Death, Unchartered: A Novel - Softcover

Van Soest, Dorothy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1627201971 ISBN 13: 9781627201971

Publisher: Apprentice House, 2018

Synopsis

When a child’s skeleton is discovered during the excavation of the site for a new charter school being built in the Bronx, former teacher Sylvia Jensen is certain of only two things. She is sure that the remains are those of eight-year-old Markus LeMeur, her third-grade student who disappeared in the violent and tumultuous fall of 1968. And she is sure that his death was no accident.

Determined to find out who killed Markus and why, Sylvia again joins forces with investigative reporter J. B. Harrell and together they delve into the strikes and political protests of the late 1960s and corporate greed of the present. As Sylvia fights to make peace with her own past, she realizes that she missed her chance to save Markus, and she becomes driven to find his killer, before he can kill again.

About this title

Review:

"As someone who taught in New York City during the epic 1968 teacher’s strike, reading Death, Unchartered sent me back in a time machine, not unlike the heroine, Sylvia Jensen, who returns to the Bronx to solve this crime and connect once again with the angels and demons of her past.”

— Alan Feldman, author, Immortality, winner of the Mass Book Award for Poetry, Massachusetts Center for the Book

 

“Embedded in this fast-paced murder mystery are serious themes, including political corruption, the harsh injustices of poverty and racism, and the misappropriation of millions of dollars intended for public education.”

— Hal Zina Bennett, bestselling author of Write From the Heart: Unleashing the Power of Your Creativity

 

"Most murder stories focus on investigative processes. The best provide a side dish of social inspection. But Death, Uncharteredtakes an additional leap into complexity by providing the subplot of an inner city teacher's efforts to help disadvantaged children at all costs—even possibly sacrificing her career to make a stand on their behalf—and this adds an extra dimension to the story of a child's death, creating a riveting production pairing a murder mystery with ethical and moral conundrums. . . . It's this broader perspective that makes Death, Uncharteredmore than just another murder 'whodunnit' but an unrelenting probe into the impact of greed and special interests on the educational system . . . a gripping read with a surprising outcome."

            — D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

 

"The second novel in . . . the Sylvia Jensen Mystery Series reunites the recently former social worker with Native American investigative reporter J.B. Harrell, setting them on a quest to uncover the truth about the disappearance of a young boy in the Bronx almost four decades ago. . . . Van Soest is a skilled writer, equally adept with dialogue and narrative. . . A solid, engaging mystery with a timely plot."

— Kirkus Review

 

"Death, Unchartered is a haunting read that will cause readers to sit up and take notice.  It is a powerful journey wrapped up in an intense mystery/thriller one won’t soon forget."

—Paige Lovitt, Reader Views

 

About the Author:

Novelist Dorothy Van Soest, professor emerita and retired dean at the University of Washington, holds a B.A. in English Literature and a Masters and Ph.D. in Social Work. Death, Unchartered, the second in her Sylvia Jensen mystery series, is grounded in her career as an educator that spanned the teaching of high school English, elementary and preschool, undergraduate and graduate courses at the university levels. www.dorothyvansoest.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Apprentice House
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1627201971
• ISBN 13: 9781627201971
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 254