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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can't Wait For Another Installment!, July 24, 2000
For years I searched for Ms. Connor's books. No book store seemed to stock them! I can't understand why? I finally got wired and found them. This is one of the best mystery series I've read. It was well worth the wait. This last installment is the best one. The way that Ms. Connor weaves the past and present together for a triple mystery is great. She ties up all the stories together very neat and nice. Lindsey is a great hero, very human. Her love life is always interesting, Ms. Connor gives you the pay off in this one that you hoped for in another book. Very nicely done, author's usually don't make you wait for the romance pay off. I would suggest that you start at the beginning of this series. Ms. Connor does tie each book to the next and her development of one character may be in another book. But it is there, plus it is fun to watch an author develop over each book. Now a word to the publisher, GET BEVERLY CONNOR'S BOOKS OUT TO THE PUBLIC! She is a great read and could made you a lot of money if people knew about her.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Connor's Best, March 26, 2001
Skeleton Crew, Connor's fourth volume, is the best Lindsay Chamberlain forensics story yet. It benefits in focus by occurring on a small island 5 miles off the Georgia coast, where University of Georgia Athens has a luxurious archaeological project underway to raise a sunken Spanish supply galleon--in dangerous competition with lurking privateers who think it was a homeward bound treasure ship instead. The archaeology of the dig is realistic, with normal procedures and lab techniques actually contributing clues to the modern mystery of suspicious attacks, disappearances, or death. A set of maps helps make the excavation, as well as the adventure, intelligible. Lindsay's fascinating specialized contributions on bone analysis (given with a light touch) actually are focused on the intriguing parallel story of a newly discovered journal written by one of the sailors actually on that ill-fated galleon. That unusual old account, too, has its mysteries, ones gradually resolved during its translation while also becoming entwined with the solution to the modern puzzle. This plotting of two stories, one ancient one modern, each informing the other, is a happy device to animate dry archaeological detail that Connors first used in vol. 2, the memorable Questionable Remains, to equally great effect. And you get two stories for the price of one! Still lighter in touch than Cornwell's Dr. Scarpetta, Connor's skeleton detective has a number of serious adventures, a spectacular hurricane danger, and many osteological discoveries recreating the lives of the departed. These are stories of character and Southern customs, as well as leisurely unfolding mysteries. It is wonderful to see Connors becoming a skilled writer. Her villains are still a bit obvious, but then again they are often red herrings! I am also so glad Lindsay has dropped her fading beau of the first three novels, Derrick. Their relationship was becoming an annoying distraction, a romance cliche, dysfunctional, and detracting from the image of Lindsay as an intelligent independent woman. Instead we now find Lindsay growing a mature relationship with a Native American antagonist from a previous book, and it is a real contribution to the development of the plot and our interest in these characters. In addition, Lindsay has a new boss--hopefully to become a series character--who adds his slightly devious and moneyed machinations to help speed the plot along. All in all these books are ever more fascinating reading.
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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent mystery and a good story, October 15, 1999
By A Customer
In 1558, a storm off the coast of colonial Georgia sinks the Estrella de Espana of the Spanish Galleon. One individual survived the shipwreck. His diary has led to a modern day archeological excavation on the ocean floor. Georgia University sponsors the underwater dig led by Professor Francisco Lewis, chair of the schools Anthropology and Archeology Department. Archeologist Dr. Lindsay "Angel of Death" Chamberlain specializes in bones found at sites. Soon after joining the team, she learns that they search for a second Spanish vessel that allegedly was loaded with treasures and reportedly sunk near the Estrella. Word leaks out about the sunken treasure, which leads to a rash of pirates, fortune hunters, tourists, and other unsavory types invading the area. The Estrella crew must watch their backs as someone wants the professionals removed anyway possible. Lindsay, who has experience in resolving criminal cases, begins to sleuth not realizing that she will soon move to the top of the list for eradication. SKELETON CREW is one of the best amateur sleuth tales of the year. Observing Lindsay piece together what occurred on the Estrella from the diary's extracts is a fascinating glimpse at modern day solving of historical mysteries. Beverly Connor creatively alternates between the sixteenth century and the present era. That difficult technique succeeds as each exciting subplot supplements the other and ultimately adds leagues to the superb story line. The "Chamberlain" mysteries are all entertaining, but this one is the best. Harriet Klausner
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