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Em Hansen Mystery #8
Killer Dust
Forensic geologist Em Hansen might finally be falling in love again. But just as she's getting closer to FBI agent Jack Sampler, he takes off on a mysterious assignment. When he doesn't return Em believes he's in trouble but only knows two things about where he's Florida and killer dust. But what's the connection between the FBI and dust particles that move invisibly across the Atlantic?
Risking her relationship, she goes to Florida, only to find out he's not the only person missing. A rogue scientist researching dust has also vanished-and all the signs point to foul play. Em gets a crash course in the science of dust and quickly learns there's more to the mystery than meets the eye. Two missing men are only the beginning in a larger plot of drug smugglers and global terrorism that threatens countless lives. Truth, like dust, is hidden to the naked eye, and Em must use all the tools of geology to look beneath the surface to find her boyfriend and prevent a depraved attack before it's too late.
Risking her relationship, she goes to Florida, only to find out he's not the only person missing. A rogue scientist researching dust has also vanished-and all the signs point to foul play. Em gets a crash course in the science of dust and quickly learns there's more to the mystery than meets the eye. Two missing men are only the beginning in a larger plot of drug smugglers and global terrorism that threatens countless lives. Truth, like dust, is hidden to the naked eye, and Em must use all the tools of geology to look beneath the surface to find her boyfriend and prevent a depraved attack before it's too late.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
2 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Andrews
46 books81 followersSarah Andrews is a geologist who writes mystery novels about a geologist.
She currently lives in northern California and invests her free time on community pursuits and flying, skiing, and sailing with her husband and son.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
She currently lives in northern California and invests her free time on community pursuits and flying, skiing, and sailing with her husband and son.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 28, 2012
This is from the middle of a mystery series about a “forensic geologist” named Em Hansen, though the books never show her working a lick as a geologist. This was the second book by Andrews I’d read, and I hadn’t cared for the first one I read much, but I wanted to give her a second try. In Killer Dust, the novel opens with a love scene between Em Hansen and her man, Jack Stapler. Before anything else can even happen in the novel, Jack (who’s with the FBI) gets called out on a mission and disappears. Troubled about what’s happened to the man she thinks she loves, she turns to his friend Tom, and his pregnant wife, Faye. Before too long, they’re all headed to Florida to investigate Jack’s whereabouts, look into anthrax scares, and save a shuttle launch. It’s all a bit much for one forensic geologist, or her reader, to cope with.
If I didn’t care for the previous novel (I forget the name), I loathed this one.
First off, the F word is littered liberally throughout. Swearing in a book doesn’t bother me when it’s occasional. I can usually gloss over it. But in this novel, it felt constant. I think it occurred in every chapter, and in several chapters, it was in there repeatedly. It just kind of turned me off, you know?
Second (also a wording problem) was how the author referred to the initial sexual encounter between the protagonist and her boyfriend. While she has no problem with the F word, she must have a problem with the word “sex.” Instead of referring to it as sex or intimacy, she calls it something cheesy, but different, each time. Once it’s called “loving each other for the first time.” I dunno. It just felt… lame.
Third, the villain appears in the novel occasionally where you hear from him in first person, but his identity is masked as a way to further the mystery. You get hints as to who he is, but his identity is only revealed after a dramatic build up to the climax. Unfortunately, the reader never sees the ultimate confrontation, and our heroine is only tangentially involved. I guess this was the greatest failing of this novel: There is a tension building to the climax, but that climax happens out of view of the reader. Instead, the events are relayed secondhand. After such suspense, it was an unsatisfying conclusion.
Fourth, someone dies at the end, and it makes me quite unhappy that it happens. I understand that sometimes characters die. I get it. But in this case, it didn't make sense. It didn’t have to happen that way. There’s no great thematic arc that makes it logical or even necessary. No. It’s just a way to have something shocking happen. Well, since the heroine (and by association, the reader) isn’t there to actually witness the death, it isn’t actually shocking but irritating.
Finally, I just felt there were too many gaps in the story, too many places where things could have been explained satisfactorily, but weren’t. My guess is that this novel was slapped together without careful editing. My evidence for this theory? 1. The author says the novel was inspired by 9/11, and this novel is published one mere year later. 2. All the gaping holes. 3. Typos in the manuscript. Maybe these were inserted after the author completed her manuscript. Who knows. But the typos hint to me that it published too quickly for someone to really go over it carefully.
Overall, I did not care for this book, nor would I recommend it or any other book by Sarah Andrews. I initially checked this book and another by Andrews out from the library at the same time, but after reading Killer Dust I decided not to even open the second one. Maybe she’s a wonderful geologist. Perhaps a lovely person. But I don’t care, because she’s a terrible story-teller.
If I didn’t care for the previous novel (I forget the name), I loathed this one.
First off, the F word is littered liberally throughout. Swearing in a book doesn’t bother me when it’s occasional. I can usually gloss over it. But in this novel, it felt constant. I think it occurred in every chapter, and in several chapters, it was in there repeatedly. It just kind of turned me off, you know?
Second (also a wording problem) was how the author referred to the initial sexual encounter between the protagonist and her boyfriend. While she has no problem with the F word, she must have a problem with the word “sex.” Instead of referring to it as sex or intimacy, she calls it something cheesy, but different, each time. Once it’s called “loving each other for the first time.” I dunno. It just felt… lame.
Third, the villain appears in the novel occasionally where you hear from him in first person, but his identity is masked as a way to further the mystery. You get hints as to who he is, but his identity is only revealed after a dramatic build up to the climax. Unfortunately, the reader never sees the ultimate confrontation, and our heroine is only tangentially involved. I guess this was the greatest failing of this novel: There is a tension building to the climax, but that climax happens out of view of the reader. Instead, the events are relayed secondhand. After such suspense, it was an unsatisfying conclusion.
Fourth, someone dies at the end, and it makes me quite unhappy that it happens. I understand that sometimes characters die. I get it. But in this case, it didn't make sense. It didn’t have to happen that way. There’s no great thematic arc that makes it logical or even necessary. No. It’s just a way to have something shocking happen. Well, since the heroine (and by association, the reader) isn’t there to actually witness the death, it isn’t actually shocking but irritating.
Finally, I just felt there were too many gaps in the story, too many places where things could have been explained satisfactorily, but weren’t. My guess is that this novel was slapped together without careful editing. My evidence for this theory? 1. The author says the novel was inspired by 9/11, and this novel is published one mere year later. 2. All the gaping holes. 3. Typos in the manuscript. Maybe these were inserted after the author completed her manuscript. Who knows. But the typos hint to me that it published too quickly for someone to really go over it carefully.
Overall, I did not care for this book, nor would I recommend it or any other book by Sarah Andrews. I initially checked this book and another by Andrews out from the library at the same time, but after reading Killer Dust I decided not to even open the second one. Maybe she’s a wonderful geologist. Perhaps a lovely person. But I don’t care, because she’s a terrible story-teller.
March 18, 2009
A literary step above a typical mystery. The author is an intelligent woman. I was very interested in the geological information about Florida and her take on the personality traits of people who make geology their career. The only parts I didn't like were the terrorist plots and angles. I didn't think they fit or were fleshed out. The personal story was what the book was about. The most moving part of the book is the author's note. The fictional part of the book ends quite abruptly. While I enjoyed the book and was sad at the end, it was the author's note that made me cry. I recommend not reading the author's note until you have finished the book.
January 8, 2010
So, now I'm caught up to the book I accidentally read out of order. This one was less bad than the last one (two?). Honestly, I'm not sure why I keep reading them - Em gets on my nerves a lot, many of the plot twists are both bewildering and cliche, and I find myself caring less and less. I should maybe stop reading them, but I'm not sure if I will. Bah.
January 5, 2015
I am really struggling with this one. Even though I read the last book (where Jack makes his appearance), it feels like the emotional connection to him appeared out of nowhere.
Also it's taking a long time to get going.
Also it's taking a long time to get going.
Read
January 2, 2014skimmed
November 16, 2019
Em Hansen #8 finds Em still in Salt Lake City and trying to get an advanced degree in Forensic Geology. Her relationship with FBI operative Jack is starting to get serious when he's mysteriously called away. With clues from her friends Tom and Faye, she figures that Jack is in Florida and working on some threat involving dust from Africa. Through geologist contacts and Faye's Floridian aunt, she arranges to meet some people in Florida about a possible thesis, as an excuse to go there and hunt for Jack.
Geologist Miles is trying to get funding for a study of African dust, which he believes contains pathogens that are killing the coral reefs in the Caribbean. He also thinks there is substantial weapons grade anthrax ("dust") unaccounted for. He thinks it could be added to the dust already blowing in from Africa and used against eastern US cities. He hopes this possibility will get him funding for his dust study. Meanwhile, a couple of rogue geologists are trying to discredit him.
Meanwhile, an astronaut scheduled to go up on the next space shuttle mission is being stalked by a man who plans to get her attention by shooting a missile at the shuttle. He has access to the missile because he does work for a drug ring in the Bahamas.
All of this comes together when it turns out the astronaut, Lucy, is Jack's old girlfriend from his teen years and the mother of his secret child who lives with her Seminole great-grandmother on the rez in the Everglades. Lucy has Jack trying to find the missile while keeping the whole thing secret to preserve her slot on the shuttle. Jack leaved Tom a map. He and Em and some special ops buddies find it and then go after Jack in the Bahamas, where he's watching the stalker and the drug dealers to see if it's all part of a larger plot.
As these books often do, everything comes to a head and is wrapped up a bit too quickly in the end. All the various subplots were suspenseful and interesting. In the afterward, the author says that she had experienced being stalked and that lead to her exploration of that in this book. As I've found with her other books, the parts that reflect the author's personal experience and expertise are the best. She's good with the stalking, the politics surrounding the geologists' quest for funding, and the theoretical dust study, and not so good with the drug lord shootout. I enjoyed it and I might check out "The Secret Life of Dust" by Hannah Holmes, which Em reads to familiarize herself with the topic.
Geologist Miles is trying to get funding for a study of African dust, which he believes contains pathogens that are killing the coral reefs in the Caribbean. He also thinks there is substantial weapons grade anthrax ("dust") unaccounted for. He thinks it could be added to the dust already blowing in from Africa and used against eastern US cities. He hopes this possibility will get him funding for his dust study. Meanwhile, a couple of rogue geologists are trying to discredit him.
Meanwhile, an astronaut scheduled to go up on the next space shuttle mission is being stalked by a man who plans to get her attention by shooting a missile at the shuttle. He has access to the missile because he does work for a drug ring in the Bahamas.
All of this comes together when it turns out the astronaut, Lucy, is Jack's old girlfriend from his teen years and the mother of his secret child who lives with her Seminole great-grandmother on the rez in the Everglades. Lucy has Jack trying to find the missile while keeping the whole thing secret to preserve her slot on the shuttle. Jack leaved Tom a map. He and Em and some special ops buddies find it and then go after Jack in the Bahamas, where he's watching the stalker and the drug dealers to see if it's all part of a larger plot.
As these books often do, everything comes to a head and is wrapped up a bit too quickly in the end. All the various subplots were suspenseful and interesting. In the afterward, the author says that she had experienced being stalked and that lead to her exploration of that in this book. As I've found with her other books, the parts that reflect the author's personal experience and expertise are the best. She's good with the stalking, the politics surrounding the geologists' quest for funding, and the theoretical dust study, and not so good with the drug lord shootout. I enjoyed it and I might check out "The Secret Life of Dust" by Hannah Holmes, which Em reads to familiarize herself with the topic.
March 3, 2018
"Forensic geologist Em Hansen might finally be falling in love again. But just as she's getting closer to FBI agent Jack Sampler, he takes off on a mysterious assignment. When he doesn't return Em believes he's in trouble but only knows two things about where he's gone: Florida and killer dust. But what's the connection between the FBI and dust particles that move invisibly across the Atlantic?
Risking her relationship, she goes to Florida, only to find out he's not the only person missing. A rogue scientist researching dust has also vanished-and all the signs point to foul play. Em gets a crash course in the science of dust and quickly learns there's more to the mystery than meets the eye. Two missing men are only the beginning in a larger plot of drug smugglers and global terrorism that threatens countless lives. Truth, like dust, is hidden to the naked eye, and Em must use all the tools of geology to look beneath the surface to find her boyfriend and prevent a depraved attack before it's too late."
This one is a real cliff-hanging nail biter! Cleverly written so that the killer may (or may not) be one of the good guys. Parallel plot lines -- one about killer dust, and how African topsoil & sand are blowing across the Atlantic, and also how easy it would be to channel those wind patterns for use as biological terrorism. The second plot line follows the tangled life of Jack, combined with the terrifying mind set of a sophisticated stalker.
I read it in one day -- because I HAD to find out what happened!
Risking her relationship, she goes to Florida, only to find out he's not the only person missing. A rogue scientist researching dust has also vanished-and all the signs point to foul play. Em gets a crash course in the science of dust and quickly learns there's more to the mystery than meets the eye. Two missing men are only the beginning in a larger plot of drug smugglers and global terrorism that threatens countless lives. Truth, like dust, is hidden to the naked eye, and Em must use all the tools of geology to look beneath the surface to find her boyfriend and prevent a depraved attack before it's too late."
This one is a real cliff-hanging nail biter! Cleverly written so that the killer may (or may not) be one of the good guys. Parallel plot lines -- one about killer dust, and how African topsoil & sand are blowing across the Atlantic, and also how easy it would be to channel those wind patterns for use as biological terrorism. The second plot line follows the tangled life of Jack, combined with the terrifying mind set of a sophisticated stalker.
I read it in one day -- because I HAD to find out what happened!
August 3, 2024
What a mess! Em keeps asking herself why she's even doing this for a guy that, honestly, she doesn't really know that well. The mysterious bad guy stays a mystery, and there's no interaction between the good guys and the person they're trying to save. It seems like the plot was developed around the scenery, which works well in the Western books but is totally inconsistent here. This one's trying to be a spy thriller and forgetting how to do mystery.
July 11, 2018
This book is very well written. It holds your interest. However, if you don't have a science background it becomes very boring quickly. it is too bad because as far as mysteries go, this country;d have been a good one.
December 24, 2020
Another Em Hansen mystery, this time in Florida.
May 23, 2013
First of all, this is book 8 in a series of geological themed mysteries. If you haven't read the others, don't complain about picking this book up in the middle of the series. The heroine, Em Hanson, is a generally under/unemployed geologist who finds herself in the middle of mysteries where she uses skills she's learned as a geologist to solve the mystery. Geology is a science that covers many different disciplines and the author does a good job touching on several different subjects throughout the series. She tries to throw in a little bit of educational material to the casual reader, without going overboard for the non-geology readers. I happen to have a degree in geology, so I really enjoy these books.
This book had the makings of a great story. Another geological mystery, something that could affect all of us, great foreshadowing...and then an abrupt and lame ending.
Em heads to Florida to locate her missing boyfriend and gets tangled up in terrorism. There are a couple of different story lines - the killer dust, a stalker, a shuttle launch, and terrorism. With most of these books, the different pieces start falling into place and you see the connection between them. There is some big action sequence at the end, followed by dialogue explaining the missing pieces the readers/Em didn't pick up. Unfortunately that didn't happen in this book. The reader was left with more unanswered questions at the end that left a feeling of emptiness and abruptness.
There are a couple of characters in this book that are never fully explained. At the end, you wonder just who they really were and how they are connected. There are also some USGS scientists that are last seen on a boat heading to have some revenge...what happened to them? They were not mentioned again. There was a big explosion at the end. What was that? Was the team successful in its mission? Did they stop the terrorism? Who were the terrorists? What happened to the terrorists' weapons? Why did that one character have to die? Was it really necessary? Are these questions going to be answered in the next book?
The majority of the book was good, but the ending just felt incomplete. I actually wondered if there were chapters missing from my book. There was basically no explaination to the ending. Em sat in a boat while the team did something on land that ended in an exposion, injuries and death. It left you hanging, but not in a good way. This book was written about the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and it seems it was thrown together rather quickly without good editing. I think it could have been done better.
This book had the makings of a great story. Another geological mystery, something that could affect all of us, great foreshadowing...and then an abrupt and lame ending.
Em heads to Florida to locate her missing boyfriend and gets tangled up in terrorism. There are a couple of different story lines - the killer dust, a stalker, a shuttle launch, and terrorism. With most of these books, the different pieces start falling into place and you see the connection between them. There is some big action sequence at the end, followed by dialogue explaining the missing pieces the readers/Em didn't pick up. Unfortunately that didn't happen in this book. The reader was left with more unanswered questions at the end that left a feeling of emptiness and abruptness.
There are a couple of characters in this book that are never fully explained. At the end, you wonder just who they really were and how they are connected. There are also some USGS scientists that are last seen on a boat heading to have some revenge...what happened to them? They were not mentioned again. There was a big explosion at the end. What was that? Was the team successful in its mission? Did they stop the terrorism? Who were the terrorists? What happened to the terrorists' weapons? Why did that one character have to die? Was it really necessary? Are these questions going to be answered in the next book?
The majority of the book was good, but the ending just felt incomplete. I actually wondered if there were chapters missing from my book. There was basically no explaination to the ending. Em sat in a boat while the team did something on land that ended in an exposion, injuries and death. It left you hanging, but not in a good way. This book was written about the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and it seems it was thrown together rather quickly without good editing. I think it could have been done better.
February 13, 2017
My gripes: I was hoping for a bit more forensic geology, since that is the unique draw to this series, the forensic geologist sleuth. The story in this novel revolves around a thesis that likens terrorism to stalking, which I didn't find convincing enough, though the author does draw out some similarities between these types of violence. The conversations within this novel that are about ideas, scientific or political, come across more as the sort of banter one might hear in graduate student offices, even when the characters involved are decidedly not academics. And, for all the Em, the heroine, is supposed to be starting her Master's degree in geology, she has some alarming gaps in her knowledge, which allow the author to instruct the reader on various science terms and concepts, but which make me wonder how many undergraduate courses Em needs to take still before she is actually ready to start taking graduate courses.
And, I really disliked how willing Em is to be patronized and protected by her boyfriend and his friend. Em has only been dating Jack for 6 months or so, yet she seems to think because she's slept with Jack once in all that time, she should know him very, very well, which is silly. If she seemed like that sort of person, it wouldn't be quite so annoying, but as she comes across in this book, Em's character seems too inconsistent. And, for a 40 year old woman in modern times, since when is sleeping with her boyfriend once such a big deal. She is not, after all, fundamentalist Christian. She's old enough to have had more experience with relationships than she seems to be drawing on.
What I liked: The novelty of having a semi-professional scientist as a sleuth was part of what drew me to this book at the library, along with my curiosity about forensic geology. (I checked this book out because it was on the first shelf of the A's at my library, and I am reading the A's, but it still looked interesting.)I liked that the female characters in this book have strong roles, and I liked the bits where the author shows some of the subtle ways that women face discrimination in academia and in agencies like NASA. It was also creative the way the story links domestic stalking with domestic terrorism, though the part about Jack and his buddies sneaking around foiling terrorists without any sort of intelligence agency or military support/knowledge seemed a bit odd.
And, I really disliked how willing Em is to be patronized and protected by her boyfriend and his friend. Em has only been dating Jack for 6 months or so, yet she seems to think because she's slept with Jack once in all that time, she should know him very, very well, which is silly. If she seemed like that sort of person, it wouldn't be quite so annoying, but as she comes across in this book, Em's character seems too inconsistent. And, for a 40 year old woman in modern times, since when is sleeping with her boyfriend once such a big deal. She is not, after all, fundamentalist Christian. She's old enough to have had more experience with relationships than she seems to be drawing on.
What I liked: The novelty of having a semi-professional scientist as a sleuth was part of what drew me to this book at the library, along with my curiosity about forensic geology. (I checked this book out because it was on the first shelf of the A's at my library, and I am reading the A's, but it still looked interesting.)I liked that the female characters in this book have strong roles, and I liked the bits where the author shows some of the subtle ways that women face discrimination in academia and in agencies like NASA. It was also creative the way the story links domestic stalking with domestic terrorism, though the part about Jack and his buddies sneaking around foiling terrorists without any sort of intelligence agency or military support/knowledge seemed a bit odd.
April 18, 2016
Forensic geologist sounded like something different that should be interesting. There were some problems with it that I just couldn't make work in my mystery books. First... Em is a strong professional woman...maybe a bit too strong. She professes to love the new man in her life and then as soon he leaves to finish a case he's investigating for the FBI, Em whines and cries because he's gone and then goes right back to her "I'm woman...hear me roar"..personality, which wasn't particularly likable to begin with. The second thing that I found unlikely is that when Em finds out that Jack is in Florida on his dangerous mission....and his mother lives in Florida...she uses that as an excuse to visit the Sunshine State. Em meets Jack's mother for the first time and instead of being reassured, she is put into adrenaline overdrive when a message from Jack mentions "code red" and his Mom grabs an already packed suitcase from the closet and leaves with hardly a goodbye.
On the plus side for the book...The "dust" part of the story line is interesting. Actually this is fact: It seems that very fine dust from the Sahara is carried by the winds 5,000 miles over the Atlantic, to be deposited on the Bahamas, the Caribbean and Florida. But the dust story part...which is supposed to be a major part of the plot seems forced into the book and offers almost nothing to do with the story. Wonder where this was going in the author's mind?
On the plus side for the book...The "dust" part of the story line is interesting. Actually this is fact: It seems that very fine dust from the Sahara is carried by the winds 5,000 miles over the Atlantic, to be deposited on the Bahamas, the Caribbean and Florida. But the dust story part...which is supposed to be a major part of the plot seems forced into the book and offers almost nothing to do with the story. Wonder where this was going in the author's mind?
October 20, 2016
As a female geologist of the same generation as Em Hanson, I appreciate how the author portrays her as a woman with the same feelings as other women. Just because we are smart and able to hold our own in a male-dominated profession does not mean we aren't feminine, don't fall on love, etc. With respect to Em's not "doing geology" as another reviewer notes, that is also typical and realistic for geologists of that generation who started in the oil business (because that's where the jobs were). But, as Andrews notes, solving mysteries is what geologists do and that is why Em is good at it.
Read
December 28, 2007An Em Hansen mystery
February 17, 2009
Just started
Read
June 14, 2009Mooched - 8th in the series
August 28, 2012
Good amount of suspense - you almost begin to doubt as much as Em does. Did it have to end the way it did?
August 20, 2013
wonderful story, i am especially happy with the locale, my daughter and granddaughter live in the area that the story is set with the marina in Stuart, Florida playing a part in this story.
December 6, 2014
It's well written. Just not my taste.
January 10, 2018
3 - Good
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews