Mother Nature: An Em Hansen Mystery

Em Hansen Mystery #3

by Sarah Andrews

Emily Hanson, a geologist and amateur sleuth, reluctantly agrees to go undercover in her own profession to investigate what at first seems like a straightforward case but soon turns into a confusing mix of danger and lies

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Geology, Cozy Mystery, Mystery Thriller

342 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1997

About the author

Sarah 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.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Looking to distract herself from the grief she feels over her father's recent death, geologist Em Hansen agrees to investigate the rocky murder of fellow geologist Janet Pinchon. Asked to step in by Janet's father, a powerful senator, Em travels to Northern California where Janet's body was found in a roadside ditch.

"Soon hired by the environmental firm where Janet worked, Em steps into her life to find some answers. But shadowed by the darkness in her own past, Em must face more than shady politicians, greedy land developers, and an endangered ecosystem. This spunky geologist must gr5apple with her deepest fears to survive an assault by a vengeful Mother Nature and a killer with a heart of stone."
~~back cover

I'm enjoying this series very much, mainly because Em isn't the sappy heroine of most cozies written these days. She's a real person, intelligent, gritty, and carrying a lot of baggage: a real person. She makes unproductive decisions, and lives with the consequences. And the other characters are also real

I particularly enjoyed this book because it's set in my neck of the woods; I'm familiar with the towns and the countryside, the highways and environment. The author obviously knows the area well. I also enjoyed it for the glimpse into AA and how the Program works for those affected by alcoholism in their nearest and not-so-dearest.

I gobbled this book, looking for resolution to the story line I was most interested in. There was resolution, but not the resolution I wanted. Chewing over my reaction led me to some personal introspection and insights, which I appreciate. I started to give the book three stars because the plot was convoluted (not my favorite) but after writing this review I revised my rating to four stars -- grateful for the prodding to examine some old issues. Not what the author intended, I'm sure, but I'm grateful all the same.

[Lindsay Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Em Hansen #3. Still living in Denver, but unemployed, Em is hired by a US Senator to investigate his geologist daughter Janet's death. Wanting to distract herself from her father's recent death, she takes the job. Janet was found in a roadside ditch in California with her bicycle, but the scene seems staged. Em takes a job at the company Janet had been working for, hoping that finding out more about her and her work will lead to answers.
In the course of the investigation, she discovers corruption and incompetence in the enforcement of California's environmental laws, as well as a creepy but powerful local family with a lot of secrets. It turns out that Janet stumbled upon one of those secrets and that led to her murder.
Em's investigation also leads her to reconnect with her aunt and learn some of her own family secrets.
This story has more standard mystery intrigue than the others I've read, while still having a science background. Both Em and Janet have quirky personalities that were more common among scientists back when science was less common as a profession. There is an author's note at the end where she explains how her own experiences influenced the story.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Divina]

My continuing flashback to a geologic life...

[Zora · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5/5

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird fun geoscience mystery. A setting along the Russian River in Northern California. A murder. A small town with suspicious characters.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read, but a little obvious plot-wise. I enjoyed it, but probably won't recommend it onwards

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

Hmmm, I see I wrote in my writeup of A Fall in Denver, the second book in this series that the book took a while to get going. This is the third in the series and the same is true. If I was subjecting books to a 50 page test, or even a 100 page test, then I don't think I would have finished this.

I enjoy the decently plotted scientifically bent plots and Em Hansen solves mysteries using skills she's learnt as a geologist. I enjoy her mixed-upped-ness and her family failings and her not quite with it attitude to life. There's lots here that I love but I just don't like the beginnings.

One of the problems with amateur sleuths is that they have trouble falling over dead bodies all the time in books, something a professional detective can get away with. I do think the author has done an admirable job of making Em's detective work realistic by tieing the necessary shennaigans into a plot thicker than crude oil but I think something is definitely missing from the beginning of these books. I'd either like a ten page summary of the first hundred pages to get me into the heart of the mystery faster or I'd like a mini-mystery, related to the main one or not, to get tied up earlier in the book.

At the moment I don't feel much like trying book four but I might give Andrews another chance to write a beginning before I write her off because I really do enjoy her middles and endings.

[Holly Keimig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I know what the author was trying to do here, but that it didn't quite succeed. This was one of the strangest books I've read. I like that the focus of most of this series is geology with mystery mixed in and this one strayed a bit from that, so that could be part of my discomfort. Em's father has just died in this book and she is trying to put back together the pieces of her life. She takes a high-paying but suspect job finding out how a senator's daughter died in a small California town. You find out a lot about her painful past in this book and the murder mystery ties in to that story line fairly well I guess. She acts as a detective first, and geologist second (almost as an afterthought), which isn't her comfort zone. She does spend some time working at an environmental remediation firm and I learned a bit about pulling contaminated tanks and the rules governing that process. This book had a lot of scary violence and characters that still send chills down my spine when I think about them. I will keep reading the series, but I hope Andrews goes back to her strong suite-writing about geology from an insider perspective. If you've ever been curious about Em's back story and life growing up, this will answer some questions. Warning: The violence in this one may be a triggering point for those with abusive pasts.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm pretty surprised - I enjoyed this book! I started reading it just because it's set in the county where I live, and found myself happy with the story and the characters (though people in Sonoma County are generally a lot more friendly than the ones in the book, I promise).

Good points:
-Em Hansen is an interesting main character. I'm sure she would have made more sense had I started with the first book of the series. I like the geology thing - it's new to me.
-At a couple points in the book, Em kind of looses it. It's those points when the writing goes from pretty good to kind of amazing.
-The mystery isn't all THAT mysterious, which is actually great. Red herrings are SO over-done. I enjoyed that it was more figuring out how to prove what happened rather than who did it.
-I know so many of the places described. It's amusing.
-Easy to read, just a head above book candy. Maybe book scones & tea?

[Veronica Erb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I felt a little uncomfortable with how Em's imagined relationship with the murder victim evolved through the book, and perhaps that is what makes this book worth reading. I also found myself disappointed with her relationship with Elyria, and perhaps that's another thing that makes this book worth reading.

Sarah Andrew's representation of the complexity and the fickleness of relationships seems so much like real life. No magical best friends forever here. No heroine getting the dashing hero without working for it.

Reading these books continues to be more of an intentional investment than a drive to read them. And I'm pretty happy with that for now.

---

I give this book 3 stars. I may not recommend it, but I'm glad to continue reading it as a way to learn about webby thinkers and the way life can be.

[Galen Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Em Hansen is hired by a Senator to investigate the death of his daughter, an environmental consultant in Sonoma County, CA. Em quietly moves into town, takes a job where the dead woman worked, and starts investigating the woman’s death. However, she is soon deeply tied in to the same dirty dealings that seem to have led to the woman’s death.

Not too quickly paced, and somewhat boring. Knowledgable writing about geology and environmental issues, but the character isn’t developed in a believable way and the plot is not too edgy. Okay read, but not recommended.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up from Bangkok Bookcrossers, so I started in the middle of the series. It's about geologist turned private investigator, Em Hansen, and in this volume, she's hired by the father of a recently murdered geologist to find out what really happened. Along the way there's some self-doubt and self-discovery, too.

As a librarian, I especially liked that she relied on libraries and archives/public information to aid in her search.

[Charise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have just started this book and it is a little nerve wracking more so than her other novels because the main character is acting as a detective first and and a geologist second. I finished the book and did finally get into it and enjoyed it. I am looking forward to reading her next one.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book mainly for the geology, but the story itself was weak and was way to sappy for any male readers that aren't secretly seeking chicklits in disguise.

[Eunira]

3rd in the series

[Ayelet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Em Hansen is now off in California. You sometimes wonder why she makes the choices that she does but in the end it is always interesting.

[Pat]

Em Hansen

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series keeps getting better and better - love it and excited to read the next one. :)

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zápletka byla průhledná, ale přidávám hvězdičku za výstižný popis fungování "zelených" dotací.

[Nancy H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had read another of these books featuring Emily Hansen, a geologist who also solves mysteries, and I liked it a lot. This one, not so much. It seemed to take me a long time to get into the story, and there were several places that I thought things were a bit confusing. That said, though, overall it was a good story, and the ending was very good.