Mon 22 Feb 2010
A Review by Tina Karelson: SHARON FIFFER – Buried Stuff.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[2] Comments
SHARON FIFFER – Buried Stuff.
St. Martin’s Minotaur, hardcover, October 2004. Reprint paperback: St. Martin’s, November 2005.
Fourth in the series featuring Jane Wheel, antiques “picker” and ex-adwoman. This time, Jane is back in Kankakee with her geologist husband and son.
Bones have been found on the farm of a longtime customer of Jane’s parents at the EZ Way Inn. The family is helping to identify the bones so the farmer can get government clearance to sell topsoil.
The portrayal of family dynamics is the strongest element of this series, and Buried Stuff delivers that in spades. The decline of Kankakee and the schemes afoot to revive it are also astutely and evocatively described.
In the final analysis, this small, bittersweet story about a shooting delivers an authentic emotional punch, but it’s not a clever or suspenseful mystery.
The Jane Wheel Series —
1. Killer Stuff (2001)
2. Dead Guy’s Stuff (2002)
3. The Wrong Stuff (2003)
4. Buried Stuff (2004)
5. Hollywood Stuff (2006)
6. Scary Stuff (2009)
March 1st, 2010 at 4:20 pm
I read the first four titles in Fiffer’s series and while I liked the “picking” aspect I didn’t think the mystery elements were very well handled. An underpowered series that didn’t seem to show any promise of improving.
March 1st, 2010 at 5:18 pm
From Tina’s last sentence, I can only assume that you and she agree.
Lots of contemporary “cozies” have the same problem — weak on the mystery, with almost no emphasis on the detective end of things.
Clues and deduction take a back seat to whatever gimmick the series is built around (quilting, chocolates, teddy bears, herbal remedies, kitty cats, etc.) and whatever passes for characters with varying degrees of wackiness.
Since I haven’t read any of Fiffer’s books, I won’t stick her with this tag, but with two opinions now, I gather they come close.
— Steve