The Blood Ballad

I finished THE BLOOD BALLAD, the 11th book in the Torie O'Shea cozy mystery series and enjoyed my annual trip to New Kassell, Missouri. Rett MacPherson writes books featuring Torie O'Shea, genealogist, and her family in rural Missouri right on the Mississippi River. I stumbled across the series several years ago and have loved the characters and watching Torie's family grow and mature. I've learned a lot about St. Louis, small town festivals, historical and genealogical research and, in this book, musical families from America's heartland. My favorite things about Torie are her independent spirit and her vast love of her husband, kids, mom, town and very, very large extended family. This series is a must-read for me and I look forward to each and every one.

As those of you who read works in this particular genre know, after several books, most authors sort of wear out. They seem to lose the "thing" that made their series so good in the first place. This is an endless list, and it is not the intent to go into that with this review. Those who read "cozy" mysteries will know precisely what and whom I am talking about. Well delight of delights! This sad little and unfortunate trait has not infected Rett MacPherson one little bit. This is number eleven in her Torie O'Ohea Mystery series and I do believe that Ms. MacPherson is actually getting better and better with each book. Those that are familiar with these particular novels know that they center around a small town in Eastern Missouri and that the main character, Torie O'Shea is the local town historian, owner of two museums, the town's genealogist, mother of three children, owner of several animals, including horses, is involved in just about ever aspect of village life in the small community where she lives, knows most of the characters in the surrounding area and has a bad habit of getting involved with murder! This is one busy girl and if the reader is exhausted after reading one of the works in this series, then it is a good exhaustion and was well worth the effort. Readers and fans will not be disappointed with this latest work. Torie becomes involved with birdwatchers, a rather wacky crew, right from the start, and good grief, she gets shot at and has a body thrown at her! She then becomes quite involved with a family who is a musical ledged in the area which lead her back to her own roots and a rather musical family. Mix this in with raising two teenage girls, a six year old son, solving the current murder while at the same time solving one that is 70 years old, along with her many civic and family responsibilities, and you have a very fast moving story that is absolutely hilarious at times. And oh, did I mention a mystery horse that shows up in their stable? Due to the nature of this authors work, it is almost impossible to give a plot outline without throwing in spoilers in just about ever sentence. There are many twists and turns to this little book; each a bit of a mini-mystery within itself. Each of these many twists are quite logical and Ms. MacPherson is not one of those authors who, in desperation, throws in a last minute bit of information on the second to the last page to end her story. If you read, and read carefully, you may be able to figure out "who done it," but then maybe not. That is one of the fun parts of reading this author's books. I will say that the plot is more complex with this one than some of MacPherson's past work, but that is a good thing and has certainly not increased to the point of being overwhelming, which as far as I am concerned, would take away one of the reasons I read these little mysteries. It has been very interesting following the Torie O'Shea Mysteries as it has enable me to foll

Murder meets music in the latest Tori O'Shea adventure. In typical Tori form we find her again hunting truth and family ties. This is another winner. I'm always eager to read the latest Tori installment!

I pre-ordered this title because I've enjoyed the previous Torie O'Shea books and, I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. I love old mysteries being solved, I love genealogy AND I really like the O'Sheas and extended family and friends (although Eleanore can be irritating!). One thing that's been driving me crazy is that in the first book, Colin was divorced with children. In a later book he had never been married. Unforgivable in a series revolving around family trees! That aside, I thoroughly enjoy the series and would recommend it to cosy readers who like a touch of history mingled with family life, humour and good writing.

(11th in fascinating Torie O'Shea mysteries) This tale is set in the country around St. Louis, Missouri. Torie works at the historical society in New Kassel, Missouri, and also runs a small museum of women's textile arts in an historic home. She is a local historian and a genealogist, and a mother and wife. While out birding with a friend, they are shot at-and run for their lives-only to have a trunk come crashing down a cliff, open at their feet and dump out a bloody body. Later a descendant of the Scott Morgan musical clan comes to Torie with a CD which contains performances recorded years ago, with her grandfather as a young man playing with the famous Morgan family musicians. The introductions on the CD clearly state that her grandfather had written the songs, songs that Scott Morgan took credit for. During the Depression the small song royalties would have made a difference. Then Torie's eccentric cousin Phoebe arrives with some old letters to Scott Morgan, written by Torie's great-grandmother. The letters chide him for his treatment of "the boy, who looks more like you than your own sons," and mentions a woman named Peggy. Phoebe assumes that means that Torie's grandfather was actually Scott Morgan's son. Torie does some research and finds the mother and son, one of three known as `other side of the blanket' children that Scott Morgan fathered over the years. The dead man in the trunk, Cliff Weaver, had mailed Torie a CD, containing more Morgan family music, including a solo by a woman claiming to have murdered Belle Morgan. Morgan had disappeared supposedly with a lover in the 1930s, abandoning her husband and children. Using the information in the "blood ballad," as Torie calls it, she is able to direct the authorities to Belle's body. She now has two mysteries to solve. Who murdered Cliff Weaver, and who murdered Belle, all those years ago? Are these deaths connected? Sheriff Mort Joachim actually welcomes Torie's help with these cases. While the family trees are complicated, the story is captivating. I especially enjoyed Torie's family and her genealogical work. The author is a genealogist, too. Armchair Interviews says: An outstanding series of cozy mysteries.