Tome of Death
Reading Group Mysteries

By D.R. Meredith

     Tome of Death opens with a prologue that takes place in 1868 with Spotted Tongue fearing for the safety of his second wife, Little Flower, at the hands of his first wife Green Willow. It then moves to Palo Duro five years in the immediate past where an anonymous woman is murdered. The first chapter opens with modern day librarian Megan Clark and her best friend Ryan Stevens and their book club discovering a skeleton and a mummy dressed in Comanche clothing. Despite Ryan's attempts to dissuade her from investigating, Megan uses her skills to assist the police in discovering the nationality of the mummy and provides clues that lead to the quick identification of the five year old skeleton.

     I was immediately drawn into the close relationship between Megan and Ryan, both of whom I found likable. While at first disinclined to like Spotted Tongue, Ms. Meredith's skillful telling of his desperate search to discover the traitor among his people, soon drew me into his story as well. Within a few chapters, I found myself engrossed in both mysteries.

     Tome of Death, told from the viewpoint of three protagonists, one of them a long dead Amerindian, introduced me to a host of modern and long deceased characters from two different times, both with compelling reason for pursuing a murderer. By the time I finished D. R. Meredith's Tome of Death, I knew I would be filling the void while I eagerly awaited the next book in the series by reading the previous books.

     Ms. Meredith's style, her skillful meshing of two different cultures and time periods combined to make Tome of Death a delightful book I can recommend with no reservations whatsoever.