Wed 14 Aug 2019
Archived PI Mystery Review: STEVE SHERMAN – The White Mountain Murders.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[4] Comments
STEVE SHERMAN -The White Mountain Murders. Hugh Quint #2. Walker, hardcover, 1989. No paperback edition. (See also comment #2.)
Hugh Quint, ex-Boston cop, now a PI, heads for New Hampshire to help find the half-sister of a friend and ends up preventing the theft of a $100,000 antique chest. Several murders occur as well, he most obvious suspect being a back-to-nature Abenaki Indian.
The same Indian who’s gone off with the half-sister who started it all. The detective work is slight, and most of the book’s charm comes from the rustic setting and the bucolic nature of its inhabitants. Unfortunately it begins to wear off about halfway through.
The Hugh Quint series —
The Maple Sugar Murders. Walker 1987
The White Mountain Murders. Walker 1989
Primary Crime. Appledore 2000
August 14th, 2019 at 9:26 pm
My impression of this one, as little as I remember of it, is that PI stories written by men can be considered cozies too.
August 15th, 2019 at 2:44 pm
Appledore reissued THE WHITE MOUNTAIN MURDERS as HIGHBOY in 2001. They have published all three of the Hugh Quint books, each with “A New England Cozy” blurb on the front cover.
August 15th, 2019 at 6:51 pm
I did not know about the reissues, especially the new title for this one. Thanks, Bill.
And, yes, it’s good to know that the the “coziness” of the series was entirely intended!
August 16th, 2019 at 7:42 pm
I think the word “charm” may have been used ironically here.