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Thread of the Spider: A Mystery [Hardcover]

Val Davis (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)


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Book Description

Mystery (St. Martin's) October 7, 2002
"That car ...belonged to a pair of bank robbers. Their names were Knute and Nora and they were almost as famous as Bonnie and Clyde during the Depression....They got killed in the Green River Massacre, but the car was never found."

"There's more, " Nick said. "This paper is dated more than a year before the Japanese attacked Pearl. . . . And there's a handwritten notation at the bottom: 'If need be, we must allow the Japanese to strike the first blow in order to unite the American people for the coming war,' ... initialed 'FDR'."

Nicolette Scott and her father are both archaeologists, but with differences. Professor Elliott Scott lives and breathes very early Americans, like the Anasazi. His digs are in the southwest, where the ancient peoples lived. To him, his daughter Nicky's area of concern is not to be taken at all seriously. Nicky goes for the culture embodied by artifacts from the twentieth century -- a crashed plane from either World War is enough to send her senses tingling. So when she discovers a 1937 Packard convertible hidden in a sealed cave in the Utah desert, she is ecstatic. It's only when she begins to read through the papers hidden under a seat cushion that the thrill turns to something very like a chill. If those papers are genuine, they represent a huge find for Nick. But they also represent one of the most scandalous secrets in our country's history.

Authentic or fake, they are still important to someone, as Nick learns when invisible threats come closer and closer to Nick, to culminate in a murderous meeting under the blazing Utah sun. This is Nicolette's most suspenseful dig, and one that will keep readers gasping and pages turning.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When archeologist Nicolete "Nick" Scott uncovers an unusual artifact in her fifth adventure, she sets in motion an unbelievable chain of violence and devastation. Davis (Track of the Scorpion, etc.) has created a whopper of a plot that begins with Nick and her father, famed Anasazi archeologist Elliot Scott, along with fellow scientist Reed Austin, searching for Anasazi sites in Baptist Wash, Utah. Since Nick's field is "historical archaeology, the study of the near-past," she is more excited by the discovery of a 1937 Packard than she is by the older pay dirt she helps her father find. The car belonged to a notorious pair of Bonnie-and-Clyde-like bank robbers who hit Utah banks hard during their brief careers. When Nick begins to research the provenance of her find, all hell breaks loose. Buried with the bank robber's car were secrets someone still wants to protect-secrets that could tarnish or destroy presidential reputations and dash the hopes of a presidential aspirant. Nick, Elliot and Reed face unexpected pressures and each fights back, but it is the stubborn and determined Nick who leads the way. Davis captures some of the romance of archeology and makes excellent use of the topography, climate and history of Utah, but the clunky plot is never convincing. Worse, neither is the conclusion, which not only doesn't satisfy but also leaves too many threads of Davis's web blowing in the wind.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Series sleuth and archeologist Nicolette "Nick" Scott (The Return of the Spanish Lady) finds trouble while looking for remnants of the Anasazis in Utah. She uncovers the remains of a getaway car used by notorious 1940s bank robbers and in its trunk is a document containing murder-inducing secrets. An exciting, well-handled plot recommends this to fans of archeological mysteries.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (October 7, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312276818
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312276812
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,983,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Nicely worked sleuth, December 5, 2002
By 
B. Merritt "filmreviewstew.com" (WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Thread of the Spider: A Mystery (Hardcover)
Nicolette "Nick" Scott is an 'Historical Archaelogist,' meaning that she likes to dig up the recent past; as opposed to her father who is a "real" archaelogist (Elliott Scott). There's some old family friction going on thanks to Nick's dead mother and Nick's chosen field of study. But when Nick goes to an Anasazi site with her father, and she finds a 1937 Packard convertible in an abandoned building, both her and her father are happy with this site...for a while.

The Packard, it turns out, belonged to two notorious bank robbers of the past named Knute and Nora. But Knute and Nora robbed the wrong bank, a bank that had some top secret documents in it that the government wants to remain hidden now that so many years have passed. Unwittingly, Nick sets into motion a plan to destroy all those who know anything about this old car and the documents it contained.

What ensues is a fast paced, action-filled, sleuth-yarn that will keep you reading into the wee-hours of the night. Will those government killers catch up to Nick, her Dad and her friends? Will the slimey boys get their just dessert? Read and see.

My only issue I had with the book was its ending; it ended rather abruptly (indicating a sequel maybe?). And the fact that a love interest of Nick's was killed right in front of her and there was no emotional response also seemed unlikely. But other than that, this book was a pure joy to read. It'll stay on my shelf to be read again...later.

B+ rating.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating amateur sleuth, October 9, 2002
This review is from: Thread of the Spider: A Mystery (Hardcover)
Knute and Nora were bank robbers and folk heroes in 1940 Utah until they robbed the wrong bank. Unbeknownst to them, top secret documents were taken along with the cash and the media was told they slaughtered everyone in the bank, which was a lie. They died in a shoot-out after they already surrendered but the documents and the cash was never found.

In July 2001 in Gulch Canyon, Utah, historical archeologist Nick Scott and her father are searching for Anazzi ruins. In one of the caves she finds the top secret documents and realizes the information she has. She can change the way people look at the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, there are people who prefer those papers never see the light of day and will go to any lengths to stop her.

THREAD OF THE SPIDER is a fascinating amateur sleuth tale starring a protagonist one must admire for her tenacity. The plot is fast paced and filled with enough startling revelations to keep reader interest throughout the plot. Val Davis is a natural storyteller who parcels out crucial information one tantalizing piece at a time.

Harriet Klausner

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3.0 out of 5 stars Heavy-handed, same old, same old, March 25, 2009
This review is from: Thread of the Spider: A Mystery (Hardcover)
Val Davis has an ability to write. Where she falls short is her creativity. In Davis' book she just simply kills EVERYONE off. The government just kills this one and this one and that one and that one. And I sit there thinking, oh, please, not ANOTHER one!! Every time I read one of her books, I read and read and become engaged. Then she starts killing people off left and right, and I chuck the book because it is so unrealistic and heavy-handed. I could not even get part way through Spanish Lady.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Knute cradled Nora, while she cradled his .45 automatic. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
kiva cave, slot canyons
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Baptist Wash, Boyle's Twist, Green River, Salt Lake, Nelson Bishop, Spider File, Irma Slater, Edgar Hoover, Lamar Decker, Reed Austin, Gordon Hanover, Hyrum Boyle, Burro Gulch, Will Jennings, Provo Courier, Baptist Boyle, Bishop Foundation, Elliot's Rules, Los Angeles, Pearl Harbor, White House, Devil's Door, Historical Society, Chief Tuttle, Dana Koplin
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