From Publishers Weekly
In Andrews's ninth intriguing mystery to feature forensic geologist Em Hansen (after 2003's Killer Dust), Em explores a whole new aspect of her discipline after reluctantly agreeing to try to authenticate a Frederick Remington painting through pigment analysis for a client she dislikes. As she travels through such vividly depicted locales as Cody, Wyo., and the Amish and Mennonite areas of Pennsylvania, Em gathers a history of pigment as well as information to fuel her growing suspicion that something is terribly wrong. She encounters the seedier side of the art world, a renowned Pennsylvania family's horrific secrets and murder. Thanks to clear logical thinking, Em ultimately reaches all the right conclusions. If there's a fault line beneath the surface, it lies in the surfeit of technical terminology, though more scientifically inclined readers may consider this a virtue. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
With a fascinating blend of art and science, geologist Em Hansen solves her ninth case. Em is attending graduate school to become a forensic geologist while helping her best friend, single-mom Faye Carter Latimer, take care of her infant daughter. Faye finds Em a job analyzing paint pigments to discover if a painting by western artist Frederic Remington is a forgery. When the client promises she may analyze other rare paintings his family owns for her master's thesis, Em heads east to talk with experts in the field and to see the other paintings, combining her investigative work with research for her thesis. The story becomes more complex when Em realizes that someone is slowly poisoning her client's family. An appealing main character and a wealth of fascinating details involving land preservation, forensic geology, western art, and the science of paint pigment add depth to the latest entry in a solid series. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"[Em Hansen is] a clear-thinking, straight-talking heroine whose unabashed naivete is endearing." --The New York Times Book Review
"Ably combining science and suspense, Andews once again entertains and educates." -Publishers Weekly on Killer Dust
"Compulsively readable." -Houston Chronicle on Fault Line
"Complicated and absorbing." -Booklist on An Eye For Gold
"Andrews...has become a leading light. The fifth entry in her series rivets both as a crime story and as a discussion of the relationship between science and religion... Her novel is a suspenseful mystery spiked with dinosaurs, science and religion: what more could readers ask for?" - Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Bone Hunter
Book Description
Unemployed professional geologist and sometime FBI consultant, Em Hansen desperately needs work. So when her best friend Faye tells her that she knows someone who could use Em's expertise as a geologist to authenticate a painting, she jumps at the prospect. The painting is by the famous painter of the American West, Frederic Remington, and Em's client has had it in his family for years. But he believes it's a fake and wants Em to use her forensic skills to analyze the pigments to prove it. Since pigments are just ground-up minerals, it's a perfect task for a geologist like Em.
Although Em doesn't quite trust Faye's friend, she sets aside her doubts and takes the case. Following the painting's trail takes her from Wyoming to Utah to Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, and then it takes an unexpected sinister twist, putting Em on the trail of a murderer too. Suddenly she's the only one who can find out what's going on in time to save several lives, including her own.
From the Back Cover
Paint By Murder
Unemployed professional geologist and sometime FBI consultant, Em Hansen desperately needs work. So when her best friend Faye tells her that she knows someone who could use Em's expertise as a geologist to authenticate a painting, she jumps at the prospect. The painting is by the famous painter of the American West, Frederic Remington, and Em's client has had it in his family for years. But he believes it's a fake and wants Em to use her forensic skills to analyze the pigments to prove it. Since pigments are just ground-up minerals, it's a perfect task for a geologist like Em.
Although Em doesn't quite trust Faye's friend, she sets aside her doubts and takes the case. Following the painting's trail takes her from Wyoming to Utah to Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, and then it takes an unexpected sinister twist, putting Em on the trail of a murderer too. Suddenly she's the only one who can find out what's going on in time to save several lives, including her own.
"Intriguing."--Publishers Weekly
"Compulsively readable." -Houston Chronicle on Fault Line
About the Author
Sarah Andrews, a professional geologist and licensed pilot, is the recipient of four awards for her writing, including the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' Journalism Award and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers' James Shea Award. When not writing or teaching at Sonoma State University, she likes to draw with pastels plein air in Northern California's wine country, where she lives with her husband and son. Together they enjoy blue-water sailing, skiing, and exploring the West in their 1965 Beechcraft Baron.
Earth Colors (The Em Hansen Mystery Series, #7) FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Em Hansen, unemployed professional geologist, sometime FBI consultant, and part-time master's student, has fallen into a rut. Sure, she's helping her best friend, Faye Carter, cope with a new baby and the death of her FBI agent husband - something Em feels partially responsible for, as Tom was her mentor at the Bureau. However, deep down Em knows she's really just marking time until she gets motivated to do what she needs to - finish her master's, look for a job, put Tom's death behind her, and get on with her life." "Em is finally forced out of her lethargy by an unusual case: A friend of Faye's is looking for someone to authenticate a painting, a nocturne by the famous painter of the American West, Frederic Remington, that has been in his family for years. He believes it is a fake, and wants her to use her forensic expertise to analyze the pigments to prove it. What are pigments, in fact, but ground-up minerals, and so it's a perfect task for a geologist. Although Em doesn't quite trust Faye's friend, she sets aside her reluctance and takes the case." The project takes her from Wyoming and Utah to Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Before long, her innocent research project has taken a sinister twist, and Em finds she's also chasing a murderer. Suddenly it's up to Em to find out what's going on in time to save her own skin.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
In Andrews's ninth intriguing mystery to feature forensic geologist Em Hansen (after 2003's Killer Dust), Em explores a whole new aspect of her discipline after reluctantly agreeing to try to authenticate a Frederick Remington painting through pigment analysis for a client she dislikes. As she travels through such vividly depicted locales as Cody, Wyo., and the Amish and Mennonite areas of Pennsylvania, Em gathers a history of pigment as well as information to fuel her growing suspicion that something is terribly wrong. She encounters the seedier side of the art world, a renowned Pennsylvania family's horrific secrets and murder. Thanks to clear logical thinking, Em ultimately reaches all the right conclusions. If there's a fault line beneath the surface, it lies in the surfeit of technical terminology, though more scientifically inclined readers may consider this a virtue. Agent, Deborah Schneider. (May 7) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Art history and geology combine in Em Hansen's latest adventure. This time she researches the provenance of a reputedly spurious Frederick Remington painting for her client, who's apparently being slowly poisoned. A winning addition to the popular series. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Paint the town lead and the FBI, along with forensic geologist Em Hansen, are soon snapping at your easel. Em (Killer's Dust, 2002, etc.) is in a funk. Her boyfriend Jack is off fighting terrorists. Her best friend Faye, the widow of her mentor, FBI agent Tom Latimer, evidently enthralled with wealthy gallery owner Tert Krehbeil, is distancing herself and her baby Sloane from Em. Her thesis advisor wants her to finish up by December, and she hasn't even settled on a topic. Then Tert hires her to establish the authenticity of a Frederic Remington painting sequestered in his family for years. Geologists may not know much about art, but they know quite a bit about pigment breakdown, and Em, with specialist help in Wyoming, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, is soon mired in an analysis of hunter's green, chrome yellow, and literally dead white that's left heaps of lead everywhere, including within three of Tert's recently deceased relatives. Is Tert eager to sell the homestead to developers ready to split it into endless parcels with identical McMansions? Is he poisoning his sickly mother and his elder sister, who suffers from neuropathy? Is he or someone else in his bloodline a forger? Em resorts to carbon-14 dating, emulsion analysis, and a primer in stable isotopes, allowing her to close the case and dispel her funk. A quick course in paint composition that may send unwary readers off for frequent leaves of absence.
Art & Photography
Book Info
