This
may contain spoilers
Author:
Sue Hallgarth.
Title:
Death comes: A Willa Cather and Edith Lewis mystery.
Genre:
Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction,
I
signed up for poetic book tours and l were emailed off Serena
Agusto-Cox about reviewing this book.
Book
Dedication: For Hilda Raz poet, friend, editor extraordinaire.
First
of all I would like to say a big thank you to Sue Hallgarth for
sending me this book and giving me the chance to read it. I want to
say a big thank you to Serena Agusto-Cox for contacting me and taking
the time to email me.
I
would tell people that you should step outside your comfort zone with
books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your
reading portfolio even if you do not read books like this.
I
normally read books of this genre but l also stepped outside my
comfort zone l am so glad l did because I have read so many great
books and come across some great authors.
I
highly recommend this book.
This
book has 266 pages and 20 chapters in it.
Advance
praise for death comes.
They
are back! If you loved on the rocks, you will be thrilled to have
this new adventure of Willa and Edith. This time they are in new
mexico tracking down the unsolved murders of too many women. Sue
Hallgarth has done it again. The combination of deep knowledge of the
geographic terrain, it is history, Cather's literary preoccupations,
and Hallgarth's feminist sensibility have bought us another
suspenseful, terrific read. - Joan W. Scott, author of gender and the
politics of history and the fantasy of feminist history.
My
new favorite book is death comes! It made distant memories real and
simpatico. What a delight to see them and the beautiful taos you let
me walk through. I especially want to thank you for including Spud.
He was always there, so it is nice to have him recognized. I only
knew him as an old man who always stopped to listen to a child. You
showed me a young man who would become the one l knew and loved. -
Claudia Smith Miller, great-granddaughter of Mabel Dodge Luhan.
Death
comes is a clever play on the novel that Willa Cather worked on in
taos, new mexico, in the summers of 1925 and 1926, death comes for
the archbishop, Hallgarth has done serious historical and cultural
research, cleverly highlighting Willa Cather's virtues as a
strong-willed sleuth.. this is a very good read, as a story of 1920's
taos – including race and class relations, as a portrait of the
Mabel Dodge Luhan circle, and, last but not least, as a murder
mystery. - Lois Rudnick, author of Mabel Dodge Luhan: new woman, new
worlds.
Willa
Cather is travelling in northern new mexico while publishing her new
manuscript death comes for the archbishop when she and her companion
Edith Lewis are caught up in the mystery surrounding the deaths of
three women near D.H. Lawrence's ranch. An intriguing story for those
of us who always wished we had been there when Mabel Dodge Luhan held
court in taos for luminaries of art and literature. - Judith Ryan
Hendricks, author of Isabel's daughter and the laws of harmony.
The
second book in Hallgarth's Willa Cather and Edith Lewis mystery
series captures the vivid and compelling landscape of the taos, NM
territorial west. A historical mystery with real people – think
Mabel Dodge and Tony Luhan, long John Dunn, Arthur Manby – and
everyday life in the settling west. Compelling and richly imagined by
a masterful storyteller l did not want it to end. - Betty Palmer,
events coordinator, op.cit. Books, taos NM.
Our
favorite literary sleuths are back! And this time Willa Cather and
Edith Lewis are summering in taos, new mexico. Guests of Mabel Dodge
Luhan, the amiable pair are planning for nothing more taxing than a
month's worth of writing and painting. Then an unsettling excursion
to the D.H. Lawrence ranch changes everything. Entertaining and
edifying, death comes is a compelling mystery set in new mexico, that
place Cather described as a ' landscape one longed for when one was
away'. - Sharon Oard Warner, co-director D.H. Lawrence ranch and
author of Sophie's house of cards.
Praise
for on the rocks.
“one
of ' ten titles to pick up now' … a fictionalized glimpse in to the
partnership between the novelist and her artist companion, who team
up to solve a murder on an island in the bay of funby”. - O, the
Oprah magazine.
Cather
fans will enjoy the atmosphere, and Hallgarth captures the local
color well, providing a look at the eccentric island residents, the
small-town politics, and the life of the (two) women's communities”.
- American library association booklist.
The
historic, literary mystery is the first of what could be a terrific new series. The settling – on the Canadian island of grand manan in
1929 – is captivating and the story engaging. On the rocks is a
real treat!”. - rose city reader.
I
enjoyed the run and energy of on the rocks “ - Lucia Woods Lindley,
member of board of governors the Willa Cather foundation.
“on
the rocks is a riveting addition to historical fiction collections
and those with a love for the artistic life”. - the Midwest book
review.
“utterly
absorbing, compulsively readable. Hallgarth spins her tale with an
artistry that allows us to imagine a time and place as compelling as
a dream”. - Kathleen Hill, author of who occupies this house and
still waters in Niger.
“Sue
Hallgarth incorporates the spectacular settling of grand manan in to
a mystery set among summer colonies of feminist artists, colorful
island types, and suspicious visitors. Cather readers will detect her
pronouncements on writing and life, and the island rock itself, a
Cather symbol of survival, becomes here a solid contrast to the human
foibles that play out on its surface”. - John Murphy, member of
board of governors, the Willa Cather foundation.
“on
the rocks is sophisticated and yet has a wonderful innocence. It
conveys a convincing sense of the period. The characters are rounded,
real. It is funny it is compelling. It is a good tale.” - Jake
Page, author of the Mo Bowdre mystery series.
Cather
afictionados will be especially interested in the author's new take
on Willa Cather's personal history. The amible cottage colony on
grand manan island in the bay of funby, where Edith and Willa built
their summer retreat in the 1920's, is lovingly captured in this
first book in a sparkling new literary mystery series”. - Nancy
Rutland, founder of bookworks, Albuquerque, NM.
Love,
love, love... highly recommended to those who enjoy this historical
genre, and to fans of great women authors!. I will be curious to see
if ms. Hallgarth has this as the start of a series or not. She is an
expert on Cather and cleverly' knows her well”. - Beth's book-nook
Blog.
“ The
strength of the book is in Hallgarth's ability to paint a scene. Her
research about grand manan, Cather and Lewis, and the time period are
obviously top notch”. - wildmoobooks.
“Nice
read with a beautiful portrait of a Canadian island in the 1920's, a
strong feminist portrait of Willa Cather and her partner Edith, and a
murder mystery to boot! Well-written with some beautifully painted'
scenes and an intriguing insight to the way we all tend to think,
wandering from one association to another before we catch ourselves!
I've never seen that in a book before and thoroughly enjoyed it”. -
David Roberts, M.D., author of practice makes perfect: how one doctor
found the meaning of lives.
Synopsis:
Following on the rocks, Sue Hallgarth's first Willa Cather and Edith
Lewis mystery. Death comes gives us another glimpse in to the life
and work of the Pulitzer prize-winning novelist and her talented life
partner the year is 1926. Willa and Edith return to Mabel Dodge
Luhan's pink adobe in tao's NM. Willa is writing death comes for the
archbishop. Edith is sketching taos pueblo and hoping for a visit to
the nearby D.H. Lawrence ranch, the previous summer they had stumbled
on to a woman's body. Now the headless bodies of two women add to
the mystery. Sue Hallgarth presents an intimate portrait of Cather,
Lewis, the spectacular new mexico landscape, and the famous artists
and writers. Mabel Dodge Luhan gathered in taos.
Review:
I found this book really easy to get in to and harder to put down
once l started reading it. I would put some essential oils in my
humidifier and put the lights on my humidifier on and chill on my bed
and listen to music or something on TV. I sometimes light a candle
when l am writing this book. It is good to chill reading a good book.
My cat sometimes joins me on my bed or one of the other three cats
that live me join me. I also took a picture of this book and shared
it to my Instagram that l made just for pictures of my books it is
called Donnareviewsbooks. My cat Oreo was lying next to me as l write
this book review. I sometimes write book reviews on my bed or at my
desk in my bedroom that is also my living room, library and my
office. I was sad to read that three women was murdered and that
people did not know who the women was or who killed them. I hope they
find who killed them. I love the pictures in this book. I like that
Willa Cather has a life partner Edith Lewis. Willa and Edith sounds
like great women and friends. I would love to read more about
everybody in this book. Blade sounds like a nasty pieces of work. I
think the women who was murdered have something to do with him. Adam
sounds like a really nice guy l am glad Maria is with Adam and not
Blade because l think if she was still with him she would be dead
like the other women. The people who come looking for Blade sound so
horrible l am so glad that they did not hurt Adam or Maria. I was sad
to finish reading this book. I would love to buy more books from Sue
Hallgarth as l got this book for free. I can not put in to words how
great this book is l would tell people to read it for themselves to
know how great it really is. I was hooked after reading the synopsis.
I am so glad that Adam and Maria are going to find Spud and tell him
what is going on at his ranch and that the person who was staying
there was keeping women that did not speak English and he had threaten to kill them and cut their throats and showed the heads to
the others to scare them. It is a shame Maria can not speak English but when they get to where Spud is. Somebody speaks the same language
as Maria. So she will be able to tell them what Blade was like and
about the other women. I was sad to read that agent Dan was shot but
glad he survived. The sheriff of taos sounds so lazy and does not
care about the three women because they are unknown and he clearly
that somebody shot agent Dan. I was scared to read that Adam and
Maria come face to face with Blade for the first time since he sold
Maria to Adam. I am glad the shots missed Maria. It was funny to read
that Blade's horse ran away after Adam's horse and the mule that
Maria was riding. Leaving him jumping up and down in the middle of
the road shouting about his horse. I am so glad Adam found it funny.
I hope Maria is still on the mule when Adam finds them and she is not
hurt. I do not blame Adam and Maria being scared of Blade because he
is a nasty piece of work. I hope Maria and Adam make it to Spud
before the weather starts because they could get poorly and the horse
and mule need to be put in a barn away from the nasty weather. This
book is totally addicting and I and I wish l could stay up all night
to read and review this book but l get migraines. I am in love with
this book. These women are being held against their will. I was sad
to read that Florence and Angelica was kidnapped and think they do
not have a choose but to stay where they are because they must think
that if they leave they will have no money or be homeless but they
could end up like the three murdered women. I am glad Dick and Nick
give up easy because some of them could end up dead if there was a
shoot out. Plus Adam was still injured and Spud did not know how to
use a gun.I
am glad with the help of Amelia Maria could tell them about Blade and
the other women and it was nice that Maria was given one of the other
women's bracelet. I also reviewed this book on goodreads, amazon UK
and amazon US.
About
the Author: Sue Hallgarth is a former English professor she has
written scholarly articles on Willa Cather and Edith Lewis, and this
is her second book of fiction featuring the two of them. Her first
book in the series is on the rocks, set in 1929 on the island of
grand manan in new Brunswick, Canada. She lives in corrales, NM.
Follow
Sue on Facebook at Suehallgarthauthor, on twitter @suehallgarth, and
on goodreads.com and follow Sue's blog, reviews, and other news about
her books and writing at Suehallgarth.com.
About
This Book: I really like this book cover and the picture of the
mountains on the front cover and l love that the writing is in black
because it stands out more.
Star
Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars.
I
wish l could rate this book more then five stars because it is worth
more than the five stars l rated it.
