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BURIED STUFF finds packrat Jane Wheel taking a very big step in her life; she's having a garage sale. For most people, that wouldn't be a big deal, but for someone who is enamored with the romance of objects -- their history, their owners, the possible connections to everyday life, it's traumatic. She knows logically that she must part with some of these precious treasures which are taking over her house. Nevertheless when her parents call asking for help with a family friend, Jane seizes the excuse to stop the garage sale and run back to her home town. The emergency is at first questionable; the friend has found bones on his property and now has officials and archaeologists roaming all around his farm. When someone turns up dead, however, it's another matter. BURIED STUFF has all of the obligatory elements of the standard cozy. The setting is a small town on its last economic legs. Rather than give up after it's deemed the worst place in America to live, the townspeople have rallied and plan to hold the world's biggest garage sale, which gives Jane, a self-appointed private detective, the chance to poke around in multiple basements and attics and to ask questions of everyone who could possibly be connected to the dead man. The novel is filled with eccentric characters. Jane's mother, in particular, is a colorful figure. The nostalgia is relentless though and grows wearisome very quickly. There are two kinds of people in this world: those who save everything and those who don't. Jane Wheel falls into the former category. I feel I should state that I don't. It took me a long time to get through BURIED STUFF. It's part of a series and I haven't read any of the previous works; Fiffer doesn't make it easy for new readers to get caught up with the characters, particularly Jane. We are no doubt meant to find Jane's compulsive attachment to ephemera endearing. It's not a hard concept to grasp; there is history attached to every object and many people do collect or hold onto items for sentimental reasons. However, when the protagonist thinks she is the only person capable of appreciating that history, it's not so much charming as it is disturbing. While the elements of the book may appear appealing on the surface, the mystery itself seems more of an afterthought. BURIED STUFF is a light, slight, and not especially gripping read. For cozy addicts only.
Reviewed by Michelle L. Zafron, February 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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