fantasy that she writes so well. I for one would have enjoyed that.
Exciting and well worth reading, though not as
thematically serious as some of the other books in the series have been. I
recommend it.
Good addition to this series, July 2, 2003
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Reviewer:
Harriet Klausner |
In 1835, free man of color Benjamin January
accompanied by his wife Rose leave New Orleans for Mexico City to provide
mental support to his friend opium user, classics user Hannibal Sefton,
being hanged for murder. Sefton was one of twenty-four guests attending a
dinner provided by Don Prospero de Castellon. However, he is the chosen one
accused of poisoning the host's son, the loathed Fernando.
Prospero anticipates Fernando's ghost returning
home during the Day of the Dead celebration and when his son's spirit visits
he will explain how Sefton killed him. Though the day is soon here, the
Guardia Civil Capitan wants to hang Sefton today, but Generalissimo Santa
Anna orders him to wait. Seeking to insure that "all's well that ends well",
Benjamin and Rose investigate the numerous guests, workers, and family
members to ascertain motive and means in order to prove that Sefton may
quote Lady MacBeth but is not the killer.
Though a scorecard is needed to keep track of
the suspects that number more than two teams on a football field, DAYS OF
THE DEAD is a cleverly written locked door historical mystery. Moving
Benjamin to Mexico City provides the audience a different fresh look to 1835
and to the now married protagonist. The lead couple remains a pleasure to
follow as they serve as hosts to an intriguing era on the North American
continent within a fun to try to solve who-done-it. Harriet Klausner
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