Throwback Thursday: Relics by Mary Ann Evans

Author: Mary Ann Evans
First Published in August 2005  by  Poisoned Pen Press

Erstwhile artifacts black marketeer Faye Longchamp lands the job as chief archaeologist for a rural development project and heads to the hills of Alabama, her studly Cherokee assistant, Joe, in tow. She's looking forward to a legitimate dig, and hopes to uncover the mystery of the Sujosa, an ethnic group of mysterious origins known for their aquamarine eyes and unusual resistance to disease. But the murder of one of the project team leads to a different sort of investigation, and Faye finds herself using her professional and personal skills to discover the murderer, and the long-buried secret of the Sujosa as well.

Relics is the second book in the Faye Longchamp series.  I reviewed the first book, Artifacts, back in November for Throwback Thursday.  Now that her financial problems have been taken care of, Faye is able to start really pursuing her archaeology career.  She has been sent to Alabama to head a dig that will research a group of people called the Sujosa. I like the evolution of Faye's character. I felt like I got to know her better as a person in this story.  Her friendship with Joe is still pretty strong, but I can see that she is really starting to question how she really feels about him. 

Like the first book, Relics is a good solid mystery. The list of suspects is long, but not too overwhelming. This was one mystery where I didn't put any of it together until the end.  I liked the twist as it was definitely a surprise.   The third book, Effigies is on my TBR list.  I am really starting to like this series and look forward to getting caught up with it.