Stranger Room

Frederick Ramsay
Poisoned Pen Press (2008)
ISBN 9781590585351
Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (4/08)


Just when you think you have seen it all in mystery topics, one comes along that has a totally new twist.   The “Stranger Room” is that mystery.  It is murder, intrigue, southern genteel and bigotry at its best.  Once I picked up the book to read, I had a hard time putting it down.  It is the fourth book by the talented author and after reading this story, I would be very interested in reading his other books.  
 
The first question that comes to mind when you see the title and the description of the book is, what is a stranger room?   A stranger room is a guest room used centuries ago that is not connected to the house.  They were built to keep out unsavory guests.  The stranger room in this book was not attached to the house and had no windows.  The only access was through one door.   
 
The story starts 150-years ago when a guest staying in the Lydell family stranger room is murdered with the door closed and locked on the inside.  The mystery was never solved and fell into the background of the Civil War.  The town is completely mystified 150-years later when another guest is murdered in the same stranger room with the door locked from the inside.  As Sheriff Ike Schwartz and FBI agent Karl Hedrick work to solve the mystery they encounter obstacles, more mysteries and death.  The completely arrogant elderly Jonathon Lydell III lives for his family history and connections and provides obstacles at every turn.  He is related to the Virginia Lees (both Light Horse Harry and Robert E. Lee) and does not let anyone forget it.  
 
Sheriff Ike Schwartz is Jewish and FBI agent Karl Hedrick is African American.  They are very frustrated throughout the story as they continually run into racist and prejudice behavior.  The “Stranger Room” also has a cast of secondary characters that make the story very interesting.  These well-developed characters include Ike s girlfriend, Callend College’s President, Ruth, Karl’s Deputy Girlfriend, Sam, police dispatcher Essie Falco who physically reminds everyone of Dolly Parton and the whole Sunderlin clan.  The LeBrun clan in the story is part of a nasty set of characters that give the town of Picketsville a run for its money.       

I found this well-written book to be a fast-paced mystery with surprising twists and turns.  It completely held my attention and kept me on my toes right to the end.  I would highly recommend “Stranger Room” to mystery lovers.

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