Coal Bones

Rating:
Summary: Great mystery in the coal mines
Review: Again, Ms. Cercone writes a captivating tale of murder and intrigue in the Pennsylvania coal mines. I had a hard time putting down the book once the action begins. True it's a grim book and some may be put off by the darkness of the times. But it's a pleasure to see Milo and Helen care for each other, even though sometimes you have to read between the lines. It would be nice to see their relationship develop more, it conter-acts the grimmness. Read the entire series, it's worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Back on top
Review: Another wonderful book by Cercone. Although the relationship of Helen and Milo has taken a decided turn the mystery takes center stage.

I can't wait for another chapter in this 'love' story and only hope that more are to come!

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Series So Far
Review: In this third installment of Cercone's series set in 1905 Pittsburgh, and featuring Miles Kachigan, one of Pittsburgh's only honest cops, and Helen Sorby, a Settlement House worker. In this outing, we are taken to the coal mines where strikesare being called to try to improve working conditions. When a body is found deep in a mine shaft of an already-closed mine, County Detective Milo Kachigan is called to investigate the murder. The body, wedged behind some mine machinery, has a stiletto in its back indicating that the murder may have been committed by the Black Hand gang. However, Milo knows that it doesn't make sense that the Black Hand would murder someone in the mine. It is not their modus operandi. As he digs deeper, Kachigan discovers that there may have been blackmail, extortion, and all kinds of nefarious deeds going on. In the meantime, Helen Sorby has been asked to locate the daughter of a coal baron who disappeared at the same time valuable securities were stolen from her father. Is there a connection between Kachigan's case and the missing heiress? Sorby and Kachigan decide to combine forces to solve both mysteries.

Cercone's debut, Steel Ashes, was a wonderful addition to the historical mystery genre. However, she stumbled a bit with the second book, Blood Tracks. But she is right back on track with this outing. Her writing is such that, as the characters descend into the mines, you can almost feel the weight of the earth closing in on you and feel the choking coal dust permeating your clothing and seeping into your lungs. In a neat role reversal, Kachigan wants to marry Sorby, but Sorby (who has been married before) refuses, but wants to sleep with Kachigan who is offended by the offer and refuses. There is more humor, albeit subtle, in this book as well. This is a real page turner and the reader will be hard pressed to set the book aside. Cercone deserves a large following for this series.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Series So Far
Review: In this third installment of Cercone's series set in 1905 Pittsburgh, and featuring Miles Kachigan, one of Pittsburgh's only honest cops, and Helen Sorby, a Settlement House worker. In this outing, we are taken to the coal mines where strikesare being called to try to improve working conditions. When a body is found deep in a mine shaft of an already-closed mine, County Detective Milo Kachigan is called to investigate the murder. The body, wedged behind some mine machinery, has a stiletto in its back indicating that the murder may have been committed by the Black Hand gang. However, Milo knows that it doesn't make sense that the Black Hand would murder someone in the mine. It is not their modus operandi. As he digs deeper, Kachigan discovers that there may have been blackmail, extortion, and all kinds of nefarious deeds going on. In the meantime, Helen Sorby has been asked to locate the daughter of a coal baron who disappeared at the same time valuable securities were stolen from her father. Is there a connection between Kachigan's case and the missing heiress? Sorby and Kachigan decide to combine forces to solve both mysteries.

Cercone's debut, Steel Ashes, was a wonderful addition to the historical mystery genre. However, she stumbled a bit with the second book, Blood Tracks. But she is right back on track with this outing. Her writing is such that, as the characters descend into the mines, you can almost feel the weight of the earth closing in on you and feel the choking coal dust permeating your clothing and seeping into your lungs. In a neat role reversal, Kachigan wants to marry Sorby, but Sorby (who has been married before) refuses, but wants to sleep with Kachigan who is offended by the offer and refuses. There is more humor, albeit subtle, in this book as well. This is a real page turner and the reader will be hard pressed to set the book aside. Cercone deserves a large following for this series.

Rating:
Summary: Back on top
Review: The author has successfully recreated the appalling and tumultuous circumstances which existed in the coal fields of western Pennsylvania during the coal mine strikes in the early part of this century.

Mile Kachigan is a county detective attempting to keep order in the unrest created by the political corruption of the coal companies and the violence of the strike. His very reluctant fiancée is the independent Helen Sorbe, a newspaper reporter by profession and a dedicated socialist and suffragette. At the center of this controversy is the discovery of a body in the coal mine. When no one recognizes the body, a male, Kachigan must determine who the victim is and why he was murdered. Sometimes alone, sometimes a team, the two battle the morally bankrupt world around them.

The problem with Coal Bones is that there is a great deal of action and perhaps because of it, the main characters and their relationships to each other seem weakly developed and got lost in the story.