The Redgrave Murders
In 1948 Evie Hampton and her father have survived WWII, although not without loss. Evie’s brother died in the Pacific, and her mother passed away from cancer. However, Evie now keeps house for her father in their upstate New York town and works at the university bursar’s office. Despite her father’s reservations, she enjoys the company of her steady boyfriend Gary Redhawk, an Indian. All that changes one afternoon when Evie nearly crashes her father’s Chrysler New Yorker, unable to stop the car. Someone has cut the brake lines. But who would want to harm Evie, or her father, a respected professor?
Evie sets out to investigate but a second tragedy implicates Gary, who suffers from recurrent flashbacks due to his past war experiences. As Evie works to clear his name it seems that every move she makes puts herself and Gary more and more at risk. Who wants Evie dead? And why?
The Redgrave Murders is an engrossing read. Part mystery and part romance, the book touches on many themes: the cost of war, the prejudices inherent in American life, the human emotions of greed, love, jealousy, and reconciliation. Evie is a spunky heroine but believable given her era. Gary Redhawk fights his own battles, many stemming from his war and his childhood boarding school experiences, which are, sadly, firmly rooted in fact. Although a quick read, The Redgrave Murders proved absorbing and multi-layered. Recommended.
