Old Bones by Preston & Child

 

Historian Clive Benton has just found the long-lost diary of Tamzene Donner. In it he discovers clues and a hand drawn map to the lost Third Camp of the Donner Party. Excited to dig up the truth about the strange and horrific things that happened there, he enlists archaeologist Nora Kelly and her team to help him find and excavate the site. 

Meanwhile, back in New Mexico, rookie FBI agent Corrie Swanson has been assigned to a grave-robbing case. Someone dug up the grave of a woman who died back in the Civil War and stole her skull. But why?

The way these two seemingly unconnected story lines intersect is a crazy fun ride. But then Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child always write a compelling story. And there's usually a touch of supernatural horror in their books which I love, although there's not much of that in this particular book. Both Nora Kelly and Corrie Swanson are recurring characters (and two of my favorites), but you don't need to have read any of their earlier books in order to enjoy this one.

I always find it interesting to read about the Donner Party, and Preston & Child's lost Third Camp, high up in an isolated canyon in the Sierra Nevadas, made for an eerie and atmospheric setting. And I liked the various plot twists and turns, although a few of them did feel a little predictable. I would have loved it if there had been more of a supernatural element in this one, but Old Bones is still a suspenseful and entertaining read; I'd give it 4 stars.

Happy Reading!

Ireland, Archaeology and a Mystery

Erin Hart's Haunted Ground offers all three. When a bog body is found in the Drumcleggan Bog, Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin team up to investigate not only the red-haired girl's identity, but when she lived and how she died. But that's not the only mystery troubling the small town of Dunbeg. Two years ago, Mina Osborne and her small son went missing. The police suspect her husband, Hugh, but no one knows what really happened. Maybe Cormanc and Nora can help Detective Devaney find evidence to solve that mystery, too.

I really enjoyed the archaeological aspects of this novel--how things can be preserved in the peat for hundreds of years, and how, once found, they offer a doorway into the past. I also loved getting to know Ireland a little better--glimpsing part of its history and culture, even its music. But it's the mystery surrounding Mina's disappearance that drives this novel. Haunted Ground is well-plotted and well-written, with likeable characters. (Especially 39-year-old flute-playing Cormac with his dark brown hair, intense dark eyes, and lean rower's build, and his love of the past.) There were a few coincidences at the very end surrounding the red-haired girl from the bog that felt just a little too neat and convenient, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this book. It's an interesting mystery; plus, it's set in Ireland...what more could you possibly want?

Happy Reading!