A Murder In Passing: A Sam Blackman Mystery

By Mark de Castrique

The Blackman & Robertson Detective Agency faces a disturbing reality: no clients. So when Nakayla Robertson suggests a mushroom hunt at the historic, freed-slave commune The Kingdom of the Happy Land, Sam Blackman reluctantly agrees. Hunting the elusive edible, he stumbles into a rotting log...with a skeleton hidden inside. As intrigued as Sam is, this isn’t his case. So the local authorities tell him to butt out.
Then Marsha Montgomery comes to Asheville asking Sam and Nakayla to investigate a 45-year-old burglary at her mother’s home. Someone stole a rifle and a photograph of Marsha’s mother, grandmother, and great grandmother taken in 1932 by renowned photographer Doris Ulmann. The site of the photograph is The Kingdom of the Happy Land. Marsha’s visit is no coincidence. Sam’s being played. But why?
When Marsha’s 85-year-old mother Lucille is arrested for murder, Sam knows there is something amiss. Is the skeleton that of Jimmy Lang, Lucille’s lover and Martha’s father, a white man who disappeared in 1967? It appears that Jimmy had been willing to walk away from a budding family empire to marry Lucille. So why had Lucille, who is black, refused to marry him? Did others stand to benefit from Jimmy’s disappearance? A veil of betrayal and deceit hides a killer desperate to protect a dark secret, and no one, not even Sam, is safe from the deadly consequences of a murder in passing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Release date: Jul 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781615954605

Mark de Castrique

Mark de Castrique grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina where many of his novels are set. He's a veteran of the television and film production industry, has served as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte teaching The American Mystery, and he's a frequent speaker and workshop leader. He and his wife, Linda, live in Charlotte, North Carolina. www.markdecastrique.com

Reviews for A Murder In Passing

[cathyskye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First Line: "So, where are we going?"It's a legitimate question. The Blackman and Robertson Detective Agency of Asheville, North Carolina has no clients, and the inactivity is driving Sam Blackman nuts. So crazy that he grudgingly agrees to join his business partner and lover Nakayla Robertson on a mushroom hunt on the historic site of The Kingdom of the Happy Land, a freed-slave commune. His search for fungi leads to the discovery of a body, but since The Kingdom of the Happy Land straddles the North Carolina - South Carolina border, the case isn't his and law enforcement tells him in no uncertain terms to keep his hands off.When Marsha Montgomery comes to Blackman and Robertson wanting the firm's expertise in solving the theft of a rifle and photograph from her mother's house in 1967, Sam smells a set-up. The photo was taken by a renowned photographer in 1932 and shows Marsha's mother, grandmother and great-grandmother on the site of The Kingdom of the Happy Land. Soon thereafter Marsha's 85-year-old grandmother is charged with murder, and Sam has business for his detective agency.In this fourth outing of Iraqi war veteran Sam Blackman and his partner Nakayla Robertson, Mark de Castrique has done another exemplary job in wrapping a bit of North Carolina history inside an intriguing mystery. The history in this case involves the end of the Civil War and a group of freed slaves looking for a new home. In South Carolina this group was told by other former slaves of a place where mountains stretched for mile after uninhabited mile, a place where freed slaves might be able to find a small piece of land for a home. The group traveled there, and The Kingdom of the Happy Land was born. This bittersweet taste of history blends nicely into a tale of secrets and murder. The author's characters blend quite nicely into the tale as well. De Castrique's characters are always a strong point in any book he writes (along with a delicious sense of humor that rears its head from time to time). Having lost a leg in Iraq, Sam makes a point of visiting the local veterans' hospital to spend time with patients and to drop off needed items. In A Murder in Passing, he befriends a particularly troubled vet and becomes his mentor, laying the groundwork for a job and housing and getting the young man on the road to a happier life-- and into the mystery. In reading this book, it's not that difficult to see who must be responsible all those years ago of murdering the man whose remains Blackman found. The problem lies in how it all was accomplished, and de Castrique deals with it in his usual skillful manner. Intriguing plot, characters that draw you right into the story and make you care about them, good pacing... all this combined with humor and subtlety. It probably has as much to do with my upbringing as it does de Castrique's subtlety, but I didn't realize the title of the book had more than one meaning until I'd almost finished it. I look forward to the day when all people can read the title of A Murder in Passing and not see its quiet subtext.

[lucybrown_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Oh, for a half star. Mark de Castrique's mysteries are fun to read because they are set in my own backyard. It is as tiny thrill to see your favorite restaurant or hangout pop up here and there as the tale unfolds. This is probably not much of a novelty for those who live in a place like NYC, but lil' old Hendersonville it is a gas. In this case the killing field is a wooded grove in The Kingdom of the Happy Land. A commune founded by freed slaves which straddles North and South Carolina, The Kingdom was largely abandoned by the early 20th century. While mushroom hunting in the Kingdom, Sam stumbles on the skeleton of a murdered man. Thus the mystery begins.

The author knows how to develop a tidy plot. His principal characters are well-wrought. His use of dialogue to develop plot and character is nicely handled. I like that he sticks to the main story. It seems so many current mysteries diverge into romantic subplots or other such nonsense. This is some times annoying. Sam Blackman and his partner Naklaya are romantically involved, but this never takes over the story.

So why not a four? I rarely give fives. There are some aspects if the book which I find heavy handed. De Castrique at times will wax platitudinous. Veterans and race are mostly likely to bring out the solemn bowed head tone. Then there is the mystery itself. DeCastrique's red herrings never really qualify. This seems to be a pretty common problem with his book. Usually there is only one plausible suspect. Others are thrown in rather half heartedly.

A Murder in Passing offers an intriguing set up. Add to this Mark's intelligence and wit, and you have a pleasant mystery outing.

[thornton37814 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sam and Nakayla are mushroom hunting on the site of the former Kingdom of the Happy Land along the North Carolina/South Carolina border when Sam comes across a body in a log. While the body is across the South Carolina line, the decision to jointly investigate is made by authorities because the easiest access is from the North Carolina side and because it was possible that the victim, murderer, or both could be from North Carolina. When an elderly black woman with a secret to hide is jailed for the murder, Sam and Nakayla are convinced of her innocence. Who could the murderer be? Is s/he still alive? A great read in what is quickly becoming one of my favorite series. The "Kingdom" is a fascinating setting that isn't that far from me about which I was unaware. It's private property as is explained both in the fictional setting and acknowledgements of the book. According to a web site, it is currently for sale. I truly hope that someone with an eye to its role in history will purchase it with an eye to making its significance more widely known. This review is based on an uncorrected e-galley proof received by the publisher through NetGalley.