One Grave Less: A Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation

Near the outset of Connor's exciting ninth thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon (after The Night Killer), Diane discovers Simone Brooks, a colleague from her days investigating human rights abuses in South America, lying injured on the floor of the crime lab at Georgia's River Trail Museum of Natural History. Simone mutters something suggesting that a person they trusted in South America is up to no good before losing consciousness. Soon, Diane finds herself framed for drug smuggling and the murders of four men in Brazil. Meanwhile, Diane's eight-year-old adopted daughter, Ariel, and a kidnapped anthropologist mistaken for Diane, Lindsay Chamberlain, battle thugs and conspiracies in the Amazon rainforest. Crisp, intelligent prose helps propel the many hairpin plot twists. The three smart, likable female leads—Diane, Ariel, and Lindsay, making a guest appearance from another Connor series—don't wait around for men to save them. (Dec.)