Written by a real life archaeologist this crime novel takes place at a dig in the fictional town of Hungerbourne. After the death of Dr Gerald Hart, who began the dig back in the 70s, two archeologists, Dr David Barbrook and Clare Hills, go through his archive and revive the dig, but have they revived an unnamed killer?
After a series of accidents and deaths, Clare starts looking for the person behind all the tragedy, but are they willing to go to any lengths to close the dig?
This was really interesting to read, I actually find archeology really interesting, growing up my friend’s mum is a doctor of archeology and often had interesting pots and things in their house she was cataloguing for various museums. I would always ask about her work and she took us on trips to see projects she’d worked on on display.
So a combination of crime thriller and Bronze Age dig is right up my alley. Ford (aka Dr Nick Shashall) manages to get the balance between fictional crime and real scientific information right. I loved the behind the scenes at the British Museum, a place I love and would really enjoy delving behind the displays.
It also taps into the history of cursed archeological explorations, even referencing the Cartwright Tutankhamum curse. I’m also fascinated by English folklore and mythology, which this particular “curse” references.
Altogether, this is a really great first novel, and I look forward to the next in the series.
If you’d like to know more or see what other readers think, my review was part of the book tour below.
ramblingmads 