An Engrossing Story

By Carolyn Hart

Seventh Street Books 13.95 180 pages

Ellen Christie is an anthropologist who has recently moved to San Francisco from Arkansas. She enjoys her new job at a museum and is happy with her life. Everything is about to be changed forever, though, when a young man appears at her door with the legendary bones of the Peking Man – bones that have been lost for hundreds of years. When the man goes missing, Ellen works with the man’s brother, Dan, to try to find him and save the bones.

Skulduggery is an engrossing thriller by author Carolyn Hart. She sets the bulk of the tale in Chinatown and immediately creates a sense of history and culture within that setting. The stories from the various characters within Chinatown are haunting and riveting and this is the strength of the story. The main character is nicely written and gives the reader a sense of conflict – should the bones be turned over to a museum or should they be sold? The mystery aspect of the story is less interesting as there are no real surprises in that part of the book. The characters of Chinatown more than make up for that, though, and the end result is a very interesting novel.

Reviewed By Barbara Cothern

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