The Way, the Truth and the Dead

Alan Cadbury #2

by Francis Pryor

Archaeologist and detective, Alan Cadbury, returns for his second adventure. In The Lifers’ Club, he unravelled the background to a violent death on an archaeological dig in the Fens, a wild marshy region in the east of England. The Way, the Truth and the Dead takes us to the black peatlands of the south, around the glorious cathedral city of Ely. It’s a watery landscape where the many ancient dykes, drains and rivers conceal dark secrets.

Alan finds himself the Director of an important Roman and early Medieval excavation at the little hamlet of Fursby, not far from Littleport. But shortly before he starts work, he is contacted by his old friend, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Lane. Lane needs help – a body has been found in a river near the dig. And the dead person is an archaeologist, an old friend of Alan’s.

It soon becomes clear that this will be no ordinary excavation: the remains are of national importance and their preservation is outstanding. So it comes as no surprise when a major television series decides to adopt it as a flagship project, opening the dig up to the public at a time when the rural community would rather keep things quiet…

Genres: Crime, Fiction

544 pages, Hardcover

Published May 18, 2017

About the author

Francis Manning Marlborough Pryor MBE (born 13 January 1945) is a British archaeologist who is famous for his role in the discovery of Flag Fen, a Bronze Age archaeological site near Peterborough, and for his frequent appearances on the Channel 4 television series Time Team.

He has now retired from full-time field archaeology, but still appears on television and writes books as well as being a working farmer. His specialities are in the Bronze and Iron Ages.

His first novel, Lifers’ Club, is due to be published in 2014.

Reviews

[Lucy Cummin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a Time Team/Francis Pryor fan and I have enjoyed his two carefully crafted mysteries very much, as his 'voice' comes through as strongly as it does on the screen and in his books about ancient Britain. It helps to a) be a fan of archaeology b) also a fan of British pre-and-early-history c) finally, a fan of Time Team. I am amazed by how much I have learned from how to behave on a dig site to the current methods for analyzing finds and sites. Knowing at least a little increased my enjoyment of the story. There are many jokes as well -- Alan's 'signature frown' is pure Pryor, the name "Test Pit Challenge" for the TV show (that is clearly Time Team) is funny every time I encountered it. And so on. The plot has more clarity than in the first mystery which got almost too convoluted and the writing is, overall, smoother. It was, perhaps, a bit overlong, but I understand why -- the details of the dig are as important to Pryor as the plot, perhaps more and he just 'had' to have it all in there, I expect! ***1/2

[Elizabeth Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't misinterpret my two stars. It really is an ok book: uneven in parts with skipped scenes that should have been written and plenty of scenes that could have been trimmed. But, in the end, a fast and readable amateur detective story. As with the first, (The Lifers' Club), give it a miss if you are not at all interested in archaeology (as horses are to Dick Francis, so digging is to Francis Pryor).

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read and I found myself picking the book up at any opportunity. I enjoyed the descriptions of the landscape and architecture and found myself comparing my actual surroundings with those of the story on a couple of occasions. A good sign. The only think stopping it being a 5 star read is a few bits of clunky writing. I enjoyed it.

[Mark Grisham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid archaeological mystery from the legendary Flag Fen archaeologist himself. I think it's worth grabbing a fiction story written by someone who's written many of the best non-fiction books on the subject.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struggled reading this book was a it long winded if i my say so

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good mystery story, well told, but IMHO needed a good edit - could have been a fair bit shorter than its 500 pages.

[Sandrine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much too convoluted, unfortunately not a fluid read. All things archeology were interesting to read but the rest of the story was missing some punch...

[Mrs. Ann E. Griffiths]

Another winner

Fantastic archaeological details and superb thriller. Bring on the next one , waiting with impatience. Hope there is another in preparation