"A fantastic new Forensic series!"

Diane Fallon is a forensic anthropologist. Due to her troubled past, she has left that work to become the Director of the newly renovated River Trail Museum of National History in Georgia. The museum is to open to the public in a few weeks.

Atlanta Detective Frank Duncan, her former lover, calls and asks her to examine a bone found in the woods. His friends, George and Louise, found a bone in the woods near their daughter Star's boyfriend's house. Star and the boyfriend are missing. They are worried it is her.

Diane had promised herself that she would never examine bones again. But, since they are friends of Frank's, she does. She determines that the person was male.

The museum has their opening party for contributors, board members, and invited guests. It is a hit. Frank gets called away because George, Louise, and their fourteen year old son Jay have been shot dead. The police believe Star did this. Frank does not and begins trying to prove that she didn't.

Many unusual things begin occurring at the museum. They all appear to be an attempt to discredit Diane so that she would be unseated and the museum could be sold and relocated. She doesn't know why board member Mark Grayson is pushing so hard to relocate the museum when it has just been renovated.

This is a terrific series. I have always liked her Lindsay Chamberlain series and I feel this is another winner! She goes into great detail with the forensic examinations, but never did I feel her descriptions were too graphic or gory. This made it much more enjoyable for me. Many of the forensic mysteries go too far.

Diane is a well-crafted character and you don't find out too soon what she's all about. The story is all laid out with perfect timing. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. I also feel that the setting of the museum was a great idea. It lends itself to many interesting situations and many wonderful characters. I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle
Posted November 26, 2003

Summary

With fascinating forensics, compelling characters, and ingenious plot twists, Beverly Connor's novels have been compared to those of the hottest crime writers on the scene. Now she ratchets up the suspense to introduce one of today's most insightful and complex investigators: forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon. When the dead speak, Diane listens—to their bones...

Leaving a troubled past behind her, Diane is starting over as director of the RiverTrail Museum of Natural History in Georgia—until former love Detective Frank Duncan tracks her down. He needs her unique experience as a forensic anthropologist to examine a bone found in the woods. Diane can't resist Frank's request—on both a professional and personal level. Because the secrets of bones are in her blood—and their whispers offer a dead family's only chance at justice...