Blackman's Coffin

BLACKMAN'S COFFIN (Unl. Inv.-Sam Blackman-North Carolina/Georgia-1907/Cont) - Ex De Castrique, Mark - 1st Sam Blackman book Poisoned Pen Press, 2008, US Hardcover - ISBN: 9781590585177 First Sentence: I felt a hand on my shoulder , shaking me awake. Sam Blackman was a Chief Warrant Officer in the Criminal Investigation Detachment. He is now in a VA Hospital in Ashville, NC after having lost part of his leg in Iraq. Tikima Robertson, an ex-Marine who lost part of her arm in Iraq, visits his room. She comes with sass and an offer for Sam to put his past experience to use. After Tikima is murdered, her sister Nakayla asks for his help and presents him with a journal written in 1919 on which Tikima has placed a note saying "for Sam." I have become such a big fan of De Castrique's writing. He knows how to construct a good mystery with dimensional characters, a great sense of place and a touch of humor. He manages to include ideas and observations that are important and make me think. The story is informative without, in any way, being boring or slow. This book is particularly timely in that the protagonist is an Iraq veteran and amputee. Some of his supporting characters are residents of a senior-care facility. References to other characters include the Vanderbilts and Thomas Wolfe. The structure of the story is fascinating; a supposed journal from 1907--a device that could have slowed the story to a crawl but, instead, gave it extra dimension--and the present day. The story's plot was interesting and the manner in which the two time periods were linked and tied together at the end was so well done. I couldn't identify the bad guys and enjoyed the twists that took the story to a suspenseful climax and a touching end. I was very sorry to see his Barry Clayton series end but am much better now that we have Sam Blackman. Thank you, Mr. De Castrique, for another great book!

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this book! It's engaging, intriguing, and unique (in a good way!). I started it later in the evening than I should have, resulting in a late night. LOL Definitely highly recommended!

Very well-written debut of a new series introducing war-wounded veteren, Sam Blackman. Book has so much fascinating detail and history of the Asheville, NC / Bilmore house that the book would be worth reading it for that alone. The story line, however, is also excellent and readers will not be disappointed.

This series debut has everything you could want: a solid premise, 90-year-old unsolved crime, a great collection of characters (past and present), and a likable hero. Mark de Castrique thrusts you into the world of a disabled veteran and his search for a killer, while an unearthed journal from 1919 details a story parallel to the current investigation. It keeps readers guessing until the end. And no, I didn't see the killer's identity coming in the least. The characters are well drawn and the author provides a wealth of detail on Ashville, the Biltmore family, Thomas Wolfe, and more. The research is evident and the writing clear, dialogue real, and hopefully this is only the beginning to many Sam Blackman adventures!

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (6/08) Sam Blackman has just returned from Iraq, minus his leg. Not taking kindly to his public criticism of the military's inadequate care of their solders, he finds himself in a Veteran's Hospital in rural North Carolina. Having to deal with the loss of his leg, his career, and the recent death of his parents weighs heavily on him. An unexpected visitor, who is an amputee herself, pays him a visit one day. She helps snap him out of his self-pity and gets him motivated to start doing something else. She suggests that he can put his investigative skills to use working for her private security firm. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen because she is murdered. Knowing that she had made a connection with him, her sister, Nakayla tracks him down and shows him an eighty-eight year old journal that she found in her sister's apartment. Since the journal appeared to have been disguised, she suspects that it holds a role in her sister's death. Sam reads the journal and discovers that it was written by a twelve-year-old boy, who was also an amputee. It also covers an incident in which his father, who was white, helped a black man, to whom the family felt indebted, transport a relative's coffin from their home to Georgia. Sam wants to help Nakayla solve her sister's murder. This is where the adventure begins. They discover that there are people from the present who will do anything to keep this murder from being solved. They also have to interview people who had a connection with her sister. This includes the eccentric residents who reside in the apartments where she lived. This place is commonly referred to as "The Lunatic Asylum." Keeping themselves alive and trying to solve the murder help bring Sam back into who he was before his injury. "Blackman's Coffin" is a wonderful mystery. The author takes you back and forth in time as he tells the tale from 1919 and the story in the present. His rich descriptions of the places that are involved with the plot help bring the story to life. The interactions between the characters range from being heartwarming to intriguing. The ending was one in which I was left surprised at the end. I liked that I wasn't able to guess it ahead of time. I was kept in suspense. In addition to being a great adventure and mystery, I was also left with the message that we should enjoy our life as it is presented to us and that we shouldn't waste time. To quote a one-hundred-and-one-year-old character, "Time is a gift from God." You should definitely take the time to read "Blackman's Coffin."