MacPHERSON'S LAMENT

What at first seems an awkward juxtaposition--the last gasp of the Confederacy, as experienced by young Gabriel Hawks in 1865, set against the trials and tribulations of the spanking new law partnership of brainy A.P. Hill, a Civil War reenactor, and Bill MacPherson, her unambitious, naive office-mate--soon becomes an intricately plotted southern frolic. Involved are: the Confederacy Treasury, eight sweet little swindlers living in the Home for Confederate Wives and Daughters, a murder charge, a mass-murder charge, a divorce proceeding, a suit against the National Park Service, and a possible disbarment for fraud. In her seventh outing, feisty forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson (Missing Susan, etc.), Bill's sister, pops over from Scotland mid-book to straighten things out and, with much panache, humor, and savvy, manages to smooth over just about everything--except that divorce. The echt southern caper, slathered with eccentric relatives, Civil War tidbits, a politician or two, antebellum mansions, and irrepressible charm. Bar none, McCrumb is the funniest woman writing mysteries today.