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Matt Howard #3
The Mounds Anomaly
Mathilda (Matt) Howard can’t resist a good mystery. So when one falls into her hands, she relentlessly pieces the clues together to figure out the answer. It all starts with a forgotten coin that Matt finds in her old excavating backpack. But when she takes it to a colleague, it’s instantly branded a fake from one of the greatest hoaxes ever to occur in America.
Undeterred by the skepticism, Matt begins to dig for the truth, leading her to ancient ruins in Illinois and Michigan. But just as she makes some headway in her research, she is stopped again and again by those who don’t want the truth out—a truth that could change the entire world’s history.
Full of intrigue and action, The Mounds Anomaly will change the way you think about ancient American history.
Undeterred by the skepticism, Matt begins to dig for the truth, leading her to ancient ruins in Illinois and Michigan. But just as she makes some headway in her research, she is stopped again and again by those who don’t want the truth out—a truth that could change the entire world’s history.
Full of intrigue and action, The Mounds Anomaly will change the way you think about ancient American history.
216 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2013
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 15, 2013
I am fascinated by archaeology. The past holds many mysteries that are waiting to be unlocked. Whenever someone finds pieces of the past, questions are answered and sometimes more questions are revealed.
When the opportunity came for me to review this book, I jumped on it. To have someone delve into the mystery of ancient American history is not something that is typically found. The reasons for this are stated in the book, many findings have been marked as a huge and elaborate hoax.
I enjoyed Phyllis Gunderson's fictional book that explores a real topic. I loved that an archaeologist was questioning and exploring, in spite of the ramifications to her career. While the characters are fictional, she has author's notes at the end of the book that document work done by past professionals and their conclusions.
The book is well written and interesting to read. It opened my eyes to many details that may be one of the biggest cover ups in history.
When the opportunity came for me to review this book, I jumped on it. To have someone delve into the mystery of ancient American history is not something that is typically found. The reasons for this are stated in the book, many findings have been marked as a huge and elaborate hoax.
I enjoyed Phyllis Gunderson's fictional book that explores a real topic. I loved that an archaeologist was questioning and exploring, in spite of the ramifications to her career. While the characters are fictional, she has author's notes at the end of the book that document work done by past professionals and their conclusions.
The book is well written and interesting to read. It opened my eyes to many details that may be one of the biggest cover ups in history.
November 2, 2025
I'm not 100% sure what I read but I enjoyed it
Read
October 17, 2022A couple years ago my husband read a few books on pre-Colombian connections between the New World and the Old World, so I’d heard of the mound builders, Haplogroup X mitochondrial DNA, and the Smithsonian Institution’s dismissal of artifacts that didn’t fit existing archeological theories. Kudos to Gunderson for writing an entertaining novel about it. Gunderson provided an interesting narrator, Matt (Matilda) Howard, and kept the story moving at a good pace. It wasn’t so gripping that I couldn’t put it down, but I never got bored.
Here’s my favorite thing about this book: most LDS fiction writers follow the theory that the Book of Mormon peoples must have lived in MesoAmerica, because that’s where all the advanced ancient civilizations in the Americas were, right? Not really. There are actually some great candidate peoples around the Great Lakes. (I don’t think she actually mentions the Hopewell or Adena tribes in the book, but if you’re curious, you can Google them.) My belief in the Book of Mormon isn’t based on archeological evidence, but I think the Great Lakes theory makes more sense then the MesoAmerica theory, and I’m happy to see a novel that takes that theory and runs with it.
Here’s my least favorite thing about the book: the ending. A goodreads search shows that this isn’t the only book with Matt Howard as narrator, so maybe the ending works better for someone who has read the other books.
Overall, I’d recommend the book if you like watching sarcastic/witty college professors piecing together mysteries. Matt digs through books and digs through the dirt to find her information. The book doesn’t have any real villains, and usually novels without bad guys don’t work for me, but this one did. It’s labeled historical fiction for the Whitney Awards, but most of it takes place over a few years starting in 1999, so it doesn’t feel like historical fiction (that’s not a complaint, just an observation).
Here’s my favorite thing about this book: most LDS fiction writers follow the theory that the Book of Mormon peoples must have lived in MesoAmerica, because that’s where all the advanced ancient civilizations in the Americas were, right? Not really. There are actually some great candidate peoples around the Great Lakes. (I don’t think she actually mentions the Hopewell or Adena tribes in the book, but if you’re curious, you can Google them.) My belief in the Book of Mormon isn’t based on archeological evidence, but I think the Great Lakes theory makes more sense then the MesoAmerica theory, and I’m happy to see a novel that takes that theory and runs with it.
Here’s my least favorite thing about the book: the ending. A goodreads search shows that this isn’t the only book with Matt Howard as narrator, so maybe the ending works better for someone who has read the other books.
Overall, I’d recommend the book if you like watching sarcastic/witty college professors piecing together mysteries. Matt digs through books and digs through the dirt to find her information. The book doesn’t have any real villains, and usually novels without bad guys don’t work for me, but this one did. It’s labeled historical fiction for the Whitney Awards, but most of it takes place over a few years starting in 1999, so it doesn’t feel like historical fiction (that’s not a complaint, just an observation).
February 10, 2024
Phyllis Gunderson, like her main character Dr. Matilda "Matt" Howard, has latched onto a theory that many people before Christopher Columbus visited North America as part of their regular trade route and were the true Native Americans. Matt finds clues and what she believes is evidence of the veracity of this theory yet runs into staunch opposition from her department chair and colleagues around the country. She persists, risking her career (though, without tenure, what's she really risking?), alienating herself from others, and chasing down questionable possibilities in her quest.
Several things troubled me about this book. Although the premise is interesting, it smacks of ethnocentricity, of suggesting that the American ancients were incapable of creating their rich civilizations without some European blood. For example, the only reference to the Pueblo ruins is this: "The Star of David was found in a Pueblo ruin in New Mexico." This isn't evidence, no matter how much Matt/Gunderson want to spin it as such.
And I can't figure out what motivation Gunderson gave Matt for adopting a Chinese girl ("I adopted a two-year-old daughter from China the year after and gave up foreign digs" is all we're given) because the daughter is mostly ignored or considered a burden (though by the conclusion Matt seems to have had an awakening about this). Why adopt if you can so easily lead the child into danger, forget to retrieve her from a caregiver or to feed her...? Matt's treatment of Marisa did little to warm me to the main character, who was abrasive to other characters, seeing herself as superior to them.
It's no fun being so critical to a book that Gunderson clearly believes in, but these faults are the result of shaping a novel based on a set of ideas or a theory to which the plot and characters must support, rather than creating dynamic characters and allowing them to drive the plot.
There's some good writing here, and that's the only reason I battled through the long-winded explanations and theorizing to reach the last page. Other than that, you might serve yourself better to read the research about this controversy directly, rather than slog through this novel to learn about it. The bibliography is a nice place to start.
Several things troubled me about this book. Although the premise is interesting, it smacks of ethnocentricity, of suggesting that the American ancients were incapable of creating their rich civilizations without some European blood. For example, the only reference to the Pueblo ruins is this: "The Star of David was found in a Pueblo ruin in New Mexico." This isn't evidence, no matter how much Matt/Gunderson want to spin it as such.
And I can't figure out what motivation Gunderson gave Matt for adopting a Chinese girl ("I adopted a two-year-old daughter from China the year after and gave up foreign digs" is all we're given) because the daughter is mostly ignored or considered a burden (though by the conclusion Matt seems to have had an awakening about this). Why adopt if you can so easily lead the child into danger, forget to retrieve her from a caregiver or to feed her...? Matt's treatment of Marisa did little to warm me to the main character, who was abrasive to other characters, seeing herself as superior to them.
It's no fun being so critical to a book that Gunderson clearly believes in, but these faults are the result of shaping a novel based on a set of ideas or a theory to which the plot and characters must support, rather than creating dynamic characters and allowing them to drive the plot.
There's some good writing here, and that's the only reason I battled through the long-winded explanations and theorizing to reach the last page. Other than that, you might serve yourself better to read the research about this controversy directly, rather than slog through this novel to learn about it. The bibliography is a nice place to start.
November 21, 2023
For a book group:
This was a fun, lighthearted almost noir adventure mystery. It was quippy, clever, and informative.
Interesting theories that don't seem improbable, even if they are a bit conspiracy-theorist. Very enjoyable and may prompt further reading or at least midnight internet rabbit holes.
It made me remember the book 1491, about the state of the world before Columbus, I don't remember too much about North America, mostly South and Central America, I'll have to go back and look....
This was a fun, lighthearted almost noir adventure mystery. It was quippy, clever, and informative.
Interesting theories that don't seem improbable, even if they are a bit conspiracy-theorist. Very enjoyable and may prompt further reading or at least midnight internet rabbit holes.
It made me remember the book 1491, about the state of the world before Columbus, I don't remember too much about North America, mostly South and Central America, I'll have to go back and look....
July 27, 2022
It was a really good book. I enjoyed reading it. It had a lot of anthropological information. It has made me interested in finding out more about sites listed and appreciated the author explaining what was factual at the end. Will look for more books by author.
July 3, 2013
I love anomalies don’t you? To save you having to look up anomaly let me just help you out with a definition as it applies to archaeology. It’s when someone finds something like an ancient cave that seems to contain Egyptian style artifacts in North America.
The main character in “The Mounds Anomaly” is an eccentric, sarcastic, middle-aged archaeology professor named Mathilda (Matt) Howard. She’s exactly like Indiana Jones – except for a few major differences. He’s good-looking and dashing and well, she’s not. They both share a devotion to ancient ruins and artifacts but while Indy travels to exotic international locations, Matt goes to farms, sheds and gullies in the USA. Dr. Jones never gets injured and saves the lives of his cohorts. Dr. Howard breaks her arm falling off a thirty-foot cliff in Illinois, and her ragged incision on a snake bite victim to do a suck and spit almost kills a girl.
Provo author Phyllis Gunderson has written 26 chapters of a fictional story with 26 author’s notes at the end. It’s a great way to separate fact and fiction without slowing down the plot, unless you are like me and become more intrigued by the facts and references.
In the fictional story, Matt Howard discovers that the Smithsonian Institute suppressed and even destroyed evidence from mounds found in North America. The conspiracy apparently continues despite thousands of artifacts collected from the mounds. Huh.
I confess that I spent some time on the internet after I finished the book to check the facts. I came across this reference to a famous Smithsonian annual report: “Cyrus Thomas, the Bureau's appointed head of the Division of Mound Exploration, eventually published his conclusions on the origins of the mounds in the Bureau's Annual Report of 1894. It is considered to be the last word in the controversy over the Mound builders' identities. After Thomas' publication, scholars generally accepted that varying cultures of prehistoric indigenous peoples, Native Americans, were the Mound builders.”
Were the mound builders Native Americans or an earlier culture which had arrived on boats from the east as Gunderson implies? I’m more curious now about ancient American history which I suspect is exactly what the author intended.
The main character in “The Mounds Anomaly” is an eccentric, sarcastic, middle-aged archaeology professor named Mathilda (Matt) Howard. She’s exactly like Indiana Jones – except for a few major differences. He’s good-looking and dashing and well, she’s not. They both share a devotion to ancient ruins and artifacts but while Indy travels to exotic international locations, Matt goes to farms, sheds and gullies in the USA. Dr. Jones never gets injured and saves the lives of his cohorts. Dr. Howard breaks her arm falling off a thirty-foot cliff in Illinois, and her ragged incision on a snake bite victim to do a suck and spit almost kills a girl.
Provo author Phyllis Gunderson has written 26 chapters of a fictional story with 26 author’s notes at the end. It’s a great way to separate fact and fiction without slowing down the plot, unless you are like me and become more intrigued by the facts and references.
In the fictional story, Matt Howard discovers that the Smithsonian Institute suppressed and even destroyed evidence from mounds found in North America. The conspiracy apparently continues despite thousands of artifacts collected from the mounds. Huh.
I confess that I spent some time on the internet after I finished the book to check the facts. I came across this reference to a famous Smithsonian annual report: “Cyrus Thomas, the Bureau's appointed head of the Division of Mound Exploration, eventually published his conclusions on the origins of the mounds in the Bureau's Annual Report of 1894. It is considered to be the last word in the controversy over the Mound builders' identities. After Thomas' publication, scholars generally accepted that varying cultures of prehistoric indigenous peoples, Native Americans, were the Mound builders.”
Were the mound builders Native Americans or an earlier culture which had arrived on boats from the east as Gunderson implies? I’m more curious now about ancient American history which I suspect is exactly what the author intended.
March 28, 2014
I wasn't sure what to expect going into this story of an iconoclastic archeologist, Matt Howard ("Matt" legally changed her name from "Matilda"). But this suspense wound up being surprisingly enjoyable. In fact, it reminded me strongly of Elizabeth Peter's novels, which is about as high a compliment as I can pay it. Matt Howard and Amelia Peabody would have gotten along swimmingly.
The story opens well, with Matt excavating an archeological site in Iran. But after thieves drive them out, Matt returns home, stuffs her pack in a closet and proceeds to forget about it for nearly ten years, during which she acquires a semi-respectable job as a college professor and adopts a daughter from China.
But then during an impromptu cleaning of the closet, Matt discovers her pack. And in it, she discovers a gold coin--a coin that shouldn't exist. She's determined it's real, but her attempts to find out its origin prove futile. Meanwhile, in what feels like some kind of divine conspiracy, Matt finds her way to the sites of other North American anomalies: forts with elaborate maze-like fortifications, stone tablets with cuneiform inscriptions and, of all things, Bible scenes. But none of these things are supposed to exist, since the official archeology party line is that North America has no ancient culture and no evidence of diffusion (the idea that ancient Indians might have traded with or otherwise had contact with Ancient European and Middle Eastern cultures). But the more Matt finds, the more convinced she is that the archeology community is wrong. Trouble is, if she pursues her findings publicly, she's liable to face ridicule from the archeology community--and more to the point, lose her job and her means of supporting her daughter.
Matt herself is a delightful narrator: smart, funny, slightly perverse. And the anomalies she encountered (mostly based on real artifacts--you can read the historical details at the end of the novel) are fascinating. And the idea of a massive cover-up by professionals is appealing (Gunderson even manages to avoid making it sound paranoid). My only real issue with the novel was that it was short--after building suspense quite successfully, it wraps things up really quickly, and with a solution that felt, to me, like a let-down.
The story opens well, with Matt excavating an archeological site in Iran. But after thieves drive them out, Matt returns home, stuffs her pack in a closet and proceeds to forget about it for nearly ten years, during which she acquires a semi-respectable job as a college professor and adopts a daughter from China.
But then during an impromptu cleaning of the closet, Matt discovers her pack. And in it, she discovers a gold coin--a coin that shouldn't exist. She's determined it's real, but her attempts to find out its origin prove futile. Meanwhile, in what feels like some kind of divine conspiracy, Matt finds her way to the sites of other North American anomalies: forts with elaborate maze-like fortifications, stone tablets with cuneiform inscriptions and, of all things, Bible scenes. But none of these things are supposed to exist, since the official archeology party line is that North America has no ancient culture and no evidence of diffusion (the idea that ancient Indians might have traded with or otherwise had contact with Ancient European and Middle Eastern cultures). But the more Matt finds, the more convinced she is that the archeology community is wrong. Trouble is, if she pursues her findings publicly, she's liable to face ridicule from the archeology community--and more to the point, lose her job and her means of supporting her daughter.
Matt herself is a delightful narrator: smart, funny, slightly perverse. And the anomalies she encountered (mostly based on real artifacts--you can read the historical details at the end of the novel) are fascinating. And the idea of a massive cover-up by professionals is appealing (Gunderson even manages to avoid making it sound paranoid). My only real issue with the novel was that it was short--after building suspense quite successfully, it wraps things up really quickly, and with a solution that felt, to me, like a let-down.
June 13, 2013
While I am not an archaeologist, I find archaeological mysteries fascinating, so when I heard about this book, I knew I wanted to read it. And the book did not disappoint. Matt (formerly Matilda) is a delightful character full of bluntness, determination, and snide remarks. In addition to the mystery aspects of the story, I snorted my way through Matt's comments about everything. For example, when describing herself she says, "My middle name is perversity. My first name used to be Matilda, due to the temporary insanity of my parents, but I legally changed it to 'Matt,' and I'm better now."
Beyond enjoying the main character and her 'attitude' I was fascinated by the mystery that Matt confronts. The mystery of whether North America ever had an ancient civilization, beyond that of Native Americans. While the story is made up, the mystery is very real and there is much that still isn't known about the artifacts that are discussed in the story. I think what I found sad was how so many scientists, archaeologists, etc, immediately rejected the artifacts without bothering to even take a look, the artifacts and those who found them were immediately classified as a hoax.
Science is supposed to be about the possible, even if unexplainable and yet how quick humans can be to reject something that doesn't fit what we think we know. Now of course I'm sure there are plenty of scientists who are willing to consider that human knowledge is incomplete at best and often down right wrong, but there are far too many who refuse to look beyond their own ideas and beliefs. I loved that Matt did everything in her power to find out everything she could about the artifacts. But the story is realistic also about the obstacles that she runs into and like the real world not all her questions get answered and there are few willing to help her.
Both an entertaining story and a fascinating subject, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Mounds Anomaly. I can heartily recommend the book to all who enjoy mysteries involving the past.
Beyond enjoying the main character and her 'attitude' I was fascinated by the mystery that Matt confronts. The mystery of whether North America ever had an ancient civilization, beyond that of Native Americans. While the story is made up, the mystery is very real and there is much that still isn't known about the artifacts that are discussed in the story. I think what I found sad was how so many scientists, archaeologists, etc, immediately rejected the artifacts without bothering to even take a look, the artifacts and those who found them were immediately classified as a hoax.
Science is supposed to be about the possible, even if unexplainable and yet how quick humans can be to reject something that doesn't fit what we think we know. Now of course I'm sure there are plenty of scientists who are willing to consider that human knowledge is incomplete at best and often down right wrong, but there are far too many who refuse to look beyond their own ideas and beliefs. I loved that Matt did everything in her power to find out everything she could about the artifacts. But the story is realistic also about the obstacles that she runs into and like the real world not all her questions get answered and there are few willing to help her.
Both an entertaining story and a fascinating subject, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Mounds Anomaly. I can heartily recommend the book to all who enjoy mysteries involving the past.
December 18, 2013
This was a very interesting book. Matt (Matilda) Howard is an ethnoarchaeologist and a teacher. When Matt was younger she was on a dig in Nippur and she finds an ancient coin. Matt puts it in her backpack and forgets about it for many years. When she finds it again, Matt takes it to a colleague, he tells her that it is a fake. Matt doesn't believe him and decides to do research on her own. She finds out some very interesting things that lead her to several mysteries. This was a good book. I really liked the ending.
September 3, 2015
The book was interesting, but not very entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed the prospect of the archaeological discoveries, but they were only vaguely explored. I would have either appreciated more literary license to make the encounters/conspiracy more adventurous, OR sticking with the facts and doing a non-fiction study of the artifacts that have been found. While trying to do both the character distracts from the archaeology and the facts tie that hands of the story and prevent it from going anywhere interesting.
October 24, 2013
I loved the heroine of “The Mounds Anomaly” so much I wanted to invite her to lunch. Bright, snarkly, and honest, her first person POV voice rings true on every page of his well-paced short novel.
Her description of archaeological sites made me believe the author had climbed forts and crawled through caves. And if that’s not enough in her author’s notes Gunderson provides a chapter by chapter “Separating Fact from Fiction” and a useful bibliography for the reader’s own research.
Her description of archaeological sites made me believe the author had climbed forts and crawled through caves. And if that’s not enough in her author’s notes Gunderson provides a chapter by chapter “Separating Fact from Fiction” and a useful bibliography for the reader’s own research.
April 29, 2014
Loved it!! You may not and I would understand, it is a lot of information and a conspiracy theory all in one but it was so much fun.
The science was done in such a way it was interesting. The 'Mormon' interest was clear for members and not overwhelming for the unfamiliar. I loved Mat, she was a quirky character. I hope the scientific world looks into this. If there was more shooting it could be a movie!
No language, violence included a snake bite, no sex.
The science was done in such a way it was interesting. The 'Mormon' interest was clear for members and not overwhelming for the unfamiliar. I loved Mat, she was a quirky character. I hope the scientific world looks into this. If there was more shooting it could be a movie!
No language, violence included a snake bite, no sex.
July 26, 2013
I like Matt Howard's character. This is a very interesting story, but it feels like it ends without a very good conclusion. It mirrors real life which doesn't have a resolution - acceptance by American archeologists of an ancient advanced society. Mound builders and stone forts and other interesting artifacts exist which point to an advanced society.
July 10, 2013
This is a very enjoyable book. This book is well researched and brings up a very viable question. Why are these archaeological finds in the United States basically ignored or argued as not being important? The characters were very real and interesting. They are people I would like to meet. The tale is woven with good questions, some theology, real problems and an interesting plot line.
August 12, 2013
Phllis Gunderson is one of my favorite authors and her independent, no-nonsense character, archeologist Matt Howard, continues to delight in The Mounds Anomaly. Matt's adventures are based on sound research and shed new light on early North American history.
September 15, 2016
Better than the others
January 21, 2017
Pretty funny
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews