Four Thousand Days by M.J. Trow: A review

Historical mystery fiction featuring a female archaeologist around 1900 was a premise that intrigued me. Shades of Amelia Peabody from all those mysteries by Elizabeth Peters. In fact, Amelia and Margaret Murray would probably have been good friends. Both had a keen interest in solving modern-day mysteries as well as ancient ones. And if a murder were involved, so much the better.

Four Thousand Days introduces us to archaeologist Margaret Murray in the first book of what is planned to be a series. She is a lecturer at University College, London, and when the naked dead body of one of her students is discovered spreadeagled on the bed in her rented room soon after attending one of Dr. Murray's lectures, the teacher takes it personally. The police are convinced that it was suicide. Dr. Murray isn't so sure of that.

Although Murray's expertise is in investigating long-dead bodies, she is not averse to scrutinizing the circumstances of the death of this newly dead corpse. In probing the life and death of Helen Richardson, she soon learns that the woman had been privy to a number of secrets. Among them was information about a remarkable archaeological find.

In trying to get to the bottom of the facts about the woman's death, Murray has a partner in a young police constable named Adam Crawford, who is also one of her students. He, too, is convinced that Helen's death was not suicide, contrary to the official finding. They are ably assisted by a retired detective inspector, Edmund Reid, who is intrigued by the puzzle of the woman's death. When the body of a second woman is found on a windswept Kent beach and this one clearly murdered, it becomes even more urgent to discover what is behind the deaths and if others are in danger.

The character of Margaret Murray is loosely based on a real person who was a pioneer in the "man's world" of academia in the early 1900s. In the world of fictional characters, she has antecedents not only in Amelia Peabody but also in Miss Marples, to name only two. She is intelligent and curious and not at all daunted by being the lone woman in a man's world. She is a compelling character and I'll be interested to see where her creator takes her in future books.

This first entry in the series was a bit uneven and the conclusion was perhaps too convenient, but overall, it was a diverting read. There is certainly much there to build on in the future and one would hope that the characters Adam Crawford and Edmund Reid will continue to be a part of that future.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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