'Lovely in Her Bones' is funny and charming. It's also shallow and lightweight, where characterization and depth are always sacrificed for the gag, bit or joke. Not that that is bad, it is what it is; a humorous cozy following an addled, clueless young woman who gets involved in deadly events, even though she has a college Sociology degree. Her number one character flaw is a terrifying obliviousness to murderous intentions. This does not make her one of the particularly odd persons that are in this novel - the characters McCrumb peoples her series with are, I suspect, intentionally cookie-cutter, recognizable from thousands of comedies - satiric, family-friendly, romantic - but Elizabeth ends up being one of the 'normal' stock players (teenage 'dumb blonde' being closest, maybe) in comparison. Whatever. She wouldn't recognize Evil if the Devil showed up oozing badness from every pore, but she has a knack for wrong-headed and unwise decisions which lead her straight into traps all the while thinking she will fix it, so heroic men hurriedly rescue her and solve the crime.Elizabeth is actually trying to catch a particular man, her brother Bill's roommate Milo, a forensic anthropology student still at college. Because she is creating opportunities to hang around him for a possible hookup, she volunteers to help out on a dig looking for the bones of Native Americans buried in a valley 'run' in the Appalachians. The 'natives' want to stop strip mining, so they are looking to provide official research clarifying their tribal status with the Federal Government. They ask Professor Alex Lerche to come and examine their ancestor's bones. Milo is his assistant, so he is rustling up fellow students to dig. Elizabeth volunteers even though she finds bones gross. The other students, who are also straight out of central casting, are only necessary for the comic skits and stage routines which run riot in this plot, consisting mostly of insult repartee. In the midst of various squabbles and verbal jousting, a murder is committed. The weapon is a plastic tomahawk, sold by the quasi-natives to tourists. Needless to say, there will be no Great Revelation about the Human Soul, or Something New. This is all for pure fun, comfortable as a pair of wool socks.This is the second book in the Elizabeth MacPherson 'mysteries' and it is much much much better than the first one, 'Sick of Shadows' (these titles are truly hilarious, so far; they are like satiric titles for a joke Romance or Mystery novel - a clue, maybe as to intent?). If you've only read the first book, I don't blame you for never touching another novel by Sharyn McCrumb. (However, that would be sad because she can write excellent stories, some quite serious and full of soul.) 'Lovely in Her Bones' starts off as awful as 'Sick of Shadows' was in its entirety, but the unfunny joking and the clumsy dialogue with incomprehensible emotional responses are shaken off by chapter four. Sexual situations are G rated, blood and gore exists for a single second in passing and the gags are familiar to family sitcom fans. To me, it strongly reminded me of TV shows from the 1960's, like Gidget, Dobie Gillis, the Patty Duke Show, or more recently, the 1995 movie 'Clueless', but without the romancing as the objective. Being entertained by sparring comedic characters who are involved in almost forgotten, peripheral murder mysteries is clearly the reason to pick this series up. A real mystery is the obligatory theme-setting quote from a famous writer, so often placed at the beginning of many novels, is not left out of this one either, but in this context, why? http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/...While McCrumb hasn't quite polished up her intended style yet that I can guess for Elizabeth's future in the series, so far it's shaping into a gentle satire.
I was really disappointed in this book. I've read one of McCrumb's Ballad series and found it to be an enjoyable read, and my husband, a big fan of hers, handed me this book with an earnest expression on his face and said "I think you'll like it." I wanted to like it, but wanting does not make it so.First of all, as another reviewer noted, this book comes off as a little dated. It was written in 1985, and technology has advanced in leaps and bounds since then. While the outdated equipment doesn't have a major effect on the storyline, it does jar the reader when it appears. I certainly felt like rolling my eyes a time or two.Secondly, I found the characters one-dimensional. Perhaps their transparency is somewhat a function of the novel's short length, but I've read short stories that created characters with more depth than these. Elizabeth "Elle" MacPherson, the main character, is just plain "blah," and the other characters hardly move beyond the first impressions you get of them.And lastly, I was very disappointed in the story's resolution. I think the reader is supposed to sympathize with the guilty party, but I find it difficult to forgive someone who committed a cold-blooded murder, and certainly not one committed for the reasons given in the storyline. The whole thing left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and I felt like throwing the book into the air with disgust.As a resident of the Appalachian region, I did enjoy the local lore the book provided--the references to local flora and the region's history--, but I still can't really recommend this title. A reviewer on Amazon indicated that this was the weakest book in this series, but based on what I've seen here, it would take a lot to redeem the other titles. Think I'll pass on the rest of the Elle MacPherson books, but I may read another one from the Ballad series.
What do You think about Lovely In Her Bones (1990)?
Having read one of the ballad series, "Bimbos" and the first Elizabeth MacPherson book, I looked forward to this one. It seems she had a difficult time getting this book going... I found the first two or three chapters to be tedious and stilted as she introduced the characters and tried to get the plot off the ground.But.... once over that hurdle, the fun began, and the book became as enjoyable a read as the others.I enjoy this author's sense of humour, and have the impression she must have a lot of fun with her writing.Looking forward to reading my way through all her books!
—Eileen
Un misterioso asesinato dentro de una excavación en un pueblo indígena, donde nuestros protagonistas son arqueólogos que limpian huesos y quieren ayudar a una comunidad indígena...peor a mi nadie me ayudo. La sinopsis de la contraportada lo mostraba como una comedia, y la portada de una calavera atravesada por un tomahawk ayudo a vender mela, pero para ser un libro tan corto, se demora en arrancar, muchos personajes son muy unidimensionales y el misterio es muy simple,muy traído de los cabellos, destacando las observaciones en primera persona, y en unos diálogos cómicos y dinámicos, pero el libro no se salva.
—Camilo Guerra
When an Appalachian dig to determine if an obscure Indian tribe in North Carolina can lay legal claim to the land they live on is stopped on account of murder, Elizabeth MacPherson — eager student of the rites of the past and mysteries of the present — starts digging deep. And when she mixes a little modern know-how with some old-fashioned suspicions, Elizabeth comes up with a batch of answers that surprise even the experts.... (from Barnes & Noble website)The sequel to Sick of Shadows, so I was predisposed to like it. Amusing, cozy, some fascinating information on the archaeological process of an active dig, a little romance. Altogether an enjoyable marshmallow of a story.
—Angela
