From Library Journal
Georgia forensic anthropologist Dr. Lindsay Chamberlain (A Rumor of Bones, Cumberland, 1996) identifies the skeletal remains found on a farm as those of a Spanish conquistador, then agrees to investigate the much more recent "accidental" death of a long-missing spelunker. Her subsequent itinerary, though burdened with the bones of slaughtered Indians and animals, puts her in contact with an archaeologist who knew the dead caver. Shortly after they talk, he is murdered. Question is, will Chamberlain ever find the connection? Forensics and stories of conquest add authenticity but slow the plot without enhancing dramatic tension. A leisurely read, then, for larger collections.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The Islander, May 10, 1999
What a delightful mystery thriller...
Messenger Papers, October 29, 1998
...Connor is able to bring anthropology to life in an understandable way.
Book Report, February 1998
The blending of the past and present storyline is easy to follow and the scientific explanations about the bones are understandable.
Oglethorpe Echo, March 5, 1998
You feel confident that the detailed observations she attributes to Lindsay Chamberlain are authentic...
Northwest Arkansas Times, November 30, 1997
This juxtaposition of modern-day and ancient mystery makes reading Connor's book a real treat.
Questionable Remains FROM THE PUBLISHER
Man's eternal quest for gold proves as enduring as it is fatal when forensic archaeologist Lindsay Chamberlain unearths a four-hundred-year-old mystery — and a mondern-day murder. Vacationing in Tennessee, Lindsay studies the bones of a centuries-old corpse hiding a fascinating secret. She's also asked to look into the suspicious deaths of two adventurous cavers whose fatal foray into Hell's Slide spells murder for one family member.
But bones don't lie, and before long, Lindsay knows she's digging up trouble. Someone wants the case to remain closed — and the mounting threats tell her she's getting closer to the truth. But as murder old and new come together in shocking ways, Lindsay finds herself digging for her life — to survive the clever trap of a killer.
Beverly Connor certainly has the background for writing a mystery series featuring forensic archaelogist Lindsay Chamberlain. The author herself is a specialist in bone identification and analysis, and field excavation. In addition, Beverly has worked at numerous archaeological sites in the southeast. This is her second mystery novel featuring Lindsay Chamberlain.
FROM THE CRITICS
Chicago Sun-Times
The first pages establish Chamberlain's uncanny expertise.
Midwest Book Review
Connor's style is original and fresh, and her heroine is a woman of the 90s . . . educated, intelligent, independent.
Chicago Sun-Times
The first pages establish Chamberlain's uncanny expertise.
Midwest Book Review
Connor's style is original and fresh, and her heroine is a woman of the 90s . . . educated, intelligent, independent.
Publishers Weekly
Like its protagonist, Conner's second Lindsay Chamberlain mystery (A Rumor of Bones) delves into all mysteries in a methodical and calculating manner. Lindsay, a crisply authoritative forensic archeologist based at a Georgia university, and an expert in analyzing old bones, is asked to investigate a more modern case. Were the two-year-old deaths of three men found sealed in a cave caused by falling rocks? Or were the men murdered? The previous investigation, marked by bureaucratic ineptitude, bears the marks of a cover-up, and Lindsay puts herself at grave risk when she continues to pry into the case. Bullets are fired, a student volunteer is hurled off a cliff and, in some truly gripping and finely crafted scenes, Lindsay finds herself desperately clawing her way out of a sealed cave. There are parallel plots here. As one archeological dig after another is explored and relics of 16th-century conquistadors turn up, their dark and grisly story, full of greed and violence, is graphically depicted. There's a connection between 1567 and 1996: Had the dead cavers discovered ancient treasure? Unfortunately, the story has trouble breathing under its multiple and convoluted plots, and the charactersa shifty lawyer; some inept conspirators; even the 16th-century conquistadoresare one-dimensional. Only Lindsay's keen intellect and relentless driveand the reader's pleasure in seeing her think keep this novel alive. (Sept.)
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