"fine mystery"
It's been two years since Tom died in Emma's arms and the
owner and editor of the weekly Alpine Advocate still
grieves the loss of the only man she ever loved. She
pours all her energy into her newspaper, her rivalry with
the owner of the local radio station becoming friendly.
The latest story Emma covers is the melodrama that the
Alpine Council Dramatic Club is performing. The narrator,
radio owner Spencer Fleetwood is terrific in his role with
his beautiful speaking voice but otherwise Emma thinks the
whole affair is amateurish. At the end of the play when the villain, played by Dean of
Students Hans Berringer, dies and the audience applauds
the lackluster performance; one of the actors realizes
that Hank in fact did die because the bullets in the gun
were real. Nobody was watching the prop box so anyone
could have switched the bullets. Emma immediately starts
snooping around to find out who switched the bullets and
she finds out that most people disliked Hank with a
passion and many of them had motives. THE ALPINE PURSUIT is as much a mystery as it is a woman
coming to terms with a traumatic loss. This is Mary
Daheim's hardcover debut and she deserves it because her
well written tales involve real life situations and social
issues while entertaining her audience. This book has
many layers all involving people in emotional pain and how
they cope with the hand life dealt them. By the end of
the novel, one gets the feeling that the heroine is
starting to heal and that makes the reader feel good
because it is impossible not to like Emma. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted March 1, 2004
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