The Bone Chamber
A Sydney
Fitzpatrick Mystery
Robin
Burcell
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-375-2 (1590583752)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-375-3 (9781590583753)
Publication Date: December 2009
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Special Agent Sydney Fitzpatrick, forensic artist to
the FBI, returns to Quantico to help identify a brutally murdered young
woman. But when Sydney’s friend and colleague, the forensic
anthropologist who assisted her, is killed in a hit-and-run, a covert
government team takes over the investigation, and Sydney is suddenly
removed from the case. Certain her friend’s murder is connected
to the first case, Sydney investigates.
She discovers that the first victim was not only an archeological
student, but also the daughter of the ambassador to the Holy See. Just
before she was killed, the ambassador’s daughter claimed to have
found one of three keys that just might lead to a map of the long lost
Templar treasure. Sydney’s search for answers takes her to the
streets of Rome, and into the underground crypts and caverns in Naples,
one step ahead of a ruthless killer. Time is running out for Sydney as
a fellow government agent is kidnapped.
And the ransom demanded? The Templar map.
Review: FBI
Special Agent and forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick has just arrived
in San Francisco to begin a much-needed vacation when she's urgently
summoned by a colleague to return to Quantico to help identity a woman
whose face has been peeled away in The
Bone Chamber, the second mystery in this series by Robin Burcell.
Dr. Natasha Gilbert is a forensic anthropologist and close friend. But
she's unexpectedly missing when Sydney arrives at FBI headquarters. Her
sketchy notes on the case are there, a woman whose face and fingertips
had been removed, clearly to hide her identity. But when Sydney
examines the body she notices something else: the triangular, somewhat
ritualistic shape of the wound on the skull. Sydney recreates a
portrait of the dead woman, identifying her as Alessandra, the daughter
of the US ambassador to the Vatican and an archeology student, who --
coincidentally? -- disappeared from a dig in Egypt, the same one
Natasha had been working. Had they found something worth killing for?
The case takes a tragic turn when Sydney learns Natasha has been killed
by a hit-and-run driver. Zachary Griffin takes over the case and
abruptly eliminates Sydney from participating, but she's not so easily
cast aside. She is convinced Natasha's and Alessandra's deaths are
connected and flies to Rome to continue her investigation, pursued by
someone -- connected with the FBI or not, she does not know -- who is
determined not to let her discover the truth.
The chase for the secret behind some historical document or relic is
certainly not an untested premise for a thriller, but The Bone Chamber handles it nimbly,
offering the reader a multi-faceted, fast-paced story that is made more
appealing by the presence of Sydney Fitzpatrick. The historical
elements are interesting if rather overdrawn, but the excitement here
is in following Sydney on her quest to understand what cost her friend
her life. She has to balance her professional training with her
personal feelings, all the while keeping one step ahead of those who
would do her harm. It's all well done -- albeit in an escapist sort of
way.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Bone Chamber and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read The Bone Chamber? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
The Face of a Killer
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), November 2008
ISBN-10: 1-59058-374-4 (1590583744)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-374-6 (9781590583746)
The Bone Chamber
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), December 2009
ISBN-10: 1-59058-375-2 (1590583752)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-375-3 (9781590583753)
Omnimystery keywords for The Bone Chamber ...
Location(s) referenced: Virginia, Rome, Italy.
