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Loading... Death assemblage (edition 2003)by Susan Cummins Miller
Work InformationDeath Assemblage by Susan Cummins Miller
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I heartily approve of a mystery that incorporates geological dissertation research. I had some trouble with the large cast of characters; some characters that seemed to be minor for most of the story became critical later on. This caused me to search back through the book, trying to remember who each person was. There were multiple mysteries to solve. I think I will want to check out the second book in the series; there's a high likelihood that Frankie MacFarlane's character will get better and better. ( ) Graduate student Francisca “Frankie” McFarlane is in the final stages of her geological research project in the mountains near Pair-a-Dice, Nevada. Since Frankie spends her days alone in the mountains, news of a serial killer working his or her way along I-80 toward Nevada has her on the alert, although she is so far off the interstate that she can't imagine she would be in any danger. However, a mysterious stranger shows unusual interest in Frankie's activities. Is he someone Frankie can trust? Or could he have something to do with the murders? This book has more strengths than weaknesses. The book's main weakness is too many plot threads. The author knitted a pair of socks when she should have been knitting a scarf. On the positive side, I learned a lot from Frankie's geological research, even if some of the technical terminology was over my head. I was also impressed with the quality of the writing. This book proves it's possible for writing to be grammatically correct without sounding stilted. I've read enough poorly written and/or edited books that I really appreciate it when I come across a book that's been carefully edited. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Series
This is the first of the Frankie MacFarlane series. The mountains west of Pair-a-Dice, Nevada, hold mysteries geological, historical, and personal. Geologist Frankie MacFarlane has mapped the Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks of the range for the past three summers. In the final week of her dissertation fieldwork, she searches for an elusive final key to her research: a limestone marker beda death assemblage of fossil ammonoids hidden by dangerous, shifting talus. But as Frankie strives to piece together her geologic jigsaw puzzle, the denizens of Pair-a-Dice, her base of operations, embroil her in a web of ancient and recent murders, a manhunt, kidnappings, and blackmail. A thirty-truck town, fifty miles from anywhere, Pair-a-Dice boasts two restaurants, three bars, seven pool tables, twenty-one slot machines, and a motley assemblage of misfits, including Diane Laterans, a punk schoolteacher who wears her Phi Beta Kappa key from her ear; Isabel Elorrio, crusty ex-marine and motel proprietor; Lon Bovey, rancher and would-be congressman; Walker, a mute handyman; the Anderson brothers, hooligans claiming kinship to infamous Bloody Bill; and a stranger, E. J. Killeen, U.S. Army, retired. Two bodies are discovered near Interstate 80, disrupting Frankies research. Are the killings linked to Killeen, to the new waitress in town, to Frankies ex-fianc, who disappeared four months ago, or to older violence, the clues of which Frankie discovers in the mountains? Frankies environmental sensibilities and her grasp of geologic and human continuums make her truly a woman and sleuth of the new millennium. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813Literature English (North America) American fictionLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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