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A review by scorpstar77
Relics by Mary Anna Evans
5.0
We rejoin Faye Longchamp several months after the first book in the series concluded. She is well on her way to an advanced archaeology degree, and her mentor, Magda, sends her to be the site archaeologist for a project studying a small community of people who are of an unknown racial descent in the hills of Alabama. Once there, she finds the community less than willing to be studied and the project poorly managed, which is quite enough of a challenge...but when her new friend and project colleague is killed in a house fire, and both Faye and the fire chief suspect foul play, her job turns from just challenging to downright dangerous.
I cannot get over how much I love this heroine. I stumbled over the first book almost completely by accident, and I'm just flat crazy for Faye. The baddy in this book left me guessing up to the reveal - I had considered the person, but I had 2 or 3 other suspects in mind too and hadn't been able to settle on one, so it was nice not to have guessed it way in advance. The books unfold carefully, they are aware of social justice issues, and they are well researched. They are competently written, too. But the best part is and always will be the character of Faye. I think it's that she's self-sufficient, introverted but feisty when needed, smart, Southern, and a TOTAL NERD that makes me love her. I am not an academic, and I've never really wanted to be one, but that doesn't mean I don't love that quiet dorkiness in other people because I totally do. To be that plus brave and smart and resourceful? Faye is who I want to be.
I cannot get over how much I love this heroine. I stumbled over the first book almost completely by accident, and I'm just flat crazy for Faye. The baddy in this book left me guessing up to the reveal - I had considered the person, but I had 2 or 3 other suspects in mind too and hadn't been able to settle on one, so it was nice not to have guessed it way in advance. The books unfold carefully, they are aware of social justice issues, and they are well researched. They are competently written, too. But the best part is and always will be the character of Faye. I think it's that she's self-sufficient, introverted but feisty when needed, smart, Southern, and a TOTAL NERD that makes me love her. I am not an academic, and I've never really wanted to be one, but that doesn't mean I don't love that quiet dorkiness in other people because I totally do. To be that plus brave and smart and resourceful? Faye is who I want to be.