Disturbing the Dead

By Sandra Parshall

Tom Bridger, who is half Melungeon, thought he had escaped his mountain community’s lingering prejudice against the mixed-race group when he left to work for the Richmond, Virginia Police Department. Tom was moving up the detective ranks when a family tragedy brought him back home and moved him into his fathers job as a county sheriff’s deputy. Now the bones of a Melungeon woman who disappeared ten years ago have surfaced on a remote mountaintop, and all evidence points to murder. Violence escalates as the victim’s poor family and the wealthy white family she married into scramble to protect their secrets from Toms probing. But as he probes into his father’s investigation of the case, he finds his father was not the man he idolized. The woman Tom is falling in love with, veterinarian Rachel Goddard, is struggling to start over in a place that holds no memories for her. Rachel puts herself in danger when she befriends the dead Melungeon womans niece, Holly. As a child, the girl witnessed something that could implicate her aunt’s killer, but she is too terrified to tell anyone what she knows. While Rachel is determined to keep Holly safe and help her piece together past events, the guilty are equally determined to silence the girl—and Rachel too, if necessary. Will this murder be Tom’s and Rachel’s undoing or will it free them to look into the future?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Release date: May 27, 2010
• ISBN: 9781615951505

Sandra Parshall

Sandra Parshall grew up in South Carolina and has worked as a reporter on newspapers in South Carolina, West Virginia, and Baltimore. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, a long-time Washington journalist, and three cats.

Reviews for Disturbing the Dead

[auntieknickers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After enjoying Sandra Parshall's BROKEN PLACES earlier in the year, I realized I'd skipped the second book in her series.
DISTURBING THE DEAD finds veterinarian Rachel Goddard rebuilding her
life in a small town in southern Virginia, having left a lot of trauma
behind along with an overly-controlling boyfriend. Sheriff's deputy
Tom Bridger is also dealing with a tragic past, and he's beginning to
fall in love with Rachel. The discovery of a long-buried body on a
local mountain begins to solve the mystery that plagued Bridger's late
father, but still more mystery is to come. This is a richly-textured
story with great characters and a realistic setting (I come from
Northeast Appalachia, myself, so I should know!) I also liked the
Melungeon aspect -- don't think I've read much about them since Manly
Wade Wellman's books. I'll be eagerly awaiting the continuation of
this series or whatever else Sandra Parshall wants to write.

[debbieaheaton · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In Parshall’s mystery novel, Dr. Rachel Goddard is all too familiar with the desire to start over. She hires Holly Turner to work at her new Appalachian veterinary clinic and hopes that each of them will be able to have a fresh start. One day the skeleton of Holly’s wealthy Aunt Pauline is found along with another unidentified body. Holly’s family is abusive and manipulative and they try everything to encourage her to return home. As the crime is investigated, numerous suspects are identified all with excellent reasons to want the old woman dead. Rachel suspects Holly is hiding something but with years of abuse build up, both their lives will be put in danger as the necessary time unfolds all the past horror. Time is of the essence as a ruthless killer moves closer with murder on his mind.A fast-paced addition to the A Rachel Goddard Mystery series.