I have been hooked by this mystery series and am somewhat saddened that there is only one book left in the series that I haven't written. There is a nice discussion of race and crime, especially racism in the south before civil rights. I would say that this is a must read book. ( )

Old Murders is third in a series of novels about the adventures of Elizabeth “Lizzie” Stuart, college professor and amateur detective. This novel finds her in Gallagher, Virginia, on a temporary teaching assignment at Piedmont State University, where her romantic interest John Quinn works. A local woman ominously disappears. Lizzie is peripherally drawn into the argument of a prominent local family when one of them offers to create an institute for the college with Lizzie as its head. An eager student involves Lizzie in researching a fifty-year old murder that might have current ramifications.

Lizzie is an interesting character because she straddles so many fences in her life. She was raised by her loving and beloved grandparents, who none-the-less hurt her deeply by refusing to tell her anything about her parents: their estranged daughter and an unknown man. A highly educated modern woman, Lizzie is still haunted by her grandmother's elaborate system of superstitions. A Black woman, she is in love with a white policeman. A career woman, she is torn between her own opportunities and the possibility of moving or losing Quinn as he pursues his own. I find Lizzie a very endearing character that I can really empathize with, and I hope that the series continues for a long while. ( )