Covenant-Dean Crawford

Covenant
Dean Crawford
Touchstone, Oct 18 2011, $24.99
ISBN: 9781451628531

In the Negev in Israel, archaeologist Lucy Morgan works an unsanctioned dig in which she tells Bedouin guide Ahmed and University Professor Shevez that she has found remains that are seven millennia old but are not human. However, before they can make their claim to the authorities, she vanishes.

Ex marine and former war correspondent Ethan Warner is known for finding and rescuing people in some of the most dangerous areas of the world. However, when his fiancée Joanna disappeared while working in Gaza, heartbroken he returned to the Chicago as a shell of what he was. However, his former superior officer Doug Jarvis asks him to rescue his missing granddaughter Lucy. The DIA also want Lucy found, but cannot interfere as the peace process has made some small progress recently. Ethan agrees to go to the Negev especially after being shown a photo that proves his Joanna lives.

Washington, D.C Metro Detectives Nicola Lopez and Lucas Tyrell enter a building they assume has been used by crack heads. They find three naked corpses that FBI Agent Cain says are overdoses. Tyrell disagrees but what makes him certain is one of the victims has what appears to be frostbite on his feet in summer DC weather. Soon the DC investigation and the missing archeologist inquiry merge though they are miles apart.

This taut thriller hooks readers from the moment Lucy tells her associate what she found and never looks back until a final confrontation. Fans will especially try to resolve the connection between the desert and the metro, which is not as obvious as it first seems. Filled with twists, readers will enjoy the Covenant wondering what Lucy’s find really means to the world.

Harriet Klausner