Death Served Up Cold

B. J. Oliphant is also A. J. Orde and Sheri Tepper. She is probably best known for her books published as Tepper, but her Shirley McClintock Mysteries should not be ignored.Shirley McClintock is a retired high level government employee, who has retreated to Taos to own and operate a guest ranch. The story opens with one of her guests having a medical emergency. Shirley and her good friend J.Q. rush her to the hospital where they discover that they know almost nothing about Alicia Tremble. Meanwhile, her peace is further threatened by the sudden reappearance of her foster daughter's aunt and uncle, who had heretofore been content to have Shirley take on the responsibility of raising their niece.When Alicia Tremble dies, however, it suddenly becomes necessary that Shirley, J.Q., and their friend Xianthippe Minging discover who Alicia Tremble was and who might have wanted her dead. Shirley discovers that her comfortable life on the Rancho del Valle is more vulnerable than she would have ever guessed.Oliphant writes in an oblique style that gives the reader all of the information but demands some work on the reader's part. Everything is explained in the end, but what dedicated mystery reader wants to be spoonfed the answer? It is a pleasure to watch the author draw together a handful of separate strands and twist a thick rope of a plot out of them.

Shirley McClintock, J.Q. and their 14-year-old foster daughter, Allison, have an interesting assortment of visitors at their newly acquired guest ranch in northern New Mexico. The story involves a woman who dies suddenly of a mysterious illness, a New Age "crazy lady," some odd forgetfulness on Shirley's part, greedy relatives who want custody of Allison, witch-hunts, and a psychiatrist who recovers so-called repressed memories of childhood abuse and Satanism. The solution resembles that of a certain Agatha Christie mystery (I won't say which one). If you enjoy a good, entertaining whodunit with intelligent, likable characters and lots of lively conversation, be sure to read this (and the rest of the series). If you like this, you'll probably also like the mysteries written by the same author under the name A.J. Orde.

This is not the first book in Oliphant's (who is also A.J.Orde and Sherri Tepper) series about Shirley McClintock and her household, but it does bring back characters from earlier books. Shirley McClintock runs a guest ranch, along with her live-in companion, JQ; a retired friend, Xanthippe, who also lives with them, and Shirley's adopted daughter Allison. Besides the main plot, which involves an almost-anonymous guest dying after Shirley and JQ rush her to the hospital, there's also a subplot in which we find out more about Allison's family. Semi-"spoiler" (don't read this paragraph if you want absolutely no hint as to the resolution of the plot) - Oliphant manages to neatly skewer both UFO/alien encounter nuts, and "repressed memory" therapists who see Satanism everywhere. If you like clear, logical thinking about these issues, you'll enjoy how they are brought into the plot and then treated as the pseudoscience they are.