One Grave Less by Beverly Connor

#9 Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Obsidian
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 356
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5

Simple Description:
Diane Fallon is outside the new exhibit at the River Trail Museum of Natural History, where she is director, when she hears a noise.  She enters to exhibit to find a man on the floor, in need of medical assistance.  She calls the security guards and after they arrive she follows a blood trail and finds an old acquaintance, Simone, also in need of medical assistance.  Before things get worse, Simone tells Diane that "It was one of us."

Diane soon figures out that Simone was referring to a massacre that happened several years ago when she was working in South America to uncover mass graves.  As if this wasn't bad enough, somebody is spreading rumors about Diane that could harm her professional career and her personal life.   A couple of Diane's other friends and acquaintance's who were also involved in the South American incident are also being targeted, although only Diane is the one who's life is in danger.  They must figure out what Simone was trying to tell her before things get worse.

While this is going on, we are also getting info on another scientist. Lindsay Chamberlain was in Peru doing some investigative work when she was mistaken as Diane Fallon and kidnapped.  She's not sure how she is going to escape until one small girl rescue's her.  Ariel has been waiting for years to find somebody who can help her reconnect with her Mom, Diane Fallon.  They were separated when the massacre happened and Diane believes her to be dead.  Ariel will do anything to get back to her.  Lindsay and Ariel set out on an adventure to save their lives and, as it turns out, Diane's.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
This is the 9th book in the series, but the first that I've read.  While there were times that I wondered if it would be better if I had read the others in the series first, there wasn't a moment where I felt I was lost.  I was nervous about that too, not sure how much would make sense or how much I would miss.  I did wonder if the massacre is something that happens in a previous book, from what I can gather it happens before #1 in this series.  That's not to say it doesn't get mentioned in the other books, I have no idea of it does or doesn't.

I thought this book was actually pretty good.  I liked the idea of it, the idea of Diane working at a museum and also having a crime lab in the museum.  I liked a lot of the secondary characters.  I'm hoping several of them show up in future books and/or past books.  I did read a brief summary of book 1 in the series and so I know that when I start over with the series I'll already know how some things turn out, but that's just something I'll deal with.  Oh yes, did you catch that?  I do plan to read the others in this series.  I thought this one was very different from your standard cozy and it was very interesting.  In regards to this book, I loved how there were two different stories and the reader knew how they connected but each party didn't know what was going on with the other. (I hope that made sense)


(this book doesn't count for any challenges since I started it in 2010
 Thanks to the publisher for providing this book for review.