> Joan Tuckey (1:342/1015) wrote to DOROTHY REYNOLDS at 11:31 on 31
 > Aug 1996:
 >  JT> A really funny one by Sharon McCrumb called "If I'd Killed Him When
 >  JT> I Met Him". When I got home I got another of hers out of our
 >  JT> library called "If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O" - it wasn't funny
 >  JT> at all. I also ready "Tom Clancy's Op-Centre: Mirror Image". It was
 >  JT> like reading a movie script - exciting though.
 > Joan, I couldn't help but comment on your perception of Sharyn
 > McCrumb's books.  Like you, I thought "If I'd Killed Him When I
 > Met Him" funny but it didn't have a lot of substance.  In fact,
 > I'm not sure any of her Elizabeth MacPherson books do.
 > "If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O" on the other hand has a lot of
 > meat as does "She Walks These Hills".  They may be mystery novels
 > but they capture a sense of place and time which I find
 > fascinating.  I'm still waiting for my local bookstore to come up
 > with a copy of "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" but I suspect
 > I'll like it.
 Be patient. I thought "The Hangman's beautiful Daughter" was the best of the 
Ballad series. It gives Nora Bonesteel a good introduction and that thread 
continues quite well in the lastest of the series,
 "The Rosewood Casket". The newest is not being called a mystery...it's more 
of a mainstream story with a bit of mysterious stuff thrown in. I bought the 
hardcover the first time I spotted it at the bookstore and read it in two 
sittings! The "ghostly" aspect was pretty easy to figure out; it was the WHY 
that was intriguing. An excellent addition to a wonderful group of stories 
and characters. (Needless to say, Nora is my favorite in the continuing cast 
of characters!)
 On the other hand, I can't seem to warm up to the MacPherson books. I've 
tried a few of them, but can't seem to even get half way in before giving up.
      >>
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