From Publishers Weekly
Criminal justice professor Lizabeth Stuart investigates her paternity and her long-lost mother's checkered past in Bailey's fourth mystery (after 2003's Old Murders), a story rich in history if not suspense. Raised by her grandparents in Drucilla, Ky., Lizzie never knew her mother, Becca Hayes, who abandoned her at birth. Now 39 years old and on the verge of engagement to her boyfriend, police officer John Quinn, Lizzie is especially determined to understand her past. With help from Quinn and PI Kyle Sheppard, she connects her mother to Chicago gangster Nick Mancini, who was stabbed to death in 1969. After 22-year-old Becca, who was Nick's girlfriend and the chief suspect, disappeared without a trace, musician Robert Montgomery confessed to the crime. Decades later, Lizzie's effort to track down the key players in this drama takes her from her home in Gallagher, Va., to Chicago; Wilmington, N.C.; and finally New Orleans. New readers might wish for more character development, but series fans should be pleased. Author tour. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Bailey's characters are so well-rounded, so real, in fact, that I'd like nothing better than to sit down and have tea with Professor Lizzie Stuart or play chess with John Quinn." —Lonnie Cruse, author, Murder in Metropolis
"Quite simply a wonderful book from a wonderfully talented writer. [What distinguishes Bailey] is her intense love for the writing craft." —John Fisher, Evince Magazine
"Lizzie Stuart stands heads above many cozy characters as a competent professional woman, whose profession actually can help solve the case." —Maria Lima, Crescent Blues Book Review
"Recommended for most mystery collections as well as African American fiction collections." —Library Journal
Book Description
In this compelling mystery, African American university professor and crime historian Lizzie Stuart comes face-to-face with her long lost mother, Becca, and ultimately learns that some things are better left buried in the past.
About the Author
Frankie Y. Bailey is an associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York–Albany. She is the author of the Lizzie Stuart Mystery series and the Edgar-nominated Out of the Woodpile: Black Characters in Crime and Detective Fiction. She lives in Guilderland, New York.
