Book Review: Relics by Mary Anna Evans (Faye Longchamp #2)

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Characters and writing

Cons: Pacing

The Bottom Line:

Characters still good

But they have little to do

So book frustrating

Great Characters, Slow Plot

Faye Longchamp was first introduced in Artifacts. She's an older student pursuing her dream of a doctoral degree in archaeology as quickly as her limited resources allow. Of course, if she happens to find a fresh dead body along the way, all the better for us.

In Relics, Faye has landed a job as the chief archeologist for a government project in Alabama. Since she's still only a doctoral candidate, this will be a huge boost to her career. Bring along trusted friend Joe Wolf Mantooth, she sets out.

The project is investigating the Sujosa, an ethnic group of unknown origin that lives in the remotest areas of Alabama. Since the Sujosa have shown a surprising resistance to AIDS, the project hopes to uncover their ancestry and maybe use that to find a cure for the horrid disease.

Faye is the last one hired, and therefore arrives at the dig a month behind the others. She quickly discovers that the project head, in her absence, has set up a horrid dig site. But moving the dig to a better historic location will require every bit of Faye's limited tact.

The rest of the team is much more welcoming, and Faye quickly bonds with Carmen Martinez, the project's oral historian. But her first weekend there, the house where the two women are staying catches fire and Carmen dies. It looks like an accident, but Faye suspects foul play when she discovers Carmen's briefcase is nowhere in the ruins. Who wanted Carmen dead?

Having read the first book in the series, I was looking forward to spending more time with Faye. Once again, she's a great character as are the other characters that populate the story. Joe is a loyal and hard working friend, providing much needed support through out the book. Many of the locals are colorful characters who stick out in the reader's mind. This is especially true of Miss Dovey, the retired school teacher who is old enough to remember many stories others have forgotten.

While the characters stand out, the plot moves forward slowly. More time is spent on the archeology and ancestry issues then on the mystery itself. These would have been great as sub-plots, but they took over the book, slowing down the mystery for chapters on end. Things do pick up for the climax with a couple nice twists, but the overall balance of the storylines ruined the mystery feel.

The book is well written with descriptions that bring the setting to life. The story is told mainly from Faye's third person point of view with occasional jumps to other characters, usually Joe. We also get excerpts from Carmen's interview notes that might provide a clue to her death and the origins of the Sujosa.

Those who find archeology and genealogy interesting will enjoy Relics more than I did. The great characters and writing just couldn't overcome the slow plot.