The Burial Place by Stig Abell

 

First Line: Outside, the hillside is buffeted by an unseasonable wind, the brackeny undergrowth shifting and flattening, patternless.

Former London detective Jake Jackson is enjoying his new life in the English countryside-- especially his deepening relationship with the local veterinarian and her daughter. However, trouble always seems to find him, and he's pulled into an investigation centered on an archaeological dig of a Roman settlement. 

It's a dream job for the archaeologists, but then the threatening letters begin, and then... a murder. Jake has to find the killer before the person can strike again.

~

Stig Abell's Jake Jackson mysteries are for readers who enjoy a story that unfolds slowly and is steeped in the natural world. A bonus for me was the archaeological dig, since that's also an interest of mine. 

Jake has made a place for himself in this remote countryside and has made friends in the local village. I enjoyed watching his relationships grow and deepen. More characters are added by the archaeologists, an interesting mix of personalities indeed.

The Burial Place, the third Jake Jackson mystery, is filled with things I love: fully fleshed characters, a vivid setting, archaeology... if there's one thing I didn't enjoy quite so much, it's the easily deduced whodunit. But still, this is a series that I highly recommend.

The Burial Place by Stig Abell

eISBN: 9780063463813

HarperCollins © 2025

eBook, 352 pages

Literary Mystery, #3 Jake Jackson

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Badlands by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

 

First Line: August 2020; Precise date uncertain. The woman paused and raised her head, looking over the wavering landscape toward the horizon.

It is a puzzling death in the New Mexico badlands. The victim went out into the desert, shedding clothes as she walked, and died a horrible death of heatstroke and thirst. When her skeleton is found, her bony hands are clutching two incredibly rare lightning stones, stones that the ancient Chaco people used to summon the gods. 

When FBI Agent Corrie Swanson is assigned to the case, she can't quite believe that someone would choose to commit suicide in that manner. With the presence of the rare artifacts, she calls in archaeologist Nora Kelly to help her investigate. 

Then a second body is found-- in exactly the same circumstances. Corrie and Nora pursue their investigation into remote canyons, finding haunted ruins and learning about long-lost rituals. They have awakened a dark power that will put their lives in danger.

~

I have been a fan of Preston and Child's Nora Kelly series from the very first book (Old Bones). I have learned so much about the landscape and history of New Mexico in reading the series, and Badlands is no exception. This fast-paced tale had me exploring remote areas along with Nora and Corrie and learning more about the Pueblo and Navajo cultures. (Never skip the Author's Notes at the end of the books.)

The progression of the lives of the characters has completely won me over. Corrie continues to grow as an FBI agent, and Sheriff Homer Watts, with his immaculate cowboy hat and pearl-handled six-shooters, tries his best to always ride in to save the day whenever his damsel, Corrie, is in danger.

I do have to admit that I did get annoyed with Nora, as she knowingly put herself in danger (what I call a TSTL Moment-- Too Stupid To Live), and her feckless brother, Skip, never ceases to amaze me. Is his luck ever going to run out? Especially when he becomes friends with the local law unto himself rich guy. 

As much as I enjoyed the characters, the story, and all the things I learned, I couldn't totally buy into what caused the women's deaths. It was a tad too far-fetched and had my suspension bridge of disbelief swaying wildly in the breeze. Is that going to keep me from reading the next book in the series? Of course not! I'm ready to read it right now.

Badlands by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

eISBN: 9781538765852

Grand Central Publishing © 2025

eBook, 362 pages

Thriller, #5 Nora Kelly & Corrie Swanson

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

The Lost Tomb by Douglas Preston

 

From the Foreword by David Grann: The first thing you notice about these thirteen remarkable true tales by Douglas Preston is that they all contain elements of intrigue.

 

Most readers know Douglas Preston as one-half of the writing team responsible (along with Lincoln Child) for the Pendergast novels, but he has also been an editor at the American Museum of Natural History and has written about archaeology and paleontology for the New Yorker, National Geographic and Smithsonian. His journalistic explorations have taken him around the world. 

 

The Lost Tomb is a collection of true stories about buried treasure, murder, lost tombs, and strange crimes. Several of the stories previously appeared in other publications and have been updated for this book. What became crystal clear as I read is the important part non-fiction has always played in Preston's fiction.

This book is a gold mine for enthusiasts of archaeology and paleontology. I felt as though I were with the team that discovered a vast Egyptian tomb Pharaoh Ramses II built for his fifty-two sons. (No, that number isn't a typo.) I became acquainted with the personalities of many famous archaeologists, anthropologists, and paleontologists. However, what I learned about archaeology in the Southwestern United States made the biggest impression on me. There is a lot of fascinating information in these pages

If you're interested in the subjects of archaeology, anthropology, or paleontology, The Lost Tomb is an excellent way to spend a few hours.

The Lost Tomb and Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials and Murder

by Douglas Preston

eISBN: 9781538741245

Grand Central Publishing © 2023

eBook, 320 pages

 

Non-Fiction

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Diablo Mesa By Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

 

First Line: Dr. Marcelle Weingrau, president of the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute, slowly unfolded her hands on the glossy surface of desk in front of her.

 

When you've got billions of dollars of disposable cash, you're used to having your whims obeyed. This is what happens when billionaire Lucas Tappan approaches the president of the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute. Suddenly, archaeologist Nora Kelly finds herself being told to head to Roswell to head a dig where a UFO supposedly crash-landed in 1947-- whether she wants to or not.

 

Once there, Kelly finds the bodies of two murder victims whose bodies were deliberately mutilated to evade identification. The proper authorities have to be called in, and Special Agent Corrie Swanson is put in charge of the case. 

 

As both women pursue their investigations, bizarre and inexplicable things come to light for both of them, and the closer they come to unearthing the truth, the closer they come to a showdown with a group that will stop at nothing to protect its secrets.

 

~

 

I absolutely love this series. I get to participate in archaeological digs. I get to learn fascinating bits of history. I get to tag along with two intelligent, brave women, and-- last but not least-- I get to vicariously savor thrilling chases, narrow escapes, and plenty of quick thinking and derring-do. There are times that this is exactly what the doctor orders, and I can rely on Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child to serve up the correct dosage prescribed.

 

I have to admit that, although I loved Diablo Mesa, I'm not as passionate about it as I was about The Scorpion's Tail, and I think that's due entirely to the central Quest. My taste buds fire up more when served a tasty Native American and Spanish treasure than it does with a course of UFOs, but that's just me. (Although a certain one-word message did send a chill down my spine.)

 

Preston and Child can be relied upon to build fantastic plots as they have done here, but it's the cast of characters that brings everything to life. Nora Kelly and her brother Skip. The continuing maturation of Special Agent Corrie Swanson. Sheriff Watts of Socorro County with his pearl-handled six-shooters and Resistol hat. This ensemble cast sparkles, and can even have me laughing in the middle of a dire chase scene.

 

Once again, I've finished a Nora Kelly book with a smile on my face and resigned to the interminable wait for the next adventure. Bring it on!  

Diablo Mesa by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

eISBN: 9781538736739

Grand Central Publishing © 2022

eBook, 374 pages

 

Thriller, #3 Nora Kelly mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

The Scorpion's Tail by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

First Line: Since graduating from the Academy eight months before, Special Agent Corrie Swanson had learned to expect almost anything.

 

Rookie FBI Agent Corrie Swanson is given what she believes to be a throwaway case. A mummified corpse has been found in the basement of a building in a remote New Mexico ghost town. Once on the scene, she can see that a professional should be in charge of uncovering the body, so she uses the old "Hey, I saved your life" schtick on archaeologist, Nora Kelly. Fortunately, the Santa Fe Archaeological Society looks favorably on the positive PR of working with the FBI, so Nora obtains the all-clear and travels to the ghost town.

 

As she slowly uncovers the body, two things jump out at Nora. One, it's obvious from the position and appearance of the body that the person died in terrible agony, and two, hidden on the corpse is a sixteenth-century Spanish gold cross of immense value.

 

What Nora and Corrie will soon learn is that identifying the body and the cause of death will open the door to a world of ancient treasure, modern obsession, and one of the most defining moments of American history.

 

~

 

If you're in the mood for a book that's flat-out fun to read, by all means, get your hands on a copy of The Scorpion's Tail. Preston and Child's story of treasure and obsession had my eyes glued to the page, and when life intruded and I had to put the book down, my mind kept wandering back to it, wondering what was going to happen next.

 

These two authors pushed so many of my WOW buttons that I don't think I can list them all. I learned several interesting tidbits of New Mexico history such as the Pueblo Revolt. I was taken to the White Sands Missile Range. The trip to a remote ghost town reminded me of so many similar trips my husband and I made here in Arizona. Ones where the trails were so bad I thought my kidneys and spine would never be the same-- but so much fun! Then there was the fabulous lost Spanish treasure, the white-knuckle night escape from the bad guys, a little Army-Navy joke, and of course, the archaeology.

 

There's so much "wonderfulness" in The Scorpion's Tail that I think the brief appearance made by Preston and Child's Agent Pendergast was completely unnecessary. This book's adventure, its marvelous setting, its mystery are all taken to the next level by the authors' characters. Corrie Swanson's backstory is slowly being revealed, and it's an interesting one. She's going to make an excellent agent, but she can be impulsive and does need Agent Morwood's mentoring. Nora Kelly is my kind of archaeologist who's learning about the politics of promotion at the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute, and her brother Skip is the perfect person to bring along on a dig. There's the smart, handsome sheriff of Socorro who wears two six-shooters strapped to his hips, but don't let the theatricality fool you. When you've got a cast like this, it makes the mystery and the adventure shine even brighter.

 

If you can't tell that I loved this book, I have to say that I'm worried about you. I'll also worry about you if you like this sort of book and decide not to read it. The Scorpion's Tail is a fantastic, fun read. What are you waiting for?

The Scorpion's Tail by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

eISBN: 9781538747292

Grand Central Publishing © 2021

eBook, 402 pages

 

Thriller, #2 Nora Kelly mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Deep Past by Eugene Linden

First Line: There are places on the planet whose scale reminds us that we are but a crushed bug on the windshield of time.

Anthropologist Claire Knowland has replaced the leader of a dig in Kazakhstan that's really going nowhere, which is fortuitous when a stranger turns up at the site with a bizarre find from a remote section of the Kazakhstan Steppe. Initially skeptical, once she checks out the location of the find, she realizes that this could shake the very foundations of our understanding of evolution and intelligence.

The corrupt politics of Kazakhstan means that Claire has not only to gather open-minded and hard-working experts around her but also take reckless chances with the discovery. Ultimately, she finds herself fighting for the discovery, her reputation, and her life in an unstable area of the world filled with chaos and greed.

Eugene Linden draws on his investigations into what makes humans different from other species in creating Deep Past, a fast-paced story with a vivid setting. One thing that he makes crystal clear is all the plotting, schemes, and political machinations that are rife in that area of the world. Paleontology and archaeology buffs are also going to enjoy this book that gathers power and speed like a freight train.

I hadn't realized quite how difficult it is to get the scientific community to accept new thinking, so that's one thing that I'm grateful to Deep Past for. If it doesn't concern data that can be seen, touched, and turned into a statistic for a report, discoveries can be easily dismissed, which means that anything to do with animal intelligence gets very short shrift indeed.

One character in Deep Past says, "Oddly, the public is ready to embrace animal intelligence, but not the notion that climate change is a killer." This particular member of the public believes climate change is a clear and present danger and also embraces animal intelligence. Linden's book contains so much food for thought about animal intelligence, but even though I enjoyed the story and am still ruminating over what the author has to say, I didn't quite buy the complete premise of the book. But what a fascinating and recommended read!
 

Deep Past by Eugene Linden

eISBN: 9780795352232

RosettaBooks © 2019

eBook, 336 pages

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

Canyon Sacrifice by Scott Graham

First Line: A group of middle-aged Japanese tourists gathered in a tight knot twenty feet from the edge of the Grand Canyon, focused on something Chuck Bender could not see.

Recently married to a woman with two young daughters, archaeologist Chuck Bender decides to take his new family camping at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Disaster strikes when the youngest girl is kidnapped. The kidnapper's demands seem to focus on Chuck himself, and even though he's nowhere near suited to the task, as a new husband and father, he's determined to step up to the plate and do whatever it takes for the safe return of his daughter.

Canyon Sacrifice is going to make you see the Grand Canyon in a whole new way. Chuck Bender is the perfect guide, as he weaves strands of geology, park history, Native American culture, and archaeology into a good old action-packed page turner.

I loved how Graham put together all the canyon lore in a non-academic, non-preachy manner that tells readers just as much about the characters as it does the Grand Canyon itself. Chuck Bender is a fascinating main character. He's a loner who's been running his own archaeology business for years, so getting used to being part of a family is going to be a huge adjustment for him to begin with-- but to start things off with a kidnapping? As Bender races to save his daughter, he learns quite a bit about himself and what he thinks is most important in life.

Probably my favorite section in the book is Chuck's hike down into the canyon. It's a race against time that could very well kill him. The entire episode tells us a great deal about Bender the man, as well as the respect with which the Grand Canyon should be treated.

Graham also shows skill in plotting a mystery, and now that he has his main character well established, I'm really looking forward to the next books in this series. His secondary characters need to have a chance to shine, too.

If you're a reader who loves Nevada Barr or C.J. Box, chances are excellent that you'll enjoy this first National Park mystery. Give it a try.

Canyon Sacrifice by Scott Graham

ISBN: 9781937226305

Torrey House Press © 2014

Paperback, 228 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #1 National Park mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen 

The Tenth Saint by D.J. Niko

First Line: The camel trod tentatively on a patch of cracked earth.

It's every archaeologist's dream come true: Sarah Weston has found a sealed tomb inscribed in an obscure dialect in the ancient Ethiopian mountain kingdom of Aksum. Her colleagues back in Cambridge, England, are thrilled and saddle her with a very unwelcome teammate, popular cultural anthropologist Daniel Madigan. Their attempts to identify the man in the tomb and to translate those inscriptions lead them straight into danger when ancient prophecies about the Earth's last days eerily point toward technological advances that are just about to be put in place.

The Tenth Saint had several hooks that drew me to reading it: the archaeology, the less well-known setting of Ethiopia, ancient prophecies, and modern technology are just a few. The story, told in alternating chapters and timelines-- from the fourth century story of a tall, mysterious white man traveling with nomads in the desert to the modern-day tale of Sarah and Daniel-- is a little bit Indiana Jones and a little bit Da Vinci Code. However, the familiar plot elements are more than made up for by the book's fast pace, historical details, two very engaging characters, and a nice twist at book's end.

Sarah Weston is the daughter of an English lord and a Hollywood actress, and that combination of parents led to the expected dysfunctional childhood. Sarah is an interesting blend of scholar, adventurer, introvert, and dreamer, and I can see her taking charge of several more books in a series. Her colleague and romantic interest, Daniel Madigan, is the more outgoing of the two, and every bit as intriguing as Sarah. In fact, I wish there had been more scenes with Daniel in the book, so I'm happy to see that they are a team again in the next (The Riddle of Solomon).

If you're in the mood for a story of adventure, history, treasure, and two intrepid heroes written by an author with an eye for setting and character, you might just want to curl up with The Tenth Saint!

The Tenth Saint by D.J. Niko

ISBN: 9781605422459

Medallion Press © 2012

Paperback, 438 pages

Thriller, #1 Sarah Weston 

Rating: B

Source: Downloaded as an eBook through Amazon. 

Artifact by Gigi Pandian

First Line: The door of the house swung open before I had a chance to knock.

Historian Jaya Jones has a lot of work to get done, but when an ex-boyfriend sends her a package containing an ancient, ruby-encrusted piece of jewelry from India, she sits up and takes notice. When she learns that the jewelry-sending ex-boyfriend has died in a car crash, she finds herself hopping a plane in San Francisco and heading to the Highlands of Scotland.

First she stops off in London to do some research, learning that a treasure dating from the time of the British Raj may be buried in Scotland. That's not the only thing she learns. She's being shadowed everywhere she goes-- including an archaeological dig in Scotland, where a member of the dig's crew is murdered. Someone is willing to kill for this treasure, and Jaya hopes to find it before she's next.

I liked Jaya Jones from the very start, especially because she doesn't take any unnecessary risks (like carrying that ancient, valuable piece of jewelry around like many another character in crime fiction would). Following her around observing her research was also a pleasure, and once the action moved to the Highlands, everything started clicking along at a fast pace.

I've noticed that Jaya Jones has been likened to Indiana Jones' sister. I wouldn't go so far as to agree, but with this fast-paced, intriguing story and strong, savvy lead character, I'd say that Jaya is well on her way. I'll be keeping an eye out for future adventures. 

Artifact by Gigi Pandian

ISBN: 9781938383687

Henery Press © 2013

Paperback, 276 pages

Thriller, #1 Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mystery

Rating: B-

Source: NetGalley