- Mass Market Paperback: 236 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc.; Reprint edition (1 Dec 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345356535
- ISBN-13: 978-0345356536
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 1.8 x 17.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 819,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Sick of Shadows: Elizabeth MacPherson Series, Book 1
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Product Description
Product Description
The book that started it all for Edgar Award winner Sharyn McCrumb's widely acclaimed series featuring amateur sleuth Elizabeth MacPherson.
When delicate Eileen Chandler is set to marry, her family fears the man is a fortune hunter. Thank goodness, Eileen's cousin Elizabeth MacPherson comes early for support. Unfortunately, Elizabeth also has some detecting to do, as a dead body is found, and none of the wedding party is above suspicion....
"A good deal of suspense...McCrumb writes with a sharp-pointed pen."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
When delicate Eileen Chandler is set to marry, her family fears the man is a fortune hunter. Thank goodness, Eileen's cousin Elizabeth MacPherson comes early for support. Unfortunately, Elizabeth also has some detecting to do, as a dead body is found, and none of the wedding party is above suspicion....
"A good deal of suspense...McCrumb writes with a sharp-pointed pen."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
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First Sentence
Thank you very much for the graduation present. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Thank you very much for the graduation present. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:School & Library Binding
While lying in bed last weekend, moaning under the weight of a killer headache, I tossed aside the book I had been reading because it required too much concentration. The constant brow-furrowing and synapse-firing was exacerbating my mal-du-tete, so I sought something lighter. Something funny. Something that wouldn't hurt my enfeebled head.
I found it in Sharyn McCrumb's "Sick of Shadows", a novel of characters in which the mystery is incidental. Each character is original, fun and lively, with quirks that may have seemed quirkier years ago when this book was written, but now seem as normal as any American family. The main character is Elizabeth McPherson, recent college graduate, who goes on to figure in many more of McCrumb's novels (McCrumb seems to have fallen in love with her Appalachian cycle, so Ms. McPherson's fate is uncertain, at best).
Her mad cousin, Eileen, is about to be married and has invited Elizabeth to be a bridesmaid. Cousin Geoffrey is a Shakespeare-spouting layabout, Cousin Alban is a history buff who built a castle on his property and Charles is a hippie physicist. McCrumb gives Elizabeth a wry matter-of-fact delivery that occasionally made me laugh out loud, and her favorite device is revealing her impressions of the family in frequent letters to her brother, Bill, who is unable to attend the wedding. The murder, when it finally happens, is shocking and sad, yet McCrumb doesn't allow it to weigh the book down with sorrow.
All in all, "Sick of Shadows" was just what I needed to get me through a miserable day. Of course, I was cheating, as I had read it years ago and was only now rereading it, so I knew it would be perfect, but that shouldn't steer you away from this book or the series. I plan to reread them all.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Eileen Chandler is getting married and Elizabeth MacPherson is the family representative at the occasion. A recent college graduate, Elizabeth has agreed to be a bridesmaid for her cousin even though they haven't seen each other in years. When Elizabeth arrives early, she finds the family propensity for eccentricity hasn't slowed down a bit. But reconnecting with family takes a dangerous turn when a body is discovered. When the death is ruled murder, no one in the house is above suspicion.
I'd heard good things about Sharyn's books, so picked this up with much anticipation. I was very disappointed in it, however. This is really more a cultural farce then a mystery, but not being from the South, I didn't get it. The mystery proceeds through fits and starts, with very little several pieces being left dangling at the end. And the characters were too over the top to be believable.
I've heard that this author's books improve as she progresses, so I might give her another try in the future. But, based on this book, I'm not going to rush out to do so.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Not Sick of Sharyn
18 Sep 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback
While lying in bed last weekend, moaning under the weight of a killer headache, I tossed aside the book I had been reading because it required too much concentration. The constant brow-furrowing and synapse-firing was exacerbating my mal-du-tete, so I sought something lighter. Something funny. Something that wouldn't hurt my enfeebled head.
I found it in Sharyn McCrumb's "Sick of Shadows", a novel of characters in which the mystery is incidental. Each character is original, fun and lively, with quirks that may have seemed quirkier years ago when this book was written, but now seem as normal as any American family. The main character is Elizabeth McPherson, recent college graduate, who goes on to figure in many more of McCrumb's novels (McCrumb seems to have fallen in love with her Appalachian cycle, so Ms. McPherson's fate is uncertain, at best).
Her mad cousin, Eileen, is about to be married and has invited Elizabeth to be a bridesmaid. Cousin Geoffrey is a Shakespeare-spouting layabout, Cousin Alban is a history buff who built a castle on his property and Charles is a hippie physicist. McCrumb gives Elizabeth a wry matter-of-fact delivery that occasionally made me laugh out loud, and her favorite device is revealing her impressions of the family in frequent letters to her brother, Bill, who is unable to attend the wedding. The murder, when it finally happens, is shocking and sad, yet McCrumb doesn't allow it to weigh the book down with sorrow.
All in all, "Sick of Shadows" was just what I needed to get me through a miserable day. Of course, I was cheating, as I had read it years ago and was only now rereading it, so I knew it would be perfect, but that shouldn't steer you away from this book or the series. I plan to reread them all.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
McCrumb's first effort
24 July 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Having read most of the Ballad series and a couple of later MacPherson's, I finally found a copy of McCrumb's first book, Sick of Shadows. While it lacks the polish and originality of her later efforts, I found it an enjoyable read.
Elizabeth is a new college graduate, clueless as to her future. She's drafted to be the bridesmaid for her cousin who attended a mental hospital for her "finishing school." Much of the book is devoted to the eccentricities of the Chandler family - a cousin who lives at the physicist's commune, an overbearing aunt and the cousin who built his home in the style of Neuswanstein (spelling?) - the Disneyland castle. It takes half the book for the murder to occur. The local cops are terrific characters. The solution is a bit improbable but I still enjoyed to book overall.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
A bit far-fetched
8 Sep 1999
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I was disappointed in this, the first Elizabeth MacPherson book, having found McCrumb's Bimbos and Zombies books so delightful. Perhaps she was feeling her way around a new protagonist with a less broad style. In any case, I found the plot far-fetched, what with Alban's "castle" in the middle of nowhere. Eccentric is one thing, but this I found beyond credibility. I'm wary of investing more time in the McPherson mysteries, and will probably stick to McCrumb's masterful Appallachian novels, in which the writing is simply superb.
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