Preston and Child are about all you need to hear to know it is going to be a good, and likely great, mystery novel. Their collaboration is simply amazing. The new book is Old Bones by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. This is a new one in the Nora Kelly series and is scheduled to be out on August 20, 2019
If you have read many of my reviews, you know that I occasionally buy a book but more often my reading matter comes from the library or reading advance reader copies (ARC) that I find on NetGalley ( https://www.netgalley.com/ ). A few weeks ago I was perusing Netgalley to see if they had anything interesting. Of the hundreds of books available there the Preston and Child book stood out.
I’ve read several books by the Preston and Child collaboration and reviewed a few here(http://www.jackreidy.com/blog/tag/preston-and-child/). So I knew it was going to be good. When I read the description, I thought Old Bones would be very good.. Here is the description from NetGalley:
” #1 bestselling authors Preston & Child bring the true story of the ill-fated Donner Party to new life in a thrilling blend of archaeology, history, murder, and suspense.
Nora Kelly, a young curator at the Santa Fe Institute of Archaeology, is approached by historian Clive Benton with a once-in-a-lifetime proposal: to lead a team in search of the so-called “Lost Camp” of the tragic Donner Party. This was a group of pioneers who earned a terrible place in American history when they became snow-bound in the California mountains in 1847, their fate unknown until the first skeletonized survivors stumbled out of the wilderness, raving about starvation, murder-and cannibalism.
Benton tells Kelly he has stumbled upon an amazing find: the long-sought diary of one of the victims, which has an enigmatic description of the Lost Camp. Nora agrees to lead an expedition to locate and excavate it-to reveal its long-buried secrets.
Once in the mountains, however, they learn that discovering the camp is only the first step in a mounting journey of fear. For as they uncover old bones, they expose the real truth of what happened, one that is far more shocking and bizarre than mere cannibalism. And when those ancient horrors lead to present-day violence on a grand scale, rookie FBI agent Corrie Swanson is assigned the case…only to find that her first investigation might very well be her last. “
The murder near the beginning of the book first gets your attention. Then there are several plot lines developed and you start to wonder where the story is going. But each was interesting. And when they unite, it becomes a fascination story of an archaeological expedition to find the Lost Camp of the Donner Party accompanied by murder, lost gold, suspense, and more. I totally enjoyed this Old Bones and highly recommend it.
But don’t just take my word for it. Here are some good reviews from kirkus and good reads.
The morning after I finished I was talking about books with a friend of mine who enjoys mysteries. I mentioned reading an ARC of the new Preston and Child book. He had already pre-ordered it. Their names are enough to sell books.