This was a substantially better novel than the Maltese Goddess that came before it in the Lara McClintoch series. I might even go as far as to say it was a vast improvement, to the extent that whilst I was going to give up on the series I shall continue to see if this level of quality is maintained.

This book had a much better beginning, the pace of the story was much better, it contained actual archeology unlike the prior book and there was some actual mystery there too. All the elements one requires for a book series that bills itself as "an archeological mystery" were present.

Overall, it was quite enjoyable and even contains some educational material about Peruvian pre-Columbian history which was interesting. ( )

Lara is an antiquities dealer in Toronto. Things aren't going well, as a street person is scaring off her customers, and her ex-husband just opened a shop across the street and is stealing her customers. Lara went to an auction and bought a box of miscellaneous items, which her ex really wanted. However, Lara found what appeared to be ancient and illegal Moche artifacts from Peru. Her shop gets vandalized and set on fire. Running for her life Lara ends up on an archeolical dig in Peru, trying to figure out what what going on. The plot got pretty thin at the end of the story. However, I always enjoy the historical info which the author fills the books. ( )

Another Lara McClintoch mystery. She stumbles into something by buying what she considers to be mostly junk at an auction. Her store is broken into and set on fire and a good friend is hit on the head and injured. Someone else is found dead in the fire and her friend is suspected. Lara ends up tracking down clues in Peru. This involves the Moche people who pre-dated the Inca. She joins an archaeological dig trying to find out who is behind smuggling. She has figured out that someone is passing valuable finds as cheap copies and smuggling them to the U.S. I really like this series.

The author loves the subject that's obvious. She has a passion for archaeology and it shows. The setting of the plot, the technical information, the historical setting are all fine. But the cake doesn't rise. Not for me anyway. The characters are so thin and two dimensional. She's in book 3 and Lara is still this heroine I don't really believe in. The bad guys are "papier maché" villains, the pace of the action is off. Still there are enough little things I liked to seek out the next book. Barely a two stars. ( )

My library doesn't have the first two volumes in this series, so this is the first one that I've read, chronologically. I have a feeling that there is more of a backstory for a couple of the characters, but there wasn't a barrier to understanding what was going on.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. When I was in college, several of my friends went to Peru on a dig at a Moche site, which gives me a totally spurious sense of connection to the setting. The writing is well done, the plot is satisfying and complex, without being ridiculous. The protagonist, Lara McClintoch, is someone I feel like I would enjoy spending time with. She's sharp, sympathetic and not perfect.

That said, I stopped reading at several points. Foreshadowing may be "your key to quality literature," but when I read sentences like "My plans...were delayed by..the arrival...of one of the most unprincipled people I have ever met" (p183) it seemed too melodramatic for the text, and pulled me abruptly out of the story. (Ellipses to avoid spoilers.) However, I wanted to see what was going to happen next, so I picked it up again.

The ending was mostly satisfying. A wild guess made by the protagonist at the beginning, on which she based her half-baked plan, turns out to be wrong, in an interesting way, On the other hand, how exactly the "inside person" got inside is elided over with no explanation at all, which is just as well, because there doesn't seem to be any way to make that work.

I will definitely read more of this series, as I find them. ( )