Track of the Scorpion

... Track of The scorpion Val Davis (pg 307 mystery New Mexico) If you like Nevada Barr, archeology or forensic this book is a must read. Nick is a recent college graduateworking on her tenure for a professor's job. Her father is a famous archeologist looking for the lost Anaziempire in the hot dry desert of New Mexico. Nick's job is to catalog the artifacts as they are unearthed andready them for shipment. She does this job as a dutiful daughter and to fulfill her obligations for tenure. Her real love is aircraft especially from W.W.II and when an old codger claims he found a buried plane inthe sand she is skeptical but excited. Upon arriving at the site she discovers it is in fact a W.W.II plane butthe mystery of its crash is one the government wants kept secret. This could of been just another novelabout government corruption and cover up but Davis gives us delightful characters that we can root for anda plot with substance. Even Nick is not the normal dumb female bimbo we see in so many novels. Sheactually asks for assistance and listens to others for advice. She doesn't run around helter skelter but comesup with a plan to figure out the identity of the plane. There are many in positions of power who want her tokeep her mouth shut and close friends along the way are hurt when she continues the pursuit of identity ofthe occupants of the plane. As we reach the dramatic ending, Nick keeps her wits about herself, deliversjustice and lives to tell another tale of the West. Rating 8

What an interesting idea!-an archaeologist of "recent history." Aside from the basic plot of a mystery novel, I really appreciate the inclusion of "local color"-in this case an archaeological dig in the wretched heat of a New Mexico summer searching for clues to mysterious Anasazi. As for the main plot, I found the bad guys to be really bad and sufficiently scary to keep me worried, and the heroine sufficiently human and heroic to keep me involved. I have to admit that I used a recent bout of coughing-following-a-virus as an excuse to keep me out of bed until 2 am on a work night just to finish this story in one sitting. Is is great literature? Not really, but it is a good read.