Artifacts (Faye Longchamp Mysteries, No. 1)

Artifacts has all the right elements for an easy read, interesting characters, a good mystery, a great setting - unfortunately, nothing about this book was memorable enough to make me continue with the series. I think primarily, my misgivings are related to the protagonist Faye Longchamp, who comes across as something of a do-gooder.

Ordinarily I enjoy flawed heroines, but the author's attempt to humanize Faye with character flaws also serves as a plot device to emphasize her moral fiber. Faye one true "fault" is her illegal pot-hunting activities--the illegal digging of artifacts on her ancestral home to sell for profit. This ambiguous character flaw does not really do its job when readers are encouraged to view Faye's sole ethical indiscretion in a noble light because of her humble subsistence. Sure it's illegal to dig up artifacts and sell them, but hey, the artifacts are on her own land, and Faye would never dare treat TRUE archaeological finds with the same careless attention--an attitude that is clearly reflected in Faye's narrative thoughts throughout the novel.

Faye is a morally virtuous, hardworking, down-on-her-luck archaeology student of mixed-raced descent who lives hand-to-mouth in her ancestral home of Joyeuse on a small island off Florida's gulf coast. Her financial woes facilitate her illegal pot-hunting activity, and the extreme precautions she takes to prevent anyone from learning her address (for fear the government will take Joyeuse away from her because she is descended from slaves and doesn't possess the deed) are somewhat unbelievable. I might have appreciated her extreme poverty-stricken lifestyle more if Faye didn't possess such a morally virtuous personality. I mean this woman never had a bad thought about anyone, and her concern for other's welfare over her own safety rounds out her unimpeachable character making it impossible to argue with any of her choices throughout the novel. I found it difficult to empathize with Faye because she comes across as too "perfect."

Don't get me wrong--this is a well-written mystery as far it goes. I wouldn't classify it as particularly difficult (I figured out the killer's identity half-way through) but all the elements are there for those seeking a quick, easy read. The plot revolves around Faye's illegal pot-hunting activities which run afoul of a killer engaged in the same scheme on a much larger scale, and make her a prime scapegoat on which to pin the entire shady business. Throw in a few interesting supporting characters to round out the cast--Joe Wolf Mantooth, Faye's friend and simple-minded Cree hermit who shares her land, and her feisty archaeological professor heading the legitimate dig Faye is involved with that unearths skeletal remains to kick-start the mystery--and you've got a good book.

Bottom line: The story was good, but I don't think I'll be reading the next one.

As an archeology-phile, I was predisposed to like this first mystery by Mary Anna Evans. But there is so much more there than just archeology and mystery. Her characters are decidedly physical and real, the disparate elements of her plot, with the helping hand of Fate, dovetail perfectly to keep you reading until all the loose ends have been woven into place.

Faye Longchamp is a tough, smart, gutsy heroine who still savors her few chances to be feminine. Joe Wolf Mantooth, the simple-hearted Indian who shares her home, is a complex, realistic hero. It takes all the wit and strength that either of them has to get through what life throws in their way.

When the book opens, Faye has discovered the remains of a murdered woman while doing some illegal "pothunting" on Federal lands. She can't rest knowing the woman is alone and unavenged, but how can she report her discovery without sending herself to jail? By researching the "case" on her own, until she thinks she has the solution.

But almost immediately, two students working on a legitimate excavation with Faye are shot to death and buried in shallow graves. Does it have anything to do with Faye's find? While she works to make enough money selling black market artifacts to keep up the property taxes on her ancestral home, Joyeuse, she is dogged by the spectre of a man who has killed before, by the large-scale artifact thieves operating just a short distance from her, and by the outside world which has only suspicion for people who live without need of society or technology.

"Artifacts" is a smashing story, blending excerpts from the journal of several generations of former owners of Joyeuse with the contemporary occurrences which Evans weaves into a perfect, but never simple, tapestry of a story.

ARTIFACTS would be a good beach book, or airplane book.....it kept your attention and you didn't have to do any thinking as to who the charaters were, and what they were doing....

It wasn't much of a mystery but it did have some adventure in it, it would be a good movie !

I always buy my books and my kindle books from Amazon, they are the cheapest, have a wonderful selection, and the books arrive fast !

A rivoting mystery about a strong female lead character with a problem: money. The story keeps you turning pages and leaves you satisfied while avoiding caricatures. Yes, Faye is a loner, but what detective worth his or her salt isn't? She's a scofflaw with morals, and her supporting cast is finely and sympathetically drawn.

Evans weaves in a multi-generational plantation history of Faye's home, Joyeuse Isle (cleverly named from a Debussy composition), perched on the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast of Florida.

Satisifying to feminists, history buffs, those with an interest in archeology and meteorology, and just plain old mystery lovers.

The author's background as a scientist, musician, and mom help her create a believable and well developed world full of characters to care about. Fans of Sue Grafton, PD James, and Sara Paretsky will enjoy this book.

I can hardly wait to read [[ASIN:1590583620 Relics]], Faye's next adventure.

I reviewed Book number six in her Faye Longchamp mystery series. I picked it from NetGalley as an E-book Arc because it took place in a city just south or where I grew up. I really enjoyed the book, if anybody read the review and said I wanted to read the series so, here I am, starting the series.This is the first mystery in the Faye Longchamp mystery series. I reviewed number six in the series earlier in the year and though I wasn't lost, I was interested enough in the relationships, especially Faye's husband Joe Wolf Mantooth to find out more about the series. It took awhile for my library to dig up some of the books, but this one was so great it had me wishing I was home. There were all the elements of a mystery, murder, many suspects, doubt, subplots and looming threats to our protagonist Faye, the tax collector, the sheriff for illegal digging of artifacts, and a cat 5 hurricane, not to mention the murderer.
The story is told in third person mainly from Faye's point of view, but it depends on who is in the scene. Faye is doing something illegal, that I for one had never heard of pothunting. Apparently it's digging for historical artifacts on preserved lands or parklands and making a profit on them. Faye does it out of necessity, not that this makes it any less illegal and she has a Native American named Joe that sleeps on her land who helps her from time to time. She's desperate, subsisting on peanut butter and honey though Joe usually catches fish for dinner or squirrel or rabbit for dinner. Faye lives in her family's plantation house with no electricity or running water. It's in somewhat of a state of disrepair. And she's trying to evade the tax collector so she won't have to pay taxes on it. Her potshunting is her income and she uncovers an unlikely body, that of a 40 yr old missing girl (she finds this out after some detective work). She can't go to the police without revealing her illegal activities, but she can't help trying to figure out what happened to her. She has no job to speak of except a minimum wage job as an archeological assistant and when that gets shut down due to murder, the murder of two the students who were helping, Faye's income dries up. Since the bodies were buried in the wet soil and subject to the humidity of the South, there is absolultely no evidence as to why they were killed or who killed them, only how.

The main characters in the story are very well written. Faye Longchamp is neither black nor white. She has a mix of Creek, Caucasian and African American blood mixed in her. She is also a desperate woman one foot ahead of the law and the tax collector. Its all she thinks about. She isn't the kind to actively seek out trouble or search out the killer on her own. She does however put two and two together a little to late, but I never saw it coming. Joe is a Native American with the skills of an ancient warrior. He's protective of Faye though there is no relationship between them other than friendship. Faye thinks he would score only borderline normal on an intelligence test but I don't think she really sees him for who he is. He doesn't know about computers or cars, but he can live off the land and keep her safe and he seems to be a giant standing six foot something. He is at home in the wilderness surrounding Joyeuse, Faye's plantation. But I think he's smarter than she's seen yet.
Magda, the professor at the university unnamed is smart too. She knows Faye doesn't live on the dump of a boat she claims to live on. And puts two and two together to figure out where the plantation is. She also wonders why Faye doesn't go back to school and works on that. She's pretty sure she knows what Faye does to supplement her income, but she doesn't call her on it, knowing Faye would never disturb a truly valuable historically significant place.
Then there's the Sheriff McKenzie. He's known Faye it seems and he doesn't suspect her of murder, but he wants to know more about Joe. Then Joe is arrested by his deputies for murders so long ago he knows Joe wasn't even born. He questions Joe anyway and finds out about the other body, the girl, and remembers who she is, asking Joe to lead him to the body. All of this is happening while a hurricane brews in the Gulf. When the sheriff finds the body gone and smelling of bleach he realizes the killer as removed her body and they head back in the boat in four foot choppy waters to land. But Joe has other plans and disables the boat and jumps overboard. He has to save Faye from the hurricane.

If you've never lived in Florida, this story might be just another story, but Mary Anna Evans does her homework. The story mentions funny names of places in Florida, Cow Ford being one. I'm from Jacksonville and that's what they used to call it because somewhere along the St. John's River they forded cows across it. Hence the name. I couldn't tell you how it got it's current name. But she knows her hurricanes too. No one will ever forget Katrina.

This is a start to a great mystery series. It doesn't have food or crocheting in the title. It's about archaeology, but you don't have to know anything about it to enjoy the series. Archaeology is just the means to get the main characters to their locations according to the last book I read which again was the 6th. Anyone who loves a good mystery with some history of Florida's panhandle thrown in will love this mystery. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Artifacts is the first book in the Faye Longchamp series. The characters, location and the decisions that Faye had to make to survive or to hold down her plantation house make this book a good and different read.

The location is the Florida panhandle and Faye is living in a rundown plantation house that has been in her family for many generations. She does some illegal pot digging to survive and to have a little money. The book is quite atmospheric I thought. One could see the run down plantation and interior of the house. How grand it must have been. Faye found a journal that over the generations various ancestors had journalized their lives. It gave a history of the house and their lives.

Faye is from a long line of strong women. The characters were interesting and well developed. Faye has an interest in archeology. She had to drop out of school before completing her course work. She is very good at it and also at recording the findings. She can live on very little. She does not give out her address because she does not want people to know where she lives as she can't pay the taxes. She says she lives on her boat.

Joe who lives on her property is a very memorable, likable and a hero type character. He loves the outdoors, nature and lives a simple life. He cares for Faye as she has taken him in and given him a place to live.

I liked Faye's previous professor who was somewhat crusty and saw potential in Faye.

I always like mysteries that have a mystery from the past and a current mystery. This book had all that and a hurricane to boot! I will continue on with the series. I want to see where Faye's life goes now. I know it won't be static.

Artifacts is well written. The setting is interesting and vividly described. The main characters are quirky and multi-dimensional and represent the kind of people that I would like to know. The author apparently knows about the field of archaeology and knows how to weave this knowledge into a good mystery. Based on this book, I bought the second in the series and enjoyed it, too.