Guns and Roses: A Modern Mystery Set in Colonial Willamsburg

Perseverance Press, 2000. As New. Cannon, author of five novels (including three mysteries in the Nan Robinso n series: Class Reunions Are Murder, etc.), kicks off a new series with a c lever cozy that will appeal to every crime fan who's an armchair traveler. Following the death of her partner at an Austin, Tex., crime scene, former policewoman Roxanne Prescott attempts to start a new career as a guide for her aunt's upscale tour business, the Irish Eyes Travel Agency. Leading a g roup of well-to-do folk on a tour of Virginia's historic sites--the Guns an d Roses tour, as Roxanne likes to think of it--proves to be no picnic. As t he group moves from Mount Vernon south to Fredericksburg, Monticello and Co lonial Williamsburg, what at first seem accidents escalate into practical j okes, malicious pranks, possible kidnapping and death. Unprepared for such trouble, Roxanne has her hands full, trying to pacify angry sightseers, pre vent further accidents and discover who is seeking to jeopardize the tour a nd her aunt's business. Cannon deftly reveals character in a series of open ing vignettes; every group member, not least Roxanne herself, is a distinct , credible individual. The author also shows a sure touch in evoking settin gs, in particular the restored Colonial Williamsburg. After a satisfying re solution, enough questions remain open to justify a sequel. Cannon's reader s should look forward to that.