The scorpion's tail

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The scorpion's tail

Title:

The scorpion's tail

Author:

Preston, Douglas J., author.

Child, Lincoln, author.

Series:

Nora Kelly ;

Series Number:

Summary:

A mummified corpse, over half a century old, is found in the cellar of an abandoned building in a remote New Mexico ghost town. Junior FBI Agent Corrie Swanson needs to ID the body, and determine cause of death. When archaeologist Nora Kelly lends her expertise to the investigation, they uncover that the deceased died in a fetal position, skin coming off in sheets, a rictus of horror frozen on his face. And hidden on the corpse is a sixteenth century Spanish gold cross of immense value. When they at last identify the body -- and the bizarre cause of death -- Corrie and Nora open a door into a terrifying, secret world of ancient treasure and modern obsession: a world centered on arguably the most defining, frightening, and transformative moment in American history.

General Note:

Sequel to: Old bones.

Series information from Goodreads.com

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

401 pages ; 24 cm

Genre:

Detective and mystery fiction.

Thrillers (Fiction)

Corporate Subject:

United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation -- Officials and employees -- Fiction.

Subject Term:

Kelly, Nora (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.

Archaeologists -- Fiction.

Mummies -- Fiction.

Museum curators -- Fiction.

Cold cases (Criminal investigation) -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

New Mexico -- Fiction.

Author(s):

Child, Lincoln,

Publisher:

Grand Central Publishing,

Publication Date:

2021

ISBN:

9781538747278

9781538720059

Publication Information:

New York : Grand Central Publishing, 2021.

Call Number:

PRESTON

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003515528	Adult Fiction	PRESTON Douglas	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

From #1 bestselling authors Preston & Child comes a thrilling novel following archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Corrie Swanson as they work together to solve a twisted crime that reaches far beyond any of their worst fears.
Following the acclaimed debut of Old Bones , this second "happily anticipated" new thriller in Preston & Child's series features Nora Kelly, archaeologist at the Santa Fe Archeological Institute, and rookie FBI Agent Corrie Swanson, as they team up to solve a mystery that quickly escalates into nightmare ( Booklist) .

A mummified corpse, over half a century old, is found in the cellar of an abandoned building in a remote New Mexico ghost town. Corrie is assigned what seems to her a throwaway case: to ID the body and determine cause of death. She brings archaeologist Nora Kelly to excavate the body and lend her expertise to the investigation, and together they uncover something unexpected and shocking: the deceased apparently died in agony, in a fetal position, skin coming off in sheets, with a rictus of horror frozen on his face.

Hidden on the corpse lies a 16th century Spanish gold cross of immense value.

When they at last identify the body -- and the bizarre cause of death -- Corrie and Nora open a door into a terrifying, secret world of ancient treasure and modern obsession: a world centered on arguably the most defining, frightening, and transformative moment in American history.

Author Notes

Douglas Jerome Preston was born on May 20, 1956 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received a B.A. in English literature from Pomona College in 1978. His career began at the American Museum of Natural History, where he worked as an editor and writer from 1978 to 1985. He also was a lecturer in English at Princeton University.

He became a full-time writer of both fiction and nonfiction books in 1986. Many of his fiction works are co-written with Lincoln Child including Relic, Riptide, Thunderhead, The Wheel of Darkness, Cemetery Dance, and Gideon's Corpse. His nonfiction works include Dinosaurs in the Attic; Cities of Gold: A Journey Across the American Southwest in Pursuit of Coronado; Talking to the Ground; and The Royal Road. He has written for numerous magazines including The New Yorker; Natural History; Harper's; Smithsonian; National Geographic; and Travel and Leisure. He became a New York Times Best Selling author with his titles Two Graves and Crimson Shores which he co-wrote with Lincoln Child, and his titles White Fire, The Lost Island Blue Labyrinth and The Lost City of the Monkey God.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Bestsellers Preston and Child's enjoyable sequel to 2019's Old Bones takes FBI special agent Corrie Swanson, who studied forensic anthropology, to New Mexico after a mummified male corpse is found in a ghost town on federal land--and a trespasser shot at the sheriff investigating the scene. When Swanson arrives, she decides to ask Nora Kelly, a senior curator at the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute, for help unearthing the remains, which are in an unusual fetal position, so that any evidence of the man's death having been caused by foul play remains intact. Kelly reluctantly agrees to assist, and finds a solid gold, jewel-encrusted cross on the body, dating to the Spanish colonial period. That discovery suggests a connection between the dead man, who appears to have perished in the 1940s, and recurrent legends of a treasure trove of riches hidden somewhere in the area. The authors do their usual solid job of maintaining suspense throughout. Their two capable female leads are well-suited to sustain a long series. Agent: Eric Simonoff, WME. (Jan.)

Library Journal Review

On their second outing (after Old Bones), Nora Kelly, an archaeologist at the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute, and rookie FBI Agent Corrie Swanson are tasked with investigating when a half-century-old mummy is found in a New Mexico ghost town. The victim's golden cross and clearly horrific death--as indicated by his terrible grimace and layers of skin that have peeled off the body--leads them to a crucial moment in New World history. With a 250,000-copy first printing.