One Grave Less-Beverly Connor

One Grave Less
Beverly Connor
Obsidian, Dec 7 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451231802

At the River Trail Museum of Natural History, curator Diane Fallon is working late when she finds two wounded individuals in separate rooms. She recognizes one of them Simone Brooks as a World Accord International human rights activist who she worked with in South America. The woman holding a child’s femur in a death grip mumbles “It was one of us” before collapsing into a coma. Security calls for an ambulance for the first victim, but when Diane calls for a second ambulance, she learns no previous call was made and soon smells smoke in the room with the victim she does not know.

Not long after the nocturnal incident, Diane becomes the focus of a diabolical assault. Her identity is stolen and soon after she is accused by law enforcement of committing a murder when she worked in Brazil. Diane, her museum team and her fiancé Frank begin the counter attack trying to uncover who is behind the assault and why.

This is a brilliant mystery as not only does Beverly Connor tie Diane’s work in South America to the present case, the author also links back to her Lindsay Chamberlain series without missing a beat. The story line action-packed from the first moan and never slows down until the final confrontation as the past and present subplots excitingly mingle. However, adding to the fun is an overarching theme twist that is unexpected yet seems plausible. Fans of Ms. Connor will relish One Grave Less.

Harriet Klausner