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ABenni Harper, curator of the Josiah Sinclair Folk Art museum in San Celina, California, is looking forward to a relaxing week at the home of her great-aunt and uncle when she journeys to Sugartree, Arkansas, for the Sugartree Baptist Church's Homecoming festivities. Benni's grandmother, Dove, and Dove's boyfriend, Issac, are already in town for the celebration. Benni's husband is still in San Celina, but her best friend, Elvia Aragon, is traveling with her. Elvia is nervous about the trip. She's been dating Benni's cousin Emory, a native of Sugartree, and the two are close to announcing their engagement. Emory's father, a wealthy businessman, still resides in the town, and Elvia is due to meet him for the first time. Emory's Southern white heritage concerns Elvia, who is Hispanic. She worries that the prejudice of others may affect their marriage. Benni's attempts to alleviate her friend's anxiety are all for naught when three Sugartree residents make unpleasant remarks about the color of Elvia's skin. Elvia and Emory are soon at odds over their impending engagement. Elvia and Emory aren't the only people in Sugartree having problems. Amen Tolliver, a black woman who grew up with Benni, is running for election against long-time mayor Grady Hunter. When Grady's white-supremacist son, Toby, causes trouble for Amen and her family, then later turns up dead, the police pick up Amen's nephew Quinton for questioning. Benni is certain Quinton had nothing to do with Toby's death. But because the police refuse to consider any other suspects, she decides to investigate the murder on her own. As if she doesn't have enough on her platter already, Benni has to contend with an ongoing feud between Dove and Aunt Garnet and a brand new feud between two Baptist churches. The Baptist congregations, one white and one black, are discussing merging, and members of both races are divided over the proposal. With murder, politics, and religion all seemingly affected by the issue of race, Benni must face the fact that Sugartree is not the peaceful, tolerant town she recalls from her childhood. Nominated for an Agatha award in 2002, Arkansas Traveler tackles the subject of race as it affects the everyday life of people living in a small Southern town. Earlene Fowler deals with the issue on several levels, describing not only the private wounds inflicted on individuals by prejudice, but also taking aim at institutional prejudice, especially the practice of separatism in religion. The plot is clearly character driven with its concentration on Benni's memories of childhood, Elvia's and Emory's romantic problems, and Dove's and Garnet's feud. Readers who have followed this series will certainly enjoy Fowler's breezy writing style and her vivid descriptions of life in Sugartree. Those who relish suspense in their mysteries, though, may wish for more in this story. The death of Toby Hunter is almost like a secondary plot with the investigation and denouement less challenging than expected. Despite that fact, Arkansas Traveler is a highly enjoyable and thought-provoking book that should please fans of the cozy mystery.
Reviewed by Mary V. Welk, May 2002
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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