Maybe it was that I started with the forth book in the series because my library didn't have the first, but I was very disappointed with this book. Characters are not believable and just highly disappointing and cut-short ending. ( )

Once I hit my stride in Only Flesh and Bones it was hard for me to stop. I wanted to see what Em was going to uncover next and how she was going to get herself in trouble - something she never fails to disappoint us with. There were elements of this book I found somewhat rare for the genre - the crime was around a year old and the focus of the investigation was a dead woman and the only way we got to know her was through journals. It was an enjoyable change of pace, but didn’t stray too far from what I expected.

Generally I really like letting some time pass between reading books in a series. I find most of the time it allows me to enjoy the story more fully because I’m not too in tune with an author’s quirks. There are times when I curse waiting though because sometimes series fall by the wayside as I get distracted by more new series. This is rarely due to a lack in series quality. Such has been the case for the Em Hansen series by Sarah Andrews. It was hastened by the fact that my local library had a hole in their collection and did not have book 4 on the shelves so I had to do an interlibrary loan to get my hands on it. While I often hesitate to ILL a fiction book I am glad I did.

It was very enjoyable to be reminded how Em is a non-traditional amateur sleuth. She is a geologist by training and a good bit of her experience. This background of scientific analysis and training influences her detecting greatly. Being a scientist by training myself I really enjoy how well Andrews has nailed most of the women scientist/engineers I know in her development of Em. She slips into my mind like a good friend from college, no matter how much time has passed. I will confess that it took me a bit to get sucked into this book, though I think that was mostly because I couldn’t readily recall everything that had gone down in the third book.

I very much enjoyed this read and will do my best to not let so much time lapse before I dive into book 5! ( )

I started reading this and thought "I've read this before!". Sure enough, but it was an enjoyable re-read. The mystery is clever, and more than that, I really like watching Em working through her emotional issues with her mother and romantically, and even professionally. As a woman with my own emotional hangups, it's nice to see how others are doing it. ( )