Taylor, Sarah Stewart 1971-

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TAYLOR, Sarah Stewart 1971-

PERSONAL:

Female. Born 1971, in Huntington, NY; married. Education: Middlebury College; Trinity College, Dublin, M.Phil. Hobbies and other interests: Preservation of old cemeteries.

ADDRESSES:

Home—VT. Agent—c/o St. Martin's Press, Attn: Publicity Department, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. E-mail—SweeneyStGeorge@aol.com.

CAREER:

Journalist and author. Worked at various jobs, including reporter and editor, nanny, professional dog walker, literary agent assistant, teacher in a prison, and community college professor.

MEMBER:

Association for Gravestone Studies.

WRITINGS:

MYSTERY NOVELS; "SWEENEY ST. GEORGE" SERIES

O' Artful Death, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2003.

Mansions of the Dead, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Boston Globe.

SIDELIGHTS:

Sarah Stewart Taylor is a journalist, fiction writer, and teacher. Taylor's interest in the preservation of old cemeteries served as the inspiration for her mystery series featuring Sweeney St. George, an art historian who specializes in funerary art. "I've always been fascinated by the ways in which human beings express grief and bereavement," Taylor commented on her Web page. She also noted, "I saw the 'Art of Death' exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1992 and I remember thinking that an amateur detective who studied mourning ritual and art would make a great subject for a mystery series. Years later, I came up with Sweeney."

In O' Artful Death, Sweeney accidentally becomes a sleuth when she goes to investigate a headstone. Her expertise soon leads her to a centuries-old murder that took place in a small artist colony, a fictionalized version of the famous Cornish Colony in New Hampshire. "My great grandmother, a concert pianist, was a member of the Cornish Colony," Taylor told Alex Beam of the Boston Globe. Sweeney spends Christmas at the fictional colony, where she discovers the origin of a distinctive monument in the local cemetery. It turns out that the monument is dedicated to the memory of the deceased Mary Elizabeth Denholm, who was murdered. A more recent murder of a Denholm descendent thickens the plot, and the gravestones play a central role in revealing past secrets while Sweeney hunts for the killer.

A Publishers Weekly contributor called O' Artful Death a "flawed" debut but noted that Taylor "does use her expert knowledge of 19th-century artwork and New England to good effect." While Marilyn Stasio of the New York Times also found flaws in the book, she concluded that "for a first-time novelist, Taylor does a lovely job of setting an atmospheric scene and luring us inside." Writing in Booklist, GraceAnne A. DeCandido called the book "an elegantly wrought first mystery with layers like carved ivory balls." Library Journal contributor Rex Klett praised the book's "nicely puzzled plot … remarkable characterizations, and eminently readable prose."

In Taylor's second novel, Mansions of the Dead, police turn to Sweeney when a strange collection of mourning jewelry is found adorning the body of Brad Putnam, member of a prominent Boston family and a student of Sweeney's. Teaming up with homicide detective Tim Quinn, Sweeney becomes caught up in the search for Putnam's killer and learns of his complicated family life, including the earlier death of a brother in a suspicious car accident. DeCandido, again writing in Booklist, called the Sweeney character "a vibrant and deeply attractive heroine." DeCandido also noted that Mansions of the Dead is "an intelligent tale, leaving readers begging to know more."

Taylor announced on her Web page that she has plans to continue the "Sweeney" series. She also mentioned some areas of character development as the series progresses, including a romantic relationship and rekindling of family connections. Taylor stated, "She'll also confront the truth that while her growing interest in solving crimes frequently intersects with her research interests, it doesn't always mesh well with her academic career. She'll have to handle conflict on that front and start thinking about what she wants for herself, in life and love."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2003, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of O' Artful Death, p. 1555; May 1, 2004, DeCandido, review of Mansions of the Dead, p. 1524.

Boston Globe, June 19, 2003, Alex Beam, review of O' Artful Death, p. D1.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2003, review of O' Artful Death, p. 511.

Library Journal, May 1, 2003, Rex Klett, review of O' Artful Death, p. 158.

New York Times Book Review, July 20, 2003, Marilyn Stasio, review of O' Artful Death, p. 15.

Publishers Weekly, May 19, 2003, review of O' Artful Death, p. 56.