Linda Hewitt

Works

The Mystery of the Missing Majorette: Art Dodger Case File #1

A missing teenager. A troubled cold-case sleuth. A twenty-year-old mystery never resolved.

Art Dodger, Savannah-based artist, isn't too impressed at first by the story of Danielle Standridge's disappearance twenty years before. He accepts that she's gone. That someone else caused her absence by no means strikes him as certain. Fifteen-year-old girls do all sorts of odd and unexplained things, then and now. Still, in Dodger's experience, which is considerable, when a girl as good-looking as Danielle manages to stay missing for decades, it usually doesn't bode well.

As he digs deeper into the past of the North Carolina mill town where Danielle lived, he knows something is definitely wrong. But does it have anything to do with why Danielle's still gone? The wealthy owner of the mill (and the town) thinks so - he's why Dodger is there to investigate. The girl's best friend from high school agrees, and even the sheriff, who briefly dated Danielle, thinks they're right. Just about everyone else, however, including her strangely indifferent family, seems to assume that the girl - smart, pretty, and clearly on her way to greener pastures probably sooner rather than later - simply walked away from a dying town and a personal situation worse than anyone suspected.

Did bright, beautiful Danielle leave of her own accord? Was she kidnapped and murdered? Dodger uncovers a lot of secrets beneath the sad surface of an old company town, itself in the process of disappearing.

Antiques Are Us Series

In "The Quilt Hater," first of the short stories, Jen and Jamie discover that a thing that seems too good to be true probably is. In "Tempest in a Teapot," the partners learn there's no pleasing everybody. In "Best When Ripe,' a detested former classmate insists they donate the most expensive item in the shop to a historical society of which she's the acquisitions officer. Along the way, happily married Jen - blonde, plump, and pretty - spends too much time trying to find the right man for divorced Jamie - auburn-haired, rangy, and distinctive.

The Day I Died

A work of historical fantasy in which a 21st-century slacker and a mid-20th-century overachiever join forces to help an 18th-century beauty learn the identity of her murderer.

The Japanese Tea Ceremony and the Shoguns

From meditation aid to political tool, the Japanese Tea Ceremony, or cha-no-yu, is an example of the Japanese ability to take a simple act and imbue it with significance and usefulness. This overview is a tribute to the cultural and political traditions that both encourage and are reinforced by cha-no-yu.

Georgia's Great Undertaking: The Beginnings of the Western & Atlantic Railroad

In early nineteenth-century America a fever of economic development arose that could be cured only by the proposal and construction of projects of internal improvement. New York had the Erie Canal, Baltimore the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, western Maryland the Cumberland Road, and Charleston the Charleston & Hamburg Railroad. Georgia, on the other hand, had an impressive river system, a handful of market roads, politicians more interested in defending the status quo than in advancing the interests of the state, and regional rivalries whose primary goal was to deprive other parts of the state of anything that could be construed as an advantage. By 1825, the only transportation projects funded by Georgia had to do with river clearance, maintenance of existing market roads and one minor canal near Savannah. The political and business leadership of the state was so cautious that in 1825 no sensible gambler would have wagered a penny that the state itself would ever do anything substantive to promote a statewide transportation network. Georgia’s Great Undertaking: The Beginnings of The Western & Atlantic Railroad summarizes what happened between 1825 and 1836 to give life to what became one of the most successful public transportation projects of the era. 71 pages. 8 maps drawn especially for this title.

Another Look at Chippendale and All the Rest

A description of how economics, architecture, politics, exploration, and other elements of 18th century English life influenced the design and making of the furniture that we today know as Queen Anne, Georgian, Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, etc. The title was featured in several book clubs, and is used in some college courses on culture.

Networking for the Career-Minded Student

Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged. A brief, but detailed, “how to” guide for high school and college students, aimed at improving their networking skills in an effective and ethical manner.