Kate Ellis has given us a memoir that takes on race, class, gender, neocolonialism...The book moves effortlessly between the personal and psychological on the one hand, the political and historical on the other. Ellis's open, critical, and self-critical view invites us to join her as she explores the issues of her life--her struggle to create a female self in a world that represses women, her efforts to build a cross-cultural marriage in a world that polices the borders. I loved the portraits of the different worlds she's inhabited--the bohemian dance world of 1960s New York; Columbia University during the 1968 student uprising; the aristocratic Canadian home she grew up in; the Nigerian world of artists and tourists that she visits first as a traveler, then as a wife. Ellis' memoir often reads as effortlessly as fiction--but it is always grounded in a relentless honesty about the difficulties as well as the thrills of crossing borders.

Restoration has begun on the gardens of the seventeenth century Earlasacre country house in Devon. However, the digging turns macabre when the excavation team uncovers the remains of a woman interred three centuries ago. Not long afterward more human remains are found. The archaeologists begin putting together the grisly account of what happened at this locale during the initial construction of the gardens.

Trinidad Detective Sergeant Wesley Petersen would prefer to work on the historical mystery. However, he soon has a modern day who-done-it to contend with when a solicitor dies during a tea break at a cricket match. As Wesley and other police investigate the present-day homicide, patterns form that links the current death with those of the past, but who is the culprit today remains the question.

With several archeological mysteries already investigated by the hero, one would think this series would grow staler than some of the remains encountered in these books. Instead, Kate Ellis makes each new tale different and quite fresh with the two common themes being Peterson and duality of who-done-its in the past and present. THE BONE GARDEN is a superb British police procedural with both eras' mysteries well done and gripping even as the historical sub-plot opens up each chapter with a strong sequence followed by a powerful modern day string. Ms. Ellis will please fans of both sub-genres with her latest DS Peterson novel.

Harriet Klausner

Somebody has killed an aging American veteran and Wesley Peterson has to find out who--and why. Old animosities between the U.S. soldiers and the English people uprooted from their homes come into play, but a psychic claims that the Armada Boy--a survivor of the Spanish Armada is the one to ask.

Kate Ellis writes a fine mystery but what makes this book so compelling is her descriptions of the people and countryside of England. Wesley Peterson, with his pregnant wife suffering from hormone overload, Detective Inspecter Heffernam, with is love for sailing and his need to escape from people yet desire to bond with them, and Detective Constable Rachel Tracey with her ambition, all make sympathetic characters you'll root for as they struggle forward.

The mystery is sufficiently complex and interesting. Ellis's approach of weaving the three eras together proves effective and, ultimately, the fabric of the story proves to be woven together more closely than would at first appear. This is an excellent novel.

In Kate Ellis, British literature has a champion to contend with the commercial american heavyweights churning out their tuppenny paperbacks. In the Armada Boy, Ellis successfully produces three narratives of different periods of time, all around the same West Country area. She interweaves these timeframes in a refreshing fashion that rather than slowing and disrupting the flow and pace of the story make the novel flow seemlessly and intelligably between ages. The author maintains the characters from the previous novel but manages to find the right blend of introduction and continuity meaning no readers are alienated in terms of character development. The novel's star characters would appear to be the Americans who I assure you, after spending several hours in the presence of some American Vets. on Christmas Eve are spookily realistic. The interaction amongst the detectives is impressive, with real depth and life which adds to the novel rather than drawing away from the pace of the book.

Bottom line: A great read as either a stand alone novel or part of a sucessful series.

This novel grabbed my attention from the first scene and held it to the last. It is a truly great read.

For me, the real joys of 'The Armada Boy' are the fascinating blend of modern and historical crime; the rich diversity of characters (my personal favourite being Detective Constable Rachel Tracey - a real star in the wings who deserves a novel of her own); and the way in which three completely separate periods of history are woven together so effortlessly. Oh yes, and as with all great crime novels, I would never have guessed 'whodunnit'!!

I hardly put this novel down from the moment I picked it up.I couldn't wait to see what the next page would bring. I inherited my love of crime fiction from my late Grandmother who was a real connoisseur of the genre and as I read this novel I thought often of her. How she would have loved it!

I enjoyed reading "An Unhallowed Grave" very much -- it made for riveting reading, and the plot of this novel was as strong as those of the first two books in the Wesley Peterson/Neil Watson mystery series.

Pauline Brent, a doctor's receptionist, is found hanging from a yew tree in the local graveyard. A preliminary examination reveals that she may have been strangled and then strung up onto the tree. Not too far from the crime scene, Neil Watson of the County Archaeological Unit has just uncovered the grave of a woman who was buried at the crossroads (an unhallowed grave) about 5 centuries ago. Local legend has it that the woman was publicly hanged from the very same tree that Pauline Brent was discovered in -- it was believed that she had committed a horrific murder. Could Pauline Brent's murder be linked to a 500 year old lynching? D.S. Peterson wonders as he considers the fact that Pauline's murderer must have known of the tree's reputation. This would then make Pauline's death some kind of execution. What wrong could Pauline have committed to merit such a theatrical end? Peterson must discover all he can about Pauline, but she soon proves to be an enigma -- a woman who was well liked but not fully excepted by the villagers because she was an 'incommer', she also seems to have very few friends and practically no history prior to her arrival at the village. It looks as if Pauline Brent was hiding from something, but what and why? In the meantime, Neil Watson tries to discover more about the young woman who was executed 500 years ago, and of the crime for which she was hanged. Tension mounts as both men home in on the backgrounds of the the two women and of the crimes that they allegedly committed.

This novel was truly well crafted: the manner in which Ellis switches seamlessly between the centuries, and the way in which the solution of one mystery points to the solution of the other -- that was brilliant. I was well and truly hooked by "An Unhallowed Grave" and recommend as riveting reading.

I love it when I pick up a book by a new author who I have not read before, and find that the author is capable in character and plot development. Ellis is a good writer at both of these particulars, not great, but definitely so good at what she does that her mysteries deserve a five star rating. For those readers who enjoy intelligent mysteries, her books will be a nice addition. Her Wesley Peterson, a black detective, seems to be an intelligent fellow with a different background in archaeology. This background comes of some use (and brings him in contact with hilarious 'tree-huggers' and friends from universities with agendas of their own) in a mystery involving two women separated by centuries who are hung for crimes they didn't commit. Nice to see we Americans are not the only ones who lynched first, and asked questions (or not!) later.

Ellis' characters are definitely characters. I love Wesley's boss, a lonely widower who is looking for friends. Part of the ability to draw realistic characters is the ability to observe real human beings and their reactions to normal life, which includes loved ones dying from cancer and the subsequent need of those left behind to find something to do with themselves besides work. If the reader can sympathize with the character, then the author has done a good job.

As always, I enjoy reading British writers and really enjoy reading mysteries with a historical bent. I had no idea about the existence of art called "Jesse Trees" which are an artistic rendering of the geneaology of Jesus. I am so intrigued by this I plan to look up some more information on these 'trees'...
Karen Sadler,
Science Education,
University of Pittsburgh

Kate Ellis has developed an approach to mystery that parallels a historical event (in AN UNHALLOWED GRAVE the historical event is the lynch execution of a woman for murdering a child) and a current mystery (in this case the death by hanging of Pauline Brent). Sergeant Wesley Peterson, together with is boss, sex-starved Steve, and competent Rachel try to find motive for killing Pauline--a woman who fit into the background so well she shouldn't have been able to make any enemies.

As the mystery unfolds, Wesley discovers Pauline's secret. Now, rather than to few people with motive, there are too many. It turns out that relying on the historical parallels (being dug up by archeologist-buddy Neil) is key to solving the murder.

I enjoyed Ellis's earlier book THE ARMADA BOY but found AN UNHALLOWED GRAVE even better. Ellis writes well--definitely English but with little enough dialect that the novel is approachable by an American audience. Better yet, she doesn't write down to the reader, yet brings a thoughtful approach to both the mystery and the characters.

Somewhere between a cozy and gritty urban mystery, Ellis writes of bucolic but dangerous small-town England. Excellent.

In this debut mystery, Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson has recently transferred from London to the port town of Tradmouth. Just prior to his transfer, the Tradmouth police are faced with a kidnapping of a small boy by person or persons unknown. On Peterson's first day on the new job, a woman is found brutally murdered in the local park. The first thing the police must do is identify her. Also, archaeologists working on a dig of an Elizabethan merchant's house find a skeleton in what they think is the cellar. Finally, Peterson's wife begins visiting a local medical clinic in an effort to get pregnant and he must be present at several appointments. Peterson had expected a laid back kind of life in the countryside, but Tradmouth's criminals keep him and his colleagues busy.

In the hands of a lesser writer, juggling four distinct stories might turn into a confusing morass. Ellis, however, pulls it off and keeps the readers' interest sustained in all three stories. She is able to deftly pull the stories together at the end. Peterson is an interesting and likable character - well rounded with interests (archaeology to be specific) other than police work. The minor characters are also likable, and one hopes that they will be fleshed out in future books.

While not strictly a historical mystery, one of the four stories is set in Elizabethan Tradmouth and adds piquancy to the modern-day stories. This has all the potential of being a first-class series - part procedural, part historical, part cozy. This is an excellent start.

I like this series immensely. There are three books out so far (the
last one "Unhallowed Grave" has only recently been published
in the UK); and in all three mysteries, Kate Ellis blends a
contemporary mystery with that of a historical one. And she does it
brilliantly. You know that the solution to one will link you with the
solution to the other, and it makes for an enjoyable and interesting
read to see if you, the reader, can see the solution before either Sgt
Wesley Peterson of the Tradmouth CID, or Neil Watson of the County
Archaeological Unit.

In this instance, Tradmouth CID is stretched
thin trying to find a missing child and solve the murder of an
unidentified young woman whose face has been horribly
disfigured. Meanwhile, the County Archaeological Unit while escavating
a 17th century house make a grissly find: the skeletons of a baby and
an adult from that period. The intuitive reader will at once realise
that both mysteries are linked in some way. But how?

The central
motif of this mystery in that of the relationship between mother and
child. What a woman feels at her failure to conceive a child; the fear
of losing a child; and how she copes with the death of a child.

This
is a really good series with great characters. My only complaint is
that with all these interesting personalities-- Patterson, Watson et
al-- the book seems hardly long enough to give them each the focus
they deserve. However this series is a winner and I recommend all the
three books.

Well executed tale about Wesley Peterson, a black English detective in an interracial marriage, who moves his wife Pamela and his job from London to the English countryside. His first day on the Tradmouth police force presents Wesley with a gruesome murder and a seemingly unrelated case of a missing child. On the other side of town his long time friend and archeologist Neil (who happens to be Pamela's former lover) has unearthed an unidentified skeleton from what used to be a 17th century merchant's house. Little does Wesley realize that the skeleton may be the key to solving his murder case, as well as the case involving the missing child.

Also intriguing is the 17th Century diary of John Banized, the merchant whose home Neil is now excavating. We are greeted with excerpts from John's diary at the beginning of each chapter, and this creates a whole other story line that is just as compelling and suspenseful as the main plot.

I was fascinated by the multi layers of this novel. Ellis very deftly draws the reader into two story lines simultaneously. The medieval plot of John Banized's infidelity and his ominous secret is unfolding just as rapidly as Wesley Peterson's missing child and murder cases. There is also a premise that evolves around children...infertility, greed and desperation. But I won't say too much about that here. Just suffice it to say that this is a very well written and enjoyable mystery with unrelenting suspense. I consider it one of those rare finds that you always look forward to discovering on a rainy day.

Enjoy.

Well...I have read this book and I enjoyed it very much. But I think you sould like borrow it from a friend not buy it if you are a person under like 8. Because it's too easy to read and it takes like less than 2 min. to read the whole book. I mean,why do you buy a book u have been dying to get and get thriled for 2 min. and forget about it! Anyway,lucky this book I rated it 2 stars. Because of a locket! And the price is not just worth it and this book is not the kind of book Mary Kate and Ashely would write.So if you want a book with MK&A's humor,jet a book like Two of a Kind #1 It's a Twin Thing. You would wnt the rest of the series!

It's a great book.Buy it NOW!!!!!!!& dont listen 2 the other review its great!!!!