Murder on the Prairie
A North Florida Mystery
By M.D. Abrams
Murder on the Prairie A North Florida Mystery is the first in a North Florida mystery series. In this book, the threat of development on North Florida's historic and ecologically unique Paynes Prairie ignites passions, scandal, and murder. The story tells of a struggle to protect this vast marshland, Paynes Prairie, on which much of North Florida's early history took place, and which was first described with awe in 1774 by the naturalist William Bartram.
The story begins when actress/environmentalist Lorelei Woodington Crane, while preparing to star in a production of Anton Chekhov's play, The Cherry Orchard, finds herself thrust into the center of a dangerous fight to save Paynes Prairie from development. It is a struggle which ultimately leads to murder. Upon news of a large housing development to be situated on the rim of Paynes Prairie, the president of the Sierra Club dies, the Sierra Club offices are ransacked, and Lorelei's activist ex-husband is shot. Lorelei and her colleagues, at the Center for Earth Options (CEO), join with the Sierra Club to form a large coalition of groups to fight the development.
During the course of the story, Lorelei prepares for her role, as the caretaker step-daughter, in The Cherry Orchard. She becomes aware of parallels in the The Cherry Orchard's 19th themes and those in her current situation. At the novel's conclusion, The Cherry Orchard opens onstage and Lorelei's fears fail to materialize.
Mystery readers will particularly enjoy the diverse characters, and the setting of this novel, in North Florida, on the historic Paynes Prairie. The story addresses concerns about land use issues, the significance of a unique North Florida setting, Paynes Prairie State Park Preserve, and the environs of Gainesville and the University of Florida ("Go Gators!"). Those involved in environmental issues will identify with the coalition led by CEO, the Sierra Club and other groups. Theater goers will also take pleasure in the behind the scenes look as the leading character moves between her roles as lead actress in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and that of amateur sleuth in a real life drama. The Cherry Orchard symbolizes Lorelei's real life struggle as life mirrors art.
10% of the author's profits will be donated to the Sierra Club foundation for use, by the local Sierra Club chapter, in preserving Paynes Prairie and other wild places in North Florida.
M.D.Abrams is a long-time environmental activist and former educator. Her one-act play, The Cellphone, was awarded by the Mt. Dora Music and Literature Festival, and selected in a competition, and produced by the Hippodrome State Theatre in Gainesville, Florida where Dr. Abrams lives.
Read the first chapter of Murder on the Prairie by choosing the "Chapter One" link from the menu.
Available NOW at BookLocker Online Publisher, your independent book seller or major online book stores. Independent book sellers in Gainesville, Florida include Wild Iris Books (352- 375-7477) and Goerings (352- 378-0363).
