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.