The Scorpion’s Tail by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Publisher: Head Of Zeus Ltd
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

A mummified corpse, over half a century old, is found in the cellar of an abandoned building in a remote New Mexico ghost town. Corrie is assigned what seems to her a throwaway case: to ID the body and determine cause of death. She brings archaeologist Nora Kelly to excavate the body and lend her expertise to the investigation, and together they uncover something unexpected and shocking: the deceased apparently died in agony, in a fetal position, skin coming off in sheets, with a rictus of horror frozen on his face.

Hidden on the corpse lies a 16th century Spanish gold cross of immense value.

When they at last identify the body — and the bizarre cause of death — Corrie and Nora open a door into a terrifying, secret world of ancient treasure and modern obsession: a world centered on arguably the most defining, frightening, and transformative moment in American history.

FBI rookie agent Corrie Swanston finds herself under investigation when an unexpected shoot out has Corrie using her gun and a senior agent finding himself hurt in the fire fight. Despite her supervisor assuring her the investigation is standard and it’s not her fault, Corrie feels an incredible amount of guilt. When she’s given a new case – that if a mummified corpse discovered at a remove ghost town it’s hard for Corrie to not feel as if she’s being punished. Yet slowly the case leads on to other things, including a breathtaking priceless artifact and a number of excavations where she requires the help of Dr Nora Kelly once again. Can Nora and Corrie work together to solve yet another serious crime?

I have been a massive fan of Preston and Child for many years and greatly enjoyed their earlier book featuring both Corrie and Nora. I found myself really pleased with this book and I got sucked into the whole thing really quickly. Readers who haven’t read the previous book – or indeed readers even new entirely to Preston and Child – are absolutely in for a treat. No prior knowledge of the two main characters is needed to thoroughly enjoy this story and while there are a few links thrown in for readers who know all the back story these references are fleeting and small so I really feel someone can just pick this book up cold and enjoy it virtually as much as I did.

As with most of Preston and Child’s stories this had a lovely multi-layered plot. Nothing was quite as simple as it first appeared, and I really enjoyed going along on the journey with Corrie and Nora as they unearthed everything. There was a fair bit of archaeological stuff which was where Nora obviously shone best and plenty of mystery/thriller action which was Corrie’s forte. Indeed, I really commend the balance the authors made between the two and at no point did I feel like one character outshone the other. I found the pacing and plot of the book was really well handled and very balanced and this was a big part of the reason I felt the story flowed so well and I as the reader got so caught up in everything.

Readers looking for a well moving plot with plenty of layers and a good chunk of history/archaeology and mystery solving should find this book gripping and a pleasure to read. With two strong female leads I really loved this aspect to it and some strong and really well written men as secondary characters who equally were vital to the plot going on.

An excellent book and a brilliant addition to my shelf of keeper stories by this pair of authors. Recommended.

Old Bones by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Publisher: Head Of Zeus Ltd
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Nora Kelly, a young curator at the Santa Fe Institute of Archaeology, is approached by historian Clive Benton with a once-in-a-lifetime proposal: to lead a team in search of the so-called “Lost Camp” of the tragic Donner Party. This was a group of pioneers who earned a terrible place in American history when they became snow-bound in the California mountains in 1847, their fate unknown until the first skeletonized survivors stumbled out of the wilderness, raving about starvation, murder-and cannibalism.

Benton tells Kelly he has stumbled upon an amazing find: the long-sought diary of one of the victims, which has an enigmatic description of the Lost Camp. Nora agrees to lead an expedition to locate and excavate it-to reveal its long-buried secrets.

Once in the mountains, however, they learn that discovering the camp is only the first step in a mounting journey of fear. For as they uncover old bones, they expose the real truth of what happened, one that is far more shocking and bizarre than mere cannibalism. And when those ancient horrors lead to present-day violence on a grand scale, rookie FBI agent Corrie Swanson is assigned the case…only to find that her first investigation might very well be her last.

Corrie Swanson is a newly minted Special Agent. Eager to move forward from re-visiting cold cases, she is undeterred when her first case is the murder of a low-level criminal hired to dig up a long-interred grave. Corrie finds a number of circumstantial links to other similar cases and a tenuous link to one common ancestor – Albert Parkin. Parkin was one of those who died on the infamous Donner Party and Dr. Nora Kelly has just begun a search and excavation of the Lost Camp, the third and final resting place of that long ago Party. Past and present collide as Nora and Corrie discover long-buried secrets.

I have been a huge Preston & Child fan for many years, but I really especially enjoyed this book. I have a particular soft spot for Corrie’s character and she’s hands down one of my favourites. I also really enjoy Nora and am pretty much guaranteed to read anything related to these two – together or apart. That said I feel this is the perfect entry-way book for a number of reasons. Readers who have never read anything by Preston & Child can easily pick this up and enjoy it. This is the first book featuring Nora and Corrie and thus has no real connotation of back story or previous installments. The book very carefully explains how both Nora and Corrie end up at the same place – the Lost Camp of the Donner Party – and what they’re looking for. This is easily a book that can be picked up just by itself and thoroughly enjoyed on its own merits.

I loved the plotline – two seemingly separate stories that slowly wind together until it’s clear they’re both a part of the same whole. And I really enjoyed how both Nora and Corrie were two quite different characters and each coming from different positions yet could try to find some common ground and learn to respect each other. The whole story – both their characters and the plotlines – felt natural and well woven, and most importantly of all enjoyable. Add in there were a bunch of elements that just always make a good story – hidden gold, the history behind a failed journey, cannibalism and archaeology along with modern day grave robbing and murder. What on earth is not to like?

This is a fun book which I found to be a lovely blend of mystery, adventure and high stakes this is an exceptional book and well worth the time. I can’t wait for the next one.