by Livia J Washburn is pleasant whodunit that delivers on half the promise of Delilah Dickinson's Literary Travel Agency. It delivers a breezy, though possibly over-commercial, visit to Hannibal, MO - a current tourist destination for fans of Mark Twain and recreated kitsch. The product placements for museums and theaters are reinforced by an appendix swooning over these tourist fabrications along with their web addresses. I may be wrong, but I feel like these recreations (historical zombies) sponsored the novel.As for the literary angle - my primary interest - the information about Mark Twain is limited to a few quotations, mostly already popularized to the level of cliches. It seems more is said about the Mark Twain impersonation business than the author himself.
A quick summer read for the omnivorous and indiscriminate reader of light-weight mysteries.
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