ROSEWOOD'S ASHES by Aileen Schumacher

ROSEWOOD'S ASHES by Aileen Schumacher
A Travers/Alvanez Mystery
Intrigue Press - May 2001
ISBN: 1890768324 - Hardcover
Amateur Sleuth

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer, MyShelf.com
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In 1923, Rosewood, a thriving black community was completely destroyed by a mob of white men bent on avenging the alleged attack on a white woman by a black man. In the present, Tory Travers, accompanied by friend, David Alvarez, flies to Florida to visit her father who is in a coma. She is estranged from him and feels animosity toward him.

Tory meets a woman working on the Rosemont Project who explains its history to Tory. Tory's father has pledged a small fortune to the Center for Heritage Studies for an in-depth study of Rosemont. This woman is then killed in a hit and run accident. Another murder and coincidences involving white supremacists and some blacks lead Tory and David to realize that there are people who want to stop all study of the secrets of the past. Soon they too are targets, and must discover the motives behind the murders.

This is an excellent combination of history and the present. The story of Rosewood told against modern events is compelling and complex. It is an indictment of man's continued inhumanity. The relationship between Tory and David is treated with understanding and feeling. There is much witty dialogue to offset the seriousness of the subject. The book is outstanding; fast moving and well written.