Dead Hunt

Another good instalment, even if it doesn't feature any caving. It's quite intense and fast paced with a lot going on that initially seems unconnected, but does eventually make sense. The motivations are believable. The focus is very much on Diane even more than usual, with her team only there to offer support and theories.

Diane is somewhat surprised when the Museum board is convened to discuss a recent newspaper article regarding potential smuggled Egyptian artefacts. She has full trust in her staff and procedures and vigorously defends these. In the midst of this the request from a convicted prisoner to discuss the evidence that put her away comes as yet another distraction. But the case was intriguing so Diane finds time. The show more prisoner escapes shortly afterwards, and this leads to yet more complications. Diane's full team on both sides use more of their combined skills in inventive ways - this is quite well done without becoming too complex.

Much as it doesn't seem like it will it does all eventually wrap up apart from how the prisoner escapes in the first place. Looking forward to some more. show less

This is the fifth novel in the Diane Fallon series and again Fallon has a whole lot on her plate, perhaps the most she's had in any of the books.

There are three separate plots running through the novel. There's a large hunk of bad press for the museum because the assistant director Kendel Williams has been accused of trying to launder Egyptian artifacts. Add to that the fact that Fallon is being attacked by an unknown man over and over. And that after one of the women she and her crime lab put into jail escapes, Fallon gets drugged and stumbles into a sizable pool of the woman convict's blood.

The three plots weave into and out of one another seamlessly and it was nice that unlike the previous four books there was more plot concerning show more the museum, and more of a balance between the museum and the crime lab. We get to see more of Fallon's assistant Andie, who is a great character as well.

Also it seems as though Jin, of the Crime Lab, finally got his DNA lab in the museum and so we get to see more of him and his boundless energy too.

The only let down I felt was how the Egyptian artifact storyline ended. show less

Although I have loved all of Beverly Connor's previous books from both her series, I found this one a bit predictable but with too unbelievable a plot, if that makes sense. I highly recommend her other books but this one was light in the forensic detail, and a little too fantastic in the psychological details for me.

Deadly surprises wait behind every closed door. Fast paced, well thought out and wonderfully entertaining. Beverly Connor gives us another excellent mystery.