Review: Carnosaur Crimes

Carnosaur Crimes Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Christine Gentry
Class/Genre: Mystery Amateur Sleuth Woman Main Character FBI Government Agency
Series: Ansel Phoenix
Poisoned Pen Press, April 2005, 325 pgs., $22.95

Sometimes it's hard for a reviewer to decide how to handle a deeply flawed book when what they have to read is an Advanced Reading Copy which frequently states that it is an "Uncorrected Proof." Will all the flaws in the writing and in the facts be caught and fixed before the book is launched to the public? We don't know.

Here's a novel, more suspenseful than mysterious, with a good plot, interesting characters in a terrific setting that's infected with the "misplaced modifier" virus. The pace is fine and readers will want to know how it all works out, depending on their level of tolerance for lapses. A pistol wound to the leg of a character has to be cleaned of shotgun pellets at a later time. A man rides to save a foundering heifer wearing a cowboy hat with a long white ponytail. A bizarre if interesting adornment.

Protagonist Ansel Phoenix is a successful paleoartist. She's also an intriguing mix of Blackfoot Indian and Caucasian blood. Her attitudes, her talent and her perceptions of the world around her are deeply affected by her roots and her heritage. She's bright, she's aware, and she'd not prone to knowingly putting herself into dangerous situations. In short she's a good role model. When a mysterious Indian tries to steal fossil Carnosaur tracks from the bank of a river outside the Big Toe Natural History Museum, what might have been a simple theft is quickly transformed into a jurisdictional dispute between federal and local authorities. Economic well-being of the nearby town is involved. Because the poacher is dead from a gas explosion, multiple law enforcement and other agencies are soon stepping on each other's toes.

The story is further complicated by the appearance of an FBI team following a parallel path with dangerous connections that threaten Ansel and her lover. The resolution of the various plot elements are logical and satisfying. Author Gentry has good instincts and talent for storytelling, even if her characters occasionally seem to be presenting lectures in the college paleontology lab. Ansel's inner monologues and personal turmoil are nicely handled.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carl Brookins - RAM

Book Review: Carnosaur Crimes