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Lindsay Chamberlain #1
A Rumor Of Bones
Signing on with the archaeological dig at the Jasper Creek site, forensic anthropologist Lindsay Chamberlain finds herself investigating when several bodies are found that are much more recent than the Indian village they are excavating
252 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1996
55 people are currently reading
768 people want to read
About the author
Beverly Connor
30 books247 followersI'm Beverly Connor and I love archaeology. I worked in Georgia and South Carolina as an archaeologist doing both fieldwork and analyzing artifacts. I also love mysteries. I combined these two loves and now write mysteries in which I weave my professional experience as an archaeologist into stories of murder and intrigue in both my Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation series and Lindsay Chamberlain Archaeology Mystery Series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
June 18, 2018
So, my mother recently wanted to go buy a whole lot of very cheap books at the perpetual library sale at the Park Hills Library, an admirable method used by that library to keep less popular books in circulation. You’d think no one in our family received books as gifts for Christmas, which I assure you is not true. I think my mother feels more comfortable if she has fifty books or more on her TBR stacks, which I’m sure we can all understand.
Naturally I went along, thus increasing my already tottering TBR pile by five or so titles. One of the books I picked up was the second book of Beverly Conner's Lindsay Chamberlain series, Questionable Remains. I liked it a lot, picked up the first book on Kindle, then got the rest and actually zipped through the whole series in about a week. So these comments concern the whole series, not just the first book.
I don’t actually read mysteries for the mystery. I read them for character and setting, but I do like them better if I am also baffled by the mystery or surprised by the plot. I won't say every aspect of every mystery is a surprise, but in each book there are enough details I didn't see coming that I really enjoyed finding out whodunit.
But more than the mystery plots, I definitely appreciate Lindsay Chamberlain as the protagonist. The archaeology and forensic anthropology are both just fascinating:
Lindsay took the brush and dusted the skull. It had been partially flattened from years of decay, heavy topsoil, and, Lindsay supposed, from farm equipment running over it, but certain features caught her eye. First, the very narrow nasal passage, then the slightly rectangular eye sockets: telltale signs of a Caucasian skull. She looked closely at the teeth, which she believed had an overbite instead of the usual even-edged occlusion of people of Asian ancestry. Lindsay touched the zygomatic arch with her finger. She would have to wait until the skull was out of the ground, but she was relatively sure that these were not the forward-projecting cheekbones of an Indian skull, but the more recessed ones of a European.
It’s all very interesting! And not dry in the least, at least not for me, because all these details are woven together with Lindsay’s personal reactions and with human-level stories of the dead, what they were feeling and thinking, what their lives involved. I grant you, if you are not somewhat interested in archaeology or forensics or both, your mileage might vary.
Other notable features of this series:
1) Lindsay herself is a good protagonist. She is curious, determined, highly competent, kind and yet capable of emotional detachment; also strongly inclined to imagine the lives (and deaths) of the people she encounters. Thus she gets involved despite herself. She’s very good at spotting connections between things, so people come to her for help sorting things out. There’s no feeling that she is trying to involve herself in things she ought to stay out of; it’s more that even though she’s trying to stay out of things, her desire to help the people who come to her plus her own curiosity won’t let her. It’s all pretty believable, despite the occasional odd coincidence required to keep Lindsay at the center of events. Less believable are the slightly too frequent moments when she goes off by herself, nobody knows where she is, and she gets assaulted or falls down a well or whatever. This might not have been as noticeable if I hadn't been zipping through the series so fast.
I will add that Lindsay is startlingly good at a number of things not related to her profession. For example, she’s a professional-level dancer. This is okay with me, but only just barely. It seems a bit much. In the same way, I do wish her mother hadn’t given her a stallion as a gift. I have a hard time believing a real expert would give her daughter, a casual rider, a stallion. Why not a gelding or a mare? I could be wrong, I guess. I don't know Arabians that well. Maybe lots of Arabian stallions are actually easy to own and train. But this feels to me like a detail added by an author who doesn’t really know that much about horses and thinks "stallion" sounds romantic and cool.
2) The secondary characters are fairly well drawn, though most have a fairly small role. I found this off-and-on thing with her sometime-boyfriend / sometime-dancing partner / sometime colleague Derrick a bit off-putting. I felt he ought to be able to cope with her occasional involvement with crimes considering she is often consulted by the police. It seemed to me he wants her to be a smaller, less skilled person than she is and I didn't care for that very much. But in the 4th and 5th books, I like her new boyfriend much better. Also, in the third book, I like her brother very much. And I just love her new department head, Lewis, had in the later books. Given the development of the secondary characters, I did like the later books of the series a bit better than the earlier ones.
3) I feel I should mention that these are not cozy mysteries. Despite the romantic interests I mentioned above, the romantic elements are minimal, the crimes can be more awful than one expects in a cozy – thankfully these are not shown explicitly – and also various scenes are much more tense and suspenseful than I’d expect in a cozy. The extended cave scene in the second book is really something. You wouldn’t want to start reading that part and then quit in the middle, let me tell you. It reminded me very much of the bit in the Touchstone trilogy where Cassandra is lost in that underwater cavern system. Terrifying.
4) The writing is basically straightforward and doesn’t call much attention to itself. These are mysteries my mother would like because they’re well-enough written and because there’s no crude language and no explicit casual sex – she avoids a lot of modern mysteries because of those elements. Also, I don’t think the writing comes across as too textbook-y, even when something technical is being explained.
Overall, thoroughly recommended. If Conner writes any more books in this series, I will grab them right up. And I will definitely be trying her other series.
Naturally I went along, thus increasing my already tottering TBR pile by five or so titles. One of the books I picked up was the second book of Beverly Conner's Lindsay Chamberlain series, Questionable Remains. I liked it a lot, picked up the first book on Kindle, then got the rest and actually zipped through the whole series in about a week. So these comments concern the whole series, not just the first book.
I don’t actually read mysteries for the mystery. I read them for character and setting, but I do like them better if I am also baffled by the mystery or surprised by the plot. I won't say every aspect of every mystery is a surprise, but in each book there are enough details I didn't see coming that I really enjoyed finding out whodunit.
But more than the mystery plots, I definitely appreciate Lindsay Chamberlain as the protagonist. The archaeology and forensic anthropology are both just fascinating:
Lindsay took the brush and dusted the skull. It had been partially flattened from years of decay, heavy topsoil, and, Lindsay supposed, from farm equipment running over it, but certain features caught her eye. First, the very narrow nasal passage, then the slightly rectangular eye sockets: telltale signs of a Caucasian skull. She looked closely at the teeth, which she believed had an overbite instead of the usual even-edged occlusion of people of Asian ancestry. Lindsay touched the zygomatic arch with her finger. She would have to wait until the skull was out of the ground, but she was relatively sure that these were not the forward-projecting cheekbones of an Indian skull, but the more recessed ones of a European.
It’s all very interesting! And not dry in the least, at least not for me, because all these details are woven together with Lindsay’s personal reactions and with human-level stories of the dead, what they were feeling and thinking, what their lives involved. I grant you, if you are not somewhat interested in archaeology or forensics or both, your mileage might vary.
Other notable features of this series:
1) Lindsay herself is a good protagonist. She is curious, determined, highly competent, kind and yet capable of emotional detachment; also strongly inclined to imagine the lives (and deaths) of the people she encounters. Thus she gets involved despite herself. She’s very good at spotting connections between things, so people come to her for help sorting things out. There’s no feeling that she is trying to involve herself in things she ought to stay out of; it’s more that even though she’s trying to stay out of things, her desire to help the people who come to her plus her own curiosity won’t let her. It’s all pretty believable, despite the occasional odd coincidence required to keep Lindsay at the center of events. Less believable are the slightly too frequent moments when she goes off by herself, nobody knows where she is, and she gets assaulted or falls down a well or whatever. This might not have been as noticeable if I hadn't been zipping through the series so fast.
I will add that Lindsay is startlingly good at a number of things not related to her profession. For example, she’s a professional-level dancer. This is okay with me, but only just barely. It seems a bit much. In the same way, I do wish her mother hadn’t given her a stallion as a gift. I have a hard time believing a real expert would give her daughter, a casual rider, a stallion. Why not a gelding or a mare? I could be wrong, I guess. I don't know Arabians that well. Maybe lots of Arabian stallions are actually easy to own and train. But this feels to me like a detail added by an author who doesn’t really know that much about horses and thinks "stallion" sounds romantic and cool.
2) The secondary characters are fairly well drawn, though most have a fairly small role. I found this off-and-on thing with her sometime-boyfriend / sometime-dancing partner / sometime colleague Derrick a bit off-putting. I felt he ought to be able to cope with her occasional involvement with crimes considering she is often consulted by the police. It seemed to me he wants her to be a smaller, less skilled person than she is and I didn't care for that very much. But in the 4th and 5th books, I like her new boyfriend much better. Also, in the third book, I like her brother very much. And I just love her new department head, Lewis, had in the later books. Given the development of the secondary characters, I did like the later books of the series a bit better than the earlier ones.
3) I feel I should mention that these are not cozy mysteries. Despite the romantic interests I mentioned above, the romantic elements are minimal, the crimes can be more awful than one expects in a cozy – thankfully these are not shown explicitly – and also various scenes are much more tense and suspenseful than I’d expect in a cozy. The extended cave scene in the second book is really something. You wouldn’t want to start reading that part and then quit in the middle, let me tell you. It reminded me very much of the bit in the Touchstone trilogy where Cassandra is lost in that underwater cavern system. Terrifying.
4) The writing is basically straightforward and doesn’t call much attention to itself. These are mysteries my mother would like because they’re well-enough written and because there’s no crude language and no explicit casual sex – she avoids a lot of modern mysteries because of those elements. Also, I don’t think the writing comes across as too textbook-y, even when something technical is being explained.
Overall, thoroughly recommended. If Conner writes any more books in this series, I will grab them right up. And I will definitely be trying her other series.
December 30, 2017
This book had a lot of plot points (maybe just a few to many) and it was a little darker than I had originally expected, but I really enjoyed this book. I really liked Lindsay and I learned a lot about archeology! I am going to order the second one in the series right now!
March 5, 2017
Debut novels are what they are, first attempts by authors to pull us into a fictional tale which grab our interest and gain our admiration and hopefully, loyalty.
Compared to her Diane Fallon series, A Rumor of Bones is the work of an amateur, newbie writer. She includes multiple characters but gives us little physical description of them or what their connections are to Lindsay. Even the location of the archaeological dig is only mentioned in passing. There is more telling than showing and as the body count climbs the reader wonders if any or all of the potential murders will ever be resolved.
But the bones (snort) of Connor's storytelling ability are there and so too is her ability to throw red herrings in amongst her forensic pathologist fun facts. By the end of the book I was enjoying the usual tension and drama and loving her ability to create some truly evil characters.
Sometimes you just have to be patient with a new writer.
Compared to her Diane Fallon series, A Rumor of Bones is the work of an amateur, newbie writer. She includes multiple characters but gives us little physical description of them or what their connections are to Lindsay. Even the location of the archaeological dig is only mentioned in passing. There is more telling than showing and as the body count climbs the reader wonders if any or all of the potential murders will ever be resolved.
But the bones (snort) of Connor's storytelling ability are there and so too is her ability to throw red herrings in amongst her forensic pathologist fun facts. By the end of the book I was enjoying the usual tension and drama and loving her ability to create some truly evil characters.
Sometimes you just have to be patient with a new writer.
August 23, 2015
Beverly Connor is another go-to author for me - love her style of writing and the characters in her books.
The main character in this book is "Lindsay Chamberlain", an archaeologist on a Native dig in the Carolinas. More than just artifacts are found in this dig. Lindsay's forte is bones and putting them back together, plus sculpting with clay to put a face on skulls.
Someone is trying to stop the dig before any "recent" bones can be found. Some twists and turns make this book captivating - with only one TSTL part.
2 thumbs up and 4 solid stars
The main character in this book is "Lindsay Chamberlain", an archaeologist on a Native dig in the Carolinas. More than just artifacts are found in this dig. Lindsay's forte is bones and putting them back together, plus sculpting with clay to put a face on skulls.
Someone is trying to stop the dig before any "recent" bones can be found. Some twists and turns make this book captivating - with only one TSTL part.
2 thumbs up and 4 solid stars
January 3, 2021
In the late Beverly Connor's A Rumor of Bones, the first installment in the Lindsay Chamberlain archeology mystery series, this debut is off to a fantastic start. If you're a big fan of Iris Johansen's Eve Duncan thriller series and Kathy Reichs's forensic archeology thriller series, you'll enjoy this one for sure. Lindsay Chamberlain is an archeological expert at the Merry Claymoore archeological site in Southern Georgia. It all started for her and her crew when they dug up and unearthed bones of a little girl who mysteriously died a few years ago. Then later on, she discovered more shocking clues of another missing little girl's disappearance that happened around the same time. While the sheriff calls in the family to identify her remains, she works on reconstructing the skeleton and sifting for clues to what happened to her. During the Burial 23 site, they discovered a half-century old murder of a missing person. And when word came out, it caused Lindsay and her crew some difficulties to disrupt their digging while Lindsay dealt with old feelings for her dance partner, Derek Bellamy. As more strange occurrences pop up between them and for her, it all reads to the greatest mystery of them all... leading to a dysfunctional rich aristocratic family and its matriarch with a fitting ending.
June 16, 2019
I found the scientific and archeological aspects of this extremely compelling and enjoyable to read.
The problem I had with it and the reason I can’t give it more than three stars was the characters and the dialogue. Some of the conversations that took place just felt unnatural. It was hard to distinguish any one character from the other. The characters all mostly fell into the good group or the bad group. There weren’t all that many shades of grey, and the entire group as a whole were completely appalled by the pot that was planted in the tents. If the emphasis had been on the fact that it was planted then that’s one thing, but it’s as if the entire group was shocked and anti-marijuana. Some of them would have been, sure, but the majority of the characters were college students. Someone out there would have rolled his eyes about it. And then there’s Michelle. Michelle who tells Lindsey that she’s going to fight to steal Derrick from her. Okay then. Cheesy. Very cheesy. Who does that? These are professional educated adults and why did we cross over however briefly into silly romance contrived drama?
I found it really hard to believe that the sheriff would let Lindsay become as involved as she did in these very serious murder investigations. Even if I buy it due to the extenuating circumstances (small town, coroner unavailable etc..) I still think that at the very least the sheriff would be glued to her side as she examined those bones. But they just let her work alone in the back room unsupervised. A decision that could possibly really screw up a prosecutor’s case I would think.
The problem I had with it and the reason I can’t give it more than three stars was the characters and the dialogue. Some of the conversations that took place just felt unnatural. It was hard to distinguish any one character from the other. The characters all mostly fell into the good group or the bad group. There weren’t all that many shades of grey, and the entire group as a whole were completely appalled by the pot that was planted in the tents. If the emphasis had been on the fact that it was planted then that’s one thing, but it’s as if the entire group was shocked and anti-marijuana. Some of them would have been, sure, but the majority of the characters were college students. Someone out there would have rolled his eyes about it. And then there’s Michelle. Michelle who tells Lindsey that she’s going to fight to steal Derrick from her. Okay then. Cheesy. Very cheesy. Who does that? These are professional educated adults and why did we cross over however briefly into silly romance contrived drama?
I found it really hard to believe that the sheriff would let Lindsay become as involved as she did in these very serious murder investigations. Even if I buy it due to the extenuating circumstances (small town, coroner unavailable etc..) I still think that at the very least the sheriff would be glued to her side as she examined those bones. But they just let her work alone in the back room unsupervised. A decision that could possibly really screw up a prosecutor’s case I would think.
May 31, 2014
This is the first in the Lindsay Chamberlain series by Beverly Connor. Lindsay is an archaeologist that also gets involved with solving a crime in cooperation with the sheriff.
This is not the first book I have read by this author. I have enjoyed several titles by her from her other series featuring Diane Fallon, who runs a museum and crime lab, and I enjoyed them thoroughly.
For those of you that are fans of the Diane Fallon series, this cannot compare. I found it to be too boring, not drawing me into the mystery like the more suspenseful Fallon books. It also had elements of romance that were weakly developed and wasted words. There's nothing racy or crude, just boring and awkward romantic moments that detract from the mystery. This will deter most male readers from this book (and series), whereas the Diane Fallon series is appealing to both male and female readers.
By page 85 or so, there was no suspense, no action, and very little to hold my interest, and I stopped reading it, so I cannot rate the ending. I was going to skip ahead, but to be honest, the story had not even developed enough to make me bother skipping ahead. I'm giving it one star and will not likely read another book in this series, but do not avoid this author, as I have enjoyed her other work.
This is not the first book I have read by this author. I have enjoyed several titles by her from her other series featuring Diane Fallon, who runs a museum and crime lab, and I enjoyed them thoroughly.
For those of you that are fans of the Diane Fallon series, this cannot compare. I found it to be too boring, not drawing me into the mystery like the more suspenseful Fallon books. It also had elements of romance that were weakly developed and wasted words. There's nothing racy or crude, just boring and awkward romantic moments that detract from the mystery. This will deter most male readers from this book (and series), whereas the Diane Fallon series is appealing to both male and female readers.
By page 85 or so, there was no suspense, no action, and very little to hold my interest, and I stopped reading it, so I cannot rate the ending. I was going to skip ahead, but to be honest, the story had not even developed enough to make me bother skipping ahead. I'm giving it one star and will not likely read another book in this series, but do not avoid this author, as I have enjoyed her other work.
June 21, 2011
Fairly interesting.
Archaeologists are digging in Georgia. Power company doesn't want them digging there. Tries to scare them off. Rich lady tries to scare them off. Sheriff calls lady archaeologist to look at some bones. This is has been a burial site - for a local pedophile. They find three little girls. Of course Lindsey can't help sticking her nose in ... well, she does have some expertise.
Anyway interesting little story. I like the people in it so I will probably look for more by Beverly Connor. Plus you learn a little about archaeology, bones, etc.
Archaeologists are digging in Georgia. Power company doesn't want them digging there. Tries to scare them off. Rich lady tries to scare them off. Sheriff calls lady archaeologist to look at some bones. This is has been a burial site - for a local pedophile. They find three little girls. Of course Lindsey can't help sticking her nose in ... well, she does have some expertise.
Anyway interesting little story. I like the people in it so I will probably look for more by Beverly Connor. Plus you learn a little about archaeology, bones, etc.
November 24, 2020
Love this author!
October 12, 2015
WoW!!!! This was such a joy to read. I started it on the 11th and couldn't put it down!!!
Read
December 7, 2010[these comments are taken from a mailing list discussion and therefore contain spoilers]
[about chapter heading quotes and first impressions]
I'll have to confess that I read the first half of this book yesterdaywithout even noticing the quotes! I probably only read quotes likethese about half the time and rarely find that they add much to abook. I find they take me out of one mode of reading and into anotherand somehow make a book seem less smooth.
I haven't worked out the significance of the title yet. I wasthinking that it may have something to do with the fact that they seemto be trying to keep the discovery of the more recent skeleton inBurial 23 quiet but news is seeping out. Perhaps it will make moresense by the end of the book.
In reference to the links about bones posted over the weekend I didn'tfind anything absurd in what Lindsay was deducing from the bones butmy knowledge of this type of thing is entirely based on TV archaeologyanyway.
I'm confused as to why this could be seen as a Halloween type of book?Lindsay seeing ghosts is the only thing I can think of that connectsto Halloween but I think it's clear that she's just imagining howthings were rather than actually seeing things.
I found the beginning of this book really slow and skimmed the firstcouple of chapters until I felt the narrative had picked up a bit. Bythe halfway point though I'd sorted out the characters a bit more andI could have kept on reading it quite happily.
[about lindsay's imagination and other characters]
To me the things Lindsay dreams up from her deductions are definitelyjust imagination grafted onto facts and not woo-woo at all. I likethis bit of Lindsay a lot though there was one bit where she went onand on til my eyes glazed over.
My problem with Lindsay is that she's not been shown to be bad atanythng but nobody hates her for it. If somebody would just have a goat her and raise the emotions a little then the book would be moreinteresting. Since the book is written in the third person we don'tsee any of Lindsay's own self doubts (presuming she has some) so Ireally think somebody else ought to point her flaws out to us.
The only character I can think of that we've seen a negative side toso far is Ned. Everybody is so fair and friendly and good that theyonly seem to have one dimension which makes them pretty uninterestingpeople.
I think Kay Scarpetta is a much more developed character despite theproblems of the later books in that series, but then I've read muchmore than half a book of Scarpetta. I feel a bit hasty puttingLindsay down when I've only just met her. I haven't read any of KathyReichs' books yet though I've had Deja Dead on Mount TBR for yonks.
[about all the plotlines]
I think that this book has too many story lines going on for any ofthem to be that captivating. (A) There's the story of the littlegirls bones which I think is the most interesting part as it combinesarchaelogical insights with fairly current events. I thought thatthis was the main storyline with the photographer as the major suspectat the half way point. (B) Then there's the woman from Burial 23 withher gold filling and the horse burial too. Did we figure out that thewoman and the horse were related? (I've only read half the book andI've already got a case of CRS.) (C) There's also the dead bodythat's turned up in the river, Seymour I think his name was.
On top of that there's (D) a mystery of why bad things are happeningat the dig camp, which is probably down to Ned, but possibly connectedto any of the other storylines. Then as well as all this there's (E)the native American burials that the dig is all about to start with.That's before we even start on (F) the Mills&Boon/Harlequin stuff.
I'm all for a decent subplot, several decent subplots, or even acouple of equally weighted plots but I'm getting confused with thisbook because it doesn't seem to have any focus. I've no idea which ofA-F I'm supposed to concentrate on.
Both A and B are interesting storylines worthy of a book (though notnecessarily this book). C I presume must be related to one of A or B.D could be related to A, B or C or not related at all. E would beinteresting background if the foreground wasn't so cluttered. F issomething I don't really have a problem with but I'd rather had beenmore realistic, and again it just feels like clutter rather thancharacterisation.
Anyway, with all these letters I feel I'm back trying to solveequations and the more I think about the plot of the first half ofthis book the more confused I'm making myself! I'll go and graph thesquare root of AB against the natural log of D/F and see if the plotmakes any more sense that way....
[was lindsay right to investigate?]
I think this is where the book falls down really. Lindsay's a boneexpert and what she does is interesting and makes for part of a goodstory but she's just a helper in this investigation. She's not reallygot any reason to go off investigating on her own and whatinvestigating she does isn't very interesting. Threats to her safetyare a good, if stereotypical, way to give her a reason to investigatebut they don't work here because she's just too damn perfect and nicea person to take them seriously.
[about the tylers and resolutions]
I was pretty confused by the cast of characters in this book anddidn't really have any concept of the Tylers as a family until thevery end of the book when they had the picnic. I remember Isabel fromsomewhere near the beginning of the book when she was introduced asone of the dead girls' grandmother but the concept of them as thelocal big family didn't come across to me. In particular I don'trecall meeting the magician guy until the very end which seemed like abit of a cheat to me. I suspect he was introduced but that I justdidn't notice it enough to remember him. Since two of the mainplotlines went back to this family I think the book would have beenbetter if there had been more development of the family.
I thought the painting bit was probably the best thing in the book.It used Lindsay's expert knowledge of bones to deduce something fromclues in plain sight. It is quite Sherlockian but I thought it fittedin well here. Sherlock would suddenly, from out of nowhere, have toldus that he'd once written a monograph on the brow ridges of mirrortwins or something like that with a strong odour of deus ex machinaabout it whereas the setup was all there for Lindsay to make accurateobservations. I liked the way she confronted Isabel with the facts ofhow the twin sister died to show that it was unlikely to have been thehusband who killed her.
If I'd been trying to solve the "Burial 23" mystery then the paucityof suspects for a 60 year old murder would probably have made thesolution obvious with bright beacons burning around the only characterold enough to have played a part in it. That Connor could mix up thisinteresting but not particularly taxing mystery (from the reader'spoint of view) is one advantage of the lack of focus on any onestoryline in this book.
[general points]
I didn't really notice the shortcomings of the dialogue until I'd hadthem pointed out to me, I just had a general feeling that nothing rangtrue. I don't demand absolute realism of my mysteries but I like tofeel that I understand why the characters act as they do and I neverquite sussed out what was going on here.
I thought that there weren't enough highs and lows in the plot. Everychapter had some kind of big discovery and rather than making the plotexciting it just made it tedious. I would rather have had the authorconcentrate on the mystery of the young girls more and have hadLindsay do more investigating. I think "Burial 23" was the bestplotline in the book though and I did like its conclusion but itcould've been tied into the little girls deaths much better. I'd liketo have seen more complexity in how Isabel Tyler's past crime came toinfluence her family's lives and gave birth to the criminal intents ofher descendants who murdered the girls. Not that I want everythingall tied up neatly, just that I thought there was a much better storylurking within this book than the one that was told.
I'd rather the whole romance thread had been junked by an editor. Itjust took away from the other plotlines and didn't add anything to it.The characters were all acting like thirteen year olds in search ofnothing more than a snog. The rest of the book was distinctlyunrealistic but this was the bit that really killed it for me. I'drather Lindsay had slept her way through the camp than demurelydeliberated over each man's charms.
CRS has kicked in and I can't remember a chase scene. The bit thatseems very formulaic to me was when Patrick had kidnapped Lindsay andI was wondering which of her two suitors would turn up to rescue her.
The resolution of "Burial 23" was quite decent, the resolution of thelittle girls deaths wasn't much good at all. I might read a bookfurther into the series if someone whose reading tastes I trust tellsme that the writing and the plot have improved but otherwise I'munlikely to bother. I thought the idea of this book was good but itjust didn't deliver for me.
May 21, 2018
Archaeologist and forensic anthropologist Lindsay Chamberlain is working on a dig in Georgia when the local sheriff asks her to identify some bones that were just located by hunters. Lindsay has Sarah and Mike Pruitt, anxious parents, waiting to know if their little girl has been found. By comparing the bones to photos of their child, Lindsay quickly eliminates her but there is still a question of who the child is. Lindsay volunteers her friend Derrick who is in charge of clearing the site and his crew to the sheriff.
Derrick and his crew find another grave. This time the bones do belong to little Peggy Pruitt. It looks like the town has a serial killer. Than a third body of a molested and murdered little girl is found in the same area. Lindsay can't get the question of who killed the children out of her mind and brings her theories to the sheriff.
Meanwhile at the dig, tensions are high. The archaeologist in charge is constantly arguing with one of the other archaeologists, pothunters are harassing the site, a lawyer is trying to shut them down, and another body is discovered. This one is not one of the Native Americans who belong in the site as evidenced by a gold filling in a tooth and a bullet in the skull. Lindsay decides to do a facial reconstruction to see if the body can be identified but she estimates the person has been there between 25 and 50 years.
Adding even more tension is the fact that Lindsay seems to have gained herself an admirer who won't take no for an answer and who is the son of one of the prominent families. The Taylors used to own the banks, lumberyards and land though their influence has lessened over the years. Lindsay is also unsettled in her personal life. She's had a bit of a crush on Frank who is archaeologist in charge of the dig and who seems to be returning her interest but she also has changing feelings about Derrick who seems to want to move on from the friend category. Then there are other women who are interested in both Frank and Derrick and who resent Lindsay for what they see as not making up her mind.
This was an entertaining mystery filled will all sorts of great detail about what it means to be an archaeologist and what archaeologists do. I liked Lindsay despite her inability to make up her mind about her love life and look forward to reading more about her.
Derrick and his crew find another grave. This time the bones do belong to little Peggy Pruitt. It looks like the town has a serial killer. Than a third body of a molested and murdered little girl is found in the same area. Lindsay can't get the question of who killed the children out of her mind and brings her theories to the sheriff.
Meanwhile at the dig, tensions are high. The archaeologist in charge is constantly arguing with one of the other archaeologists, pothunters are harassing the site, a lawyer is trying to shut them down, and another body is discovered. This one is not one of the Native Americans who belong in the site as evidenced by a gold filling in a tooth and a bullet in the skull. Lindsay decides to do a facial reconstruction to see if the body can be identified but she estimates the person has been there between 25 and 50 years.
Adding even more tension is the fact that Lindsay seems to have gained herself an admirer who won't take no for an answer and who is the son of one of the prominent families. The Taylors used to own the banks, lumberyards and land though their influence has lessened over the years. Lindsay is also unsettled in her personal life. She's had a bit of a crush on Frank who is archaeologist in charge of the dig and who seems to be returning her interest but she also has changing feelings about Derrick who seems to want to move on from the friend category. Then there are other women who are interested in both Frank and Derrick and who resent Lindsay for what they see as not making up her mind.
This was an entertaining mystery filled will all sorts of great detail about what it means to be an archaeologist and what archaeologists do. I liked Lindsay despite her inability to make up her mind about her love life and look forward to reading more about her.
October 9, 2022
A Rumor of Bones by Beverly Connor is the first book of the Lindsay Chamberlain mystery series set in contemporary Georgia. Lindsay Chamberlain is a forensic anthropologist, an expert on bones, working at an archaeological dig outside a small town. Merry Claymoore has a 1950s atmosphere, from the Victorians to the shops. The Indian village they are excavating dates back 500 years.
When a small child's body is found in nearby woods, the sheriff asks Lindsay to lend her expertise with bones. She quickly determines the bones do not belong to a local girl who went missing. Due to the nature of the injuries, she suggests that part of the archaeology crew carefully search the crime scene. Diverting crew members from the dig enrages Ned, one of the crew, who feels he should rightfully be the dig leader (he isn't).
More bodies turn up, even in the dig itself. Fascinating and educational details of forensics (focused on bones) fit smoothly into the storyline. Danger lurks: clearly someone wants to end the dig. To prevent the discovery of old crimes? Lindsay perseveres with her quest to identify the modern-era bodies, in hopes of stopping a serial killer.
Lindsay's expertise with bones goes beyond human bones. She's expert at classifying animal bones, too. Whether ancient remains or contemporary, she identifies with each skeleton as a person who once lived. To identify a victim from 60 years ago, she recreates the person's face with clay. Successful in her quest for the truth, Lindsay is viciously attacked, nearly killed.
Now and then between digging and sleuthing, romance intervenes. Lindsay seesaws between dig leader Frank vs. crew member Derrick. She and Derrick have been fantastic dancers for years; have won competitions. Staying 'just friends' (albeit close friends) seems best, but Derrick now wants more. Meanwhile Frank is sought after by Marsha, town historian and garden club leader. Fellow archaeology crew member Michelle sets her cap for Derrick.
It's interesting to contrast Lindsay, primarily an expert on bones, who does forensic sculpture as an aid to identify a victim, with Eve Duncan (series by Iris Johansen) whose exclusive professional focus is forensic sculpture. Both identify with their crime victims, and seek justice.
When a small child's body is found in nearby woods, the sheriff asks Lindsay to lend her expertise with bones. She quickly determines the bones do not belong to a local girl who went missing. Due to the nature of the injuries, she suggests that part of the archaeology crew carefully search the crime scene. Diverting crew members from the dig enrages Ned, one of the crew, who feels he should rightfully be the dig leader (he isn't).
More bodies turn up, even in the dig itself. Fascinating and educational details of forensics (focused on bones) fit smoothly into the storyline. Danger lurks: clearly someone wants to end the dig. To prevent the discovery of old crimes? Lindsay perseveres with her quest to identify the modern-era bodies, in hopes of stopping a serial killer.
Lindsay's expertise with bones goes beyond human bones. She's expert at classifying animal bones, too. Whether ancient remains or contemporary, she identifies with each skeleton as a person who once lived. To identify a victim from 60 years ago, she recreates the person's face with clay. Successful in her quest for the truth, Lindsay is viciously attacked, nearly killed.
Now and then between digging and sleuthing, romance intervenes. Lindsay seesaws between dig leader Frank vs. crew member Derrick. She and Derrick have been fantastic dancers for years; have won competitions. Staying 'just friends' (albeit close friends) seems best, but Derrick now wants more. Meanwhile Frank is sought after by Marsha, town historian and garden club leader. Fellow archaeology crew member Michelle sets her cap for Derrick.
It's interesting to contrast Lindsay, primarily an expert on bones, who does forensic sculpture as an aid to identify a victim, with Eve Duncan (series by Iris Johansen) whose exclusive professional focus is forensic sculpture. Both identify with their crime victims, and seek justice.
November 7, 2024
I can’t give this a five, because it ended up being SO gruesome. I also got rather tired of hearing how gorgeous Lindsay is and how EVERY man is madly in lust with her. I also did want some type of psychological explanation of why the psycho did what he did to the girls. ( Yeah, I know; finding a clear psychological explanation is not always possible.)
Lindsay specializes in archaeological digs involving Indian history. She is involved in a dig that involves two males who are constantly arguing about who is in charge, (including possible romantic interests,) along with possible interference from energy corporations. Then, they run across the body of a young girl that is more recent, which throws everyone into a tizzy.
The characters are a bit two dimensional rather than fully explained/developed. The Lindsay visualizing the past stuff was somewhat jarring. I will probably read some sequels, hopefully with less gorgeous Lindsay and child torture.
Lindsay specializes in archaeological digs involving Indian history. She is involved in a dig that involves two males who are constantly arguing about who is in charge, (including possible romantic interests,) along with possible interference from energy corporations. Then, they run across the body of a young girl that is more recent, which throws everyone into a tizzy.
The characters are a bit two dimensional rather than fully explained/developed. The Lindsay visualizing the past stuff was somewhat jarring. I will probably read some sequels, hopefully with less gorgeous Lindsay and child torture.
January 14, 2021
I’ve read a few books by Ms. Conner. This is the first Lindsay Chambers and her first novel. I remember when I was in the 6th grade and Ms. Conner came to talk to my literature class about writing and what she did both professionally as a research archeologist and writing. This was my first introduction to her. I read a few Diane Fallon novels, and I would say that I would prefer those to the Lindsay Chambers. When I read the second in this series, I’ll have a better understanding of her characterization.
This book did have a few hills and valleys, but it is her first novel. There were quite an amount of grammatical errors, spelling errors, punctuation errors, and at times, there were a few character errors.
Overall, it was a pleasant, easy to read mystery novel, and I cannot wait to start the next in the series.
This book did have a few hills and valleys, but it is her first novel. There were quite an amount of grammatical errors, spelling errors, punctuation errors, and at times, there were a few character errors.
Overall, it was a pleasant, easy to read mystery novel, and I cannot wait to start the next in the series.
September 24, 2019
Lindsay is an forensic anthropologist. Though her expertise is in archeology digs, she is court certified as an expert in bones. To incur favor of the locals, she agrees to look at human remains for the sheriff.
The story and mystery by itself were interesting and engaging. The romantic subplot was terrible. Now, I hate a love triangle, but this one was even too weak to call it that. The lead character was so ambivalent about the whole thing I wondered why it was in there in the first place. It was a bit annoying, actually. Okay, it was really annoying. Just drop that romantic spin and move on.
All in all a good read. Will read on to book2.
The story and mystery by itself were interesting and engaging. The romantic subplot was terrible. Now, I hate a love triangle, but this one was even too weak to call it that. The lead character was so ambivalent about the whole thing I wondered why it was in there in the first place. It was a bit annoying, actually. Okay, it was really annoying. Just drop that romantic spin and move on.
All in all a good read. Will read on to book2.
February 17, 2025
Lindsay Chamberlain is an archaeologist with a specialty in bones. She is part of a dig outside Merry Claymoore. As usual, the dig is bothered by pot hunters, but as time goes on and the dig continues to be bothered with efforts to close them down, Lindsay and the others start realizing there is more going on. Then bones of a child are found and the sheriff asks Lindsay to examine them as they might be those of Patsy Pruit a child who went missing; they are not, they are the bones of a different missing girl. At the site, bones that are only 50-100 years old are discovered. Wile Lindsay examines the skull, she discovers a bullet. Who was this person and who killed her?
June 19, 2019
As always, I love reading about archeologists (or forensic anthropologists--as Lindsay is). This dig was to ascertain if the early inhabitants pre-dated the arrival of white foreigners. BUT...so many bodies kept being discovered in the area and even one much more recent one in the main excavation. Lindsay, as the bone expert, was called upon to decipher the clues all the bodies' bones revealed. There was a good interplay of personalities (not all positive) at the dig sight and further into the community. Thoroughly entertaining.
August 3, 2025
Upgrading this a bit because I will always dream of another life where I pursued anthropology instead of literature, and I find the shop talk really interesting. Writing was solid enough to sweep me away. Despite that, a couple things are bugging me. One is that I figured out the killer instantly upon their introduction. Another is that 1 or 2 threads seemed to get kind of dropped. I don’t think they were so subtle that I missed them. But if I can find more of the series, I’m interested in going on with it.
July 21, 2022
Not sure how I acquired this book, but a few days ago I went to my TBR horde and saw this one.
I love forensic anthropology and especially anything involving bones.
This book sold the next one and I'll be reading it soon (it won't go in the TBR pile)
While I liked the attention to detail, I thought there could be a bit more showing rather than telling. She rarely gets mad enough to react. I expected a bit more emotion at the end when Patrick died.
I love forensic anthropology and especially anything involving bones.
This book sold the next one and I'll be reading it soon (it won't go in the TBR pile)
While I liked the attention to detail, I thought there could be a bit more showing rather than telling. She rarely gets mad enough to react. I expected a bit more emotion at the end when Patrick died.
June 9, 2019
Old bones and murder
Really enjoyed this book! I know very little about archeology but that didn’t deter from the excitement of reading this mystery. Lindsey is an archeologist who is also very adept at solving murders, even though she was not prepared to do so while she was involved in her latest dig. A fast-moving and thrilling mystery.
Really enjoyed this book! I know very little about archeology but that didn’t deter from the excitement of reading this mystery. Lindsey is an archeologist who is also very adept at solving murders, even though she was not prepared to do so while she was involved in her latest dig. A fast-moving and thrilling mystery.
March 5, 2023
Interesting read. Lindsay Chamberlain a bone expert at an archeological site is asked by the local police to examine some bones to determine if they belong to a missing child. Then more bodies show up...Lindsay and her friends start snooping around to find out what happened. I enjoyed the well rounded characters and background.
August 29, 2025
Lindsay Chamberlain is asked to help in identifying several little girls all of whose bones show signs of severe abuse. As an archaeologist and forensic anthropologist, Lindsay is an intriguing character. As an investigator, not so much. She is careless about casting suspicion on innocent people and she solves the case by pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
February 10, 2019
A good start to a potentially interesting series. Sometimes the description of archaeology procedures was a bit long. Didn't help with the plot. I will read the second in the series and hope these occasional overly long descriptions are minimized.
June 17, 2024
Intriguing plot!
I really learned a lot about archeology and the intricate workings of digs.
The story was very intricate and kept me riveted throughout.
I'm so glad this is a series! 🙏
I really learned a lot about archeology and the intricate workings of digs.
The story was very intricate and kept me riveted throughout.
I'm so glad this is a series! 🙏
July 1, 2017
Enjoyed the book
I will probably read the entire series. I learned quite a bit about archeology and was entertained at the same time.
I will probably read the entire series. I learned quite a bit about archeology and was entertained at the same time.
September 30, 2017
Good read
Very easy to read. Lost of protagonists. Lots of information on digs bones etc.
Looking forward to the next book
Very easy to read. Lost of protagonists. Lots of information on digs bones etc.
Looking forward to the next book
April 19, 2019
This was a good mystery that I got out of my high school library. It was good with an easy flowing plotline and a romance. I would recommend this book to both high schoolers and adults.
July 22, 2019
Enjoyed Connor's writing skill -and- the subject matter.
August 15, 2019
A new series for me. It was a great read. The characters and plot were very intriguing. I am looking forward to reading more from this series.
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