Death Assemblage (Book One, Frankie MacFarlane Mystery Series) (Hardcover)

by Susan Cummins Miller (Author) "At one o'clock, the first clouds had appeared on the horizon..." (more)
Key Phrases: field vest, line shack, marker bed, Red Mountain, Bill Anderson, Pair-a-Dice Bar (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Frankie MacFarlane hasn't come to derelict Pair-a-Dice, Nev., for its 21 slot machines, or even its three bars or seven pool tables; she's there for the rocks the ones she's surveying for her geology dissertation. But this heroine of a new series by geologist Susan Cummins Miller, inaugurated with the assured and erudite Death Assemblage, gets tangled up with the eccentrics of the truck-stop town when two recent murders seem tied to ancient violence that she's discovered in her geological research.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Near Pair-a-Dice, Nevada--a "thirty-truck town"--Francisca "Frankie" MacFarlane is unraveling a fossil puzzle that could bring her a professorship. Heading home, she finds human remains and encounters a stranger who warns her of a serial killer. Then her friend is murdered, and a manuscript that could be the key to solving the crime disappears. Frankie dodges death three times before she unravels the puzzle that links the fossils, the murder, and the manuscript. This fast-paced, edgy debut combines a suspenseful plot, well-drawn characters, and rich atmosphere. Although the pace slows some prior to the climax, and the geology is sometimes hard to follow--"death assemblage" is the paleonlogical term for fossils brought together after death--Miller vividly captures mountain and desert life, and she offers fascinating and unsettling insights into western history and the lives of ranchers. Recommend this to fans of Michael McGarrity's Kevin Kearney series, James Doss' Shaman novels, and Beverly Connor's archaeology thrillers. John Rowen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 209 pages
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896724816
• ISBN-13: 978-0896724815
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,446,271 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Mystery Read That Shouldn't Be Missed, August 3, 2002

By	Leigh G (Redlands, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Susan Cummins Miller has scored a hit with this one. Frankie MacFarlane, a graduate geologist, is intertwined with the people of Pair-A-Dice, several murders, and the geology of Nevada. This one kept me spellbound for hours and the ending caught me totally by surprise. For a change, this is a totally challenging murder mystery fraught with suspense. Certainly not your run-of-the-mill butler-did-it suspense tale. If you are looking for a great mystery read, try this one. You won't be disappointed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rocky Thrill, March 20, 2002

By	P. Miller "mystery woman" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Susan Cummins Miller brought me hours of pleasure with her anthology of Women writers, "A Sweet Separate Intimacy". Now she has branched into a new field of adventure fiction with a gutsy geologist named Frankie who stirs up a hot desert town. Thanks Ms. Miller for a great read!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping thriller, exciting and eager, April 9, 2002

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Susan Cummins Miller clearly draws upon her expertise and background as a field geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in writing Death Assemblage, a superbly crafted murder mystery set in the mountains west of Pair-a-Dice, Nevada. When a geologist in the final week of her dissertation fieldwork tries to unravel the secrets of the earth's stones, she becomes involved in a deadly cat-and-mouse game of kidnappings, blackmail, and rampant greed. A gripping thriller, exciting and eager to lure the reader into a labyrinth of human deceit, Death Assemblage is enthusiastically recommended reading for dedicated mystery buffs! Attention Hollywood -- this is the stuff from which blockbuster movies can be made!