Synopses & Reviews
Review
"In her delightfully erudite seventh (Strangers, 2010, etc.), Faye continues to weave archaeological tidbits and interesting people into soundly plotted mysteries." —Kirkus Reviews of Plunder
"Strong heroines are always a pleasure to read about, and both Faye and Amande fit that bill...Highly recommended." —Kathleen Hennrikus, New York Journal of Books of Plunder
"Details of archaeology, pirate lore, and voodoo complement the strong, sympathetic characters, especially Amande, and the appealing portrait of Faye’s family life." —Sue O’Brien, Booklist
"Evans's fifth is an exciting brew of mystery and romance with a touch of New Orleans charm." —Kirkus Reviews of Floodgates
"Voodoo, Native American spirituality, greed, and corruption all play roles in what is easily the best installment yet in a too-little-known series." —Booklist review of Floodgates"Evans has skillfully embroidered these issues into the tapestry of her novel, and she’s done so without being preachy. In other words, Plunder is a quietly thought-provoking environmental piece tucked neatly within the pages of an engaging mystery." --South Florida NPR
Synopsis
Time is not on Faye Longchamp's side. She and her husband Joe are working near the mouth of the Mississippi, researching archaeological sites soon to be swamped by oil. The Deepwater Horizon disaster has morphed her run-of-the-mill contract job into a task that might swamp her fledgling company. It isn't helping that an injured babysitter has left Faye to work with a toddler underfoot.
An adolescent girl is drawn to Faye, perhaps because she idolizes the confident archaeologist. Young Amande is bright and curious, and a poverty-stricken life on a houseboat with an eccentric grandmother doesn't look like a good to get the education Amande deserves. When the girl's grandmother and her no-account uncle are murdered, her prospects worsen. With only two known relatives--neither of them much more respectable than the dead uncle--Amande seems destined for neglect or worse.
Soon, Faye and Joe find themselves among people fighting hard for Amande's pathetic inheritance: a raggedy houseboat, a few shares of stock, and a hurricane-battered island that's not even inhabitable. Pirate-era silver coins are found and disappear. Shadowing it all is the fact that there's a murderer on the loose. But why should Faye be surprised by such shady events, here in these watery lands settled by the greatest pirates of them all? And the oil slick looms, because this country is still being plundered, after all these years...
About the Author
Mary Anna Evans has degrees in physics and engineering, but her heart is in the past. Her series character, Faye Longchamp, lives the exciting life of an archaeologist, and Mary Anna envies her a little. Mary Anna's award-winning series of Faye's adventures includes Artifacts, Relics, Effigies, Findings, Floodgates, Strangers and, new in 2012, Plunder.