See Also Proof: A Marjorie Trumaine Mystery by Larry D. Sweazy

Reviewed by Jeanne

Winters are always harsh in Dickinson, North Dakota, but this year of 1965 seems especially bad.  Marjorie Trumaine’s husband, Hank, succumbed to his injuries earlier in the year and now Marjorie is struggling to come to terms with her new status as a widow.  Living on a farm in a rural area where the closest neighbors are miles away adds to the difficulty, but Marjorie has her job as an indexer to help pay the bills—the many, many bills.  She’s not quite ready to deal with a lot of people yet, but agreed to have the Ladies Aid come by once a week, bringing food and checking on her. She knows they’ll disapprove of Shep the dog being inside the house but she doesn’t care.  He’s company.

This time the ladies also bring worrisome news.  A neighbor’s disabled fourteen year old daughter Tina has disappeared, and so far search parties have turned up nothing.  Marjorie is deeply troubled, knowing that the girl likely won’t survive long if she’s out in the cold. She bakes pies to take to the family, and insists on going with the sheriff to look for Tina. If there’s going to be bad news, Marjorie feels she would be the better choice to tell a grieving mother.

Instead, they find the body of a murdered man: a good man they’ve known for years.  But why was he here and who would have wanted to kill him?

Marjorie is one of my favorite characters.  I love her measured approach, careful planning, and how she conducts her life in addition to solving murders.  This one was a real stunner in several respects.  Her process as an indexer is fascinating and gives insight into her personality as well as the mystery.  (Full disclosure: when a new non- fiction book comes in, one of the first things I do is check for an index.  I am most disappointed if there isn’t one and the book drops a bit in my estimation.)

Sweazy is also adept at giving the reader a strong sense of place.  The flat fields in winter, the snow and ice, and bitter cold were well conveyed—so much so that for a moment I forgot that it’s actually summer and sweltering here in 2026.

Another very appealing aspect of the book is the era.  It brings back childhood memories, even if the geographic setting is very different.  There are rotary phones and pay phones, people smoke cigarettes, weather comes over the radio, and an animal in the house is shocking.  And there are telephone party lines, which were a great source of entertainment for my grandmother who loved to listen in on other people’s conversations. There’s not a computer or smart phone in sight, and not many television sets. There’s a sense of isolation, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

As a part of this era, Sweazy uses some terms not usually heard these days as he explains in an author’s note.  I appreciated that, as sometimes historical novels will use current language which jars me right out of the story. 

The only sad part is that there are just three entries in this series.  It’s one of the rare series I think I am going to re-read because these books are just that good.