Ashes and Bones (An Emma Fielding Mysteries, No. 6)

I like the character Emma Fielding and her exploits. I love archaeology anyway and adding a little mystery and a good team of workers with her exploits makes for a good read and this one is just as exciting and interesting as her other five. I like how she brings the archaeology finds and explains them at the times of the finds so you can follow her through out the book, you never get lost of the actual theme of the book along with all the unusal happenings that find her. Very good reading.

I have read, and enjoyed, all of the Emma Fielding books. One of my favorite aspects of the series is that, along with a great mystery, Cameron gives the reader the full breadth of the rewards and challenges faced by a working archaeologist. Not only does the reader get to see what it's really like in the field, they get to see all of the hurdles (academic office politics, etc.) that an archaeologist has to leap to get to point of being able to put trowel to soil. I don't see the fact that there's no field work in the story as a miss. Emma is a smart, competent, confident, career oriented heroine. Emma knows what she wants and she goes after it. Emma is emotionally mature enough to form and keep important relationships. So, what happens when all of that is shaken to the core? You get this taut, impeccably paced, rollercoaster ride of a novel. Cameron has turned the suspense up to eleven in this somewhat darker story. It is a bit different than the previous Emma books, but in a very good way. I hope Cameron continues to write stories in this vein.

In January, Caldwell College archeology professor Emma Fielding received a post card with the word "soon" written on it. She assumes it is from Tony Markham, who tried to kill her and did murder her best friend. The police say that the fingerprint doesn't match his but when tTony escaped in a boat, his body was never found. While on vacation in Hawaii, she receives an anonymous gift of Lilies of the Valley, a flower that has special significance to Tony. Her husband Brian calms her down feeling this is just a coincidence but when they are at the airport, Emma Believes she spots Tony but the man disappears before Brian can see him. Back home, a series of pranks on those close to Emma soon escalates into a mugging, a bullet hitting her martial arts teacher and the death of a security guard. This brings Emma to the brink of madness; only the threat to Brian brings her back from the abyss. Even though all authority figures and Brian believe Tony is dead, the audience has doubts because the heroine is so sure he is the culprit. This is a predator vs. prey thriller but it is up to the audience to decide who is who. As each prank escalates another notch of violence the reader will wonder if Emma will be the last victim. Dana Cameron has written a pulse pounding, adrenaline jumping work that will appeal to sub-genre fans. Harriet Klausner