Disturbing the Dead: A Rachel Goddard Mystery

Disturbing the Dead by Sandra Parshall is every bit as good as her debut novel, Heat of the Moon, and probably even better! This book is very hard to put down, the suspense is great. The storyline is very fascinating and the characters are very complex and interesting. This delves into an Appalachian race called the Melungeons. These people are a mixed race that seems to be shunned by most of the others in the area, so they tend to stick close and have a community of their own with their own secrets and sometimes unlawful activities. The story is about Rachel Goddard, the vet from the first book, who moves to this area and gets involved in a mystery that happened 10 years before, but only came to light again when bones were found on the mountain that belong to one of the Melungeons that disappeared 10 years before and was believed to have run off. The detective investigating the "now confirmed murder" is also Melungeon and very interested, romantically in Rachel. This is NOT a romance book, but does touch on it a bit; it is definitely a mystery that is very suspenseful and intriguing. I loved this book and I highly recommend it! If you've read the first one, don't hesitate to get this one, it's even better. If you haven't read the first, you can still read this one, as the story holds fine on its own. But read them both, you'll be glad you did.

Long-time Washington, D.C.-area resident Sandra Parshall has written Disturbing the Dead with the same grit and inventiveness characterizing her debut title, The Heat of the Moon (2006). Her heroine, veterinarian Dr. Rachel Goddard reappears, now living in hilly, remote Mason County, Virginia. She's attempting a fresh start there after a thug's vicious assault in The Heat of the Moon. But Rachel's transition to Mason County isn't an easy one. Reader fascination with local color and regional writing adds to Disturbing the Dead's appeal. Parshall's work will satisfy the fans of Dana Stabenow, Nevada Barr, and Karin Slaughter who excel in using outdoor themes and rural settings. Parshall's quaint dialogue ("That bunch would skin a flea for its hide.") crackles with authenticity. Her characters are also complex and original to transcend the clichéd versions of provincial townsfolk. This time Rachel shares twin billing with Captain Tom Bridger. His deputies have recovered mysterious bones on a wintry mountain. They speculate the bones belong to Pauline McClure, a lady missing for a decade. She'd married into the affluent McClure family, and most of her in-laws still castigate Pauline as a gold-digger. Jim Bridger, Tom's late dad, was the lead investigator. Tom vows pick up where his dad left off and ferret out the truth. To complicate matters, Tom is half-Melungeon, the dark-complexioned locals thought descendent from Portuguese settlers and Indian natives. Many whites feel a prejudice against Melungeons and some treat Tom as a pariah. As a tough, relentless professional investigator, Tom follows the clues and stokes the plot twists. At first, Troy Shackleford, a handyman and drug pimp, is the primary suspect. Fearing Troy's violent nature, his plucky daughter Holly goes to work for Rachel. Tom tracks down Pauline's daughter Mary Lee Scott who lives in McLean, Virginia, Rachel's former home. Rachel and Tom believe the cause of Holly's recurring nightmares holds the key in solving her mother Pauline's murder. The mystery deepens when additional gruesome evidence turns up on the same mountain. Parshall uses a visceral prose style, deft pacing, and intricate plotting. She deals in enough clues and red herrings to keep readers guessing whodunit. Rachel and Tom in Disturbing the Dead is a successful teaming, calling to mind S.J. Rozan's popular detective business partners Bill Smith and Lydia Chin.

I loved Sandra Parshall's debut mystery (The Heat of the Moon), with its high suspense and leap-off-the-page characters. I loved Parshall's follow-up, Disturbing the Dead, even more. This time around, Rachel Goddard's moved her veterinary practice to the mountains of southwestern Virginia, hoping to escape the violence she left behind. Fat chance. When Rachel befriends the niece of a woman whose decades-old skull is found on a remote mountaintop, she's up to her feisty neck in a decades-old murder investigation and sidestepping the advances of Tom Bridger, the sheriff's deputy in charge of the case. Tom's a Melungeon -- and a special feature of this book is a look inside that community, a racially mixed people of Appalachia who are "tri-racial isolates" -- a mixture of white, Native American, and black. Disturbing the Dead has a complex plot, fascinating characters, plus lots of suspense and lots of heart.

Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (11/06) Sandra Parshall makes her home with her journalist husband in South Carolina. She has written fiction since childhood, and expanded into her favorite genre of mystery/suspense in the past few years. "Disturbing the Dead" is the sequel to her debut novel, "The Heat of the Moon." This author has an excellent story to tell, but introduces too many characteristics into the book as well as expresses her opinion with more words than needed. A few times while reading, one must reference back to a chapter several before to refresh their self to a character introduced then. Overall, the story is told with a surprise ending. What begins as a murder investigation turns into not only one, but two family secrets. At times this story reminds one of the Hatfields and McCoys. The suspense is continued throughout the book not only with who committed the crime, but what secrets almost all of the individuals are hiding from others or themselves. Not only is the murderer a surprise, but also the relationship among the other characters. There are many contrasts in this read between good and evil, rich and poor as well as cultural and geographic differences. Also, one will learn what a Melungeion is, and discover the difference in those who wish to acknowledge their heritage as well as those that desire to hide it. Because of the nature of the book being a murder mystery, this book would be best suited for a young adult or adult reader. The scenes are not graphic, yet the main character is a young girl which would make this unsuitable for a young reader. Women would find this book in their favor with the love that develops between a police officer and a veterinarian. Ms. Parshall provides the reader with many surprises throughout the book. My recommendation would be to shorten the length of this book by deleting what appears to be fill in words. The story could very easily be repeated in a future book with the main characters continuing with their work and lives. "Disturbing the Dead" has a good story line. At times, the reader might lose interest, and then a surprise in the plot brings your attention back. With the suspense of a murder mystery mixed with a love story and new friendship, the reader will find themselves immersed in the secrets left untold. You will discover the truth as well.

Ten Years ago, Pauline McClure, a rich and desperate Melungeon widow, vanished from her country estate and hasn't been heard from or seen since. She was a child of poverty and racism but the wealthy McClures accepted her because she gave them an heir. In the present on top of the mountains a skeleton is found and dug up. Near the first burial site another skeleton is discovered. The dental records of one of the skulls match Pauline's; police Captain Tom Bridget is out to find the killer. His father was obsessed with the case because it was his first that he failed to solve. When he goes to question Pauline's mother, Mrs. Turner, he runs into her grand-daughter Holly. Holly's mother left the family though she supposedly sends money from time to time. When Tom mentions to veterinarian Rachael Goddard how great Holly is with animals, the vet hires her on the spot even though her grandmother tries to guilt her into staying and her father, Mr. Shackelford, the local drug supplier, uses threats to make her return to her grandmother. Both Holly and Rachel refuse to be intimidated but someone really wants Holly out of the way because she is shot at, the office is torched and her family tries to physically get away from Rachel. Tom is determined to protect Rachel but when another skull is found and he begins to hear rumors about his father's relationship to Pauline, he finds his objectivity is not what it should be. Sandra Parshall is a wonderful storyteller who creates a small rural backwater town where race and class divisions still exist and people of mixed blood are subjected to prejudice. Her characterizations are fantastic especially Tom, who is half Melungeon heartwarming and sensitive willing to give Rachel all the time she needs to figure out what she wants even as he investigates a mystery that creeps closer to home. Harriet Klausner