From Publishers Weekly
The deservedly large and devoted following of Saylor's outstanding Roma Sub Rosa historical mysteries is likely to be disappointed with his latest effort, a contemporary serial killer story. The conventional, paint-by-the-numbers plot has Rue Dunwitty, a colorless young dot-commer, returning to her sleepy hometown of Amethyst, Tex., to find that a pretty teenager is missing and presumed dead. Several encounters with the girl's fraternal twin brother prompt Rue to begin her own inquiries and lead to her discovery of a body on property abandoned long ago by her estranged father. Unfortunately, no corpse is in evidence when she returns with the sheriff. Amid her amateur sleuthing, Rue juggles two romantic interests: the local deputy, who had moved to the small town as a retreat from horrors he witnessed while serving as a police officer in Corpus Christi, and a co-worker from San Francisco, who happens to be near Amethyst at the time of her visit. Of Saylor's many strengths, only his gift for evoking a certain time and place is manifest. The lack of suspense, an interesting puzzle and any psychological depth is especially surprising given the author's previous consistent skill at crafting those elements. His Gordianus mysteries are filled with strong, interesting women, yet his modern heroine comes across as a clueless damsel in distress who only stumbles on the truth when it appears directly in her path. Saylor has been successful outside of ancient Rome before (A Twist at the End), but this outing won't broaden his horizons.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Saylor, acclaimed for his Roma Sub Rosa historical mysteries, which are set in the ancient Rome of Cicero and Caesar, launched a well-received ghost/sleuthing tale starring O'Henry last year, A Twist at the End. This time out, Saylor tries a contemporary suspense story set in a small Texas town. Saylor's new heroine, Rue (a good name for someone mired in the past) Dunwitty, leaves her analyst job for a dot-com survivor in San Francisco to go on her annual visit to tiny Amethyst, Texas, where her beloved wheelchair-bound grandmother awaits. After she arrives, Rue learns a local 17-year-old girl is missing and is shaken by the incursion of contemporary crime into the safe little backwater. She becomes even more shaken after discovering that two other teen girls have also disappeared in the past few months. Far too much attention is given to the kind of daily life trivia that is riveting in the Roma Sub Rosa books, but here slows everything down; the plot itself, however, is compelling. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Duty and love of her wheelchair-bound grandmother compel Rue Dunwitty to travel from her new home in San Francisco back to the quiet little Texas town where she was raised." "For Rue, arriving in Amethyst evokes the cozy comfort of returning to a safe haven where everyone knows her name and nothing ever seems to change. Then, in the window of the local grocery store, she sees a sign with a picture of a teenage girl and the question, "Have you seen Dawn?" Rue's bittersweet nostalgia is abruptly replaced by a growing sense of dread." "Dawn is the daughter of a single mother who recently moved to town. When Rue encounters Dawn's twin brother, she is disconcerted by his precocious, brooding intensity. Also unnerving is the change that seems to have come over Rue's old friends. Have they simply grown apart, or is there something more sinister at play?" "Then, late at night, Rue sees a strange light in the field outside her grandmother's house, moving across the abandoned farm that once had been home to her father, from whom she is now estranged." In short order, Rue finds herself confounded by a series of disturbing discoveries - about the husband of her best friend from high school days; about the intentions of the town's handsome deputy sheriff; about her father, who moved away from Amethyst years ago but may have secretly returned; about her brother, who lives in Austin, but who seems to have taken a leave from both his job and his marriage; and about her boyfriend from San Francisco, who suddenly shows up in town and who seems not to be a stranger there.

FROM THE CRITICS

The Denver Post

The author has used the tragically current theme to build a credible mystery with enough twists and turns to keep you satisfied and turning pages.— Sybil Downing

Publishers Weekly

The deservedly large and devoted following of Saylor's outstanding Roma Sub Rosa historical mysteries is likely to be disappointed with his latest effort, a contemporary serial killer story. The conventional, paint-by-the-numbers plot has Rue Dunwitty, a colorless young dot-commer, returning to her sleepy hometown of Amethyst, Tex., to find that a pretty teenager is missing and presumed dead. Several encounters with the girl's fraternal twin brother prompt Rue to begin her own inquiries and lead to her discovery of a body on property abandoned long ago by her estranged father. Unfortunately, no corpse is in evidence when she returns with the sheriff. Amid her amateur sleuthing, Rue juggles two romantic interests: the local deputy, who had moved to the small town as a retreat from horrors he witnessed while serving as a police officer in Corpus Christi, and a co-worker from San Francisco, who happens to be near Amethyst at the time of her visit. Of Saylor's many strengths, only his gift for evoking a certain time and place is manifest. The lack of suspense, an interesting puzzle and any psychological depth is especially surprising given the author's previous consistent skill at crafting those elements. His Gordianus mysteries are filled with strong, interesting women, yet his modern heroine comes across as a clueless damsel in distress who only stumbles on the truth when it appears directly in her path. Saylor has been successful outside of ancient Rome before (A Twist at the End), but this outing won't broaden his horizons. Agent, Alan Nevins/AMG Renaissance. (Feb. 24) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews