Douglas Preston's "The Scorpion's Tail: Nora Kelly Book 2"

mulb: Great book. All kinds of twists and turns just like the first book. How can you not like Nora Kelly and Corrie Swanson. Also I really liked Homer Watts. He was a great character true to his roots.

United States on Oct 27, 2023

ann bowling: This was one of the most engaging books I've ever read. The story took me to places that allowed me to join in the adventure.

United States on Oct 24, 2023

H. P.: Just the correct amount of mystery and real danger that the reader wasn't certain that the "good guy/ or gal" wouldn't be eliminated from the story. There were "Clues" everywhere and all you had to do was choose the "correct" ones ! I found myself going back to re-read a page or two In order to pick up on a 'clue' that I had missed !
I especially enjoyed the several "twists and turns" in the last chapters that brought left me with a smile and an appreciation of Preston and Child's work !

I would like to take this opportunity to recommend to ALL of you! Please search for and read Lincoln & Child's earlier book entitled THUNDERHEAD !! (I believe that is the correct name of the book !) I issue this CHALLENGE !! If you find the book & read the first 3 to 4 chapters (come on folks, they're short chapters !) And then if you can put it aside and not finish reading it you are a "far better man than I !"
Regardless, I recommend you read this book ! Be prepared to "follow the Clues" !!

United States on Oct 02, 2023

Glen A Phillips: Entertaining book - lots of intrigue and great story line - will read the next in the series

Canada on Aug 22, 2023

Julie: This thankfully had an ending that still allowed for continuity of the series of books to come. Good growth in the young agent and no sugar coating of the politics involved in working for the likes of institutions founded on 'old money'

United Kingdom on Feb 25, 2023

BM Perrin: The Scorpion’s Tail sees the reluctant partnership of Nora Kelly, archaeologist, and Corrie Swanson, FBI Agent, reprised to solve a historical mystery. I say reluctant as each of the women describe the other as a “pain in the ass” and nothing in the initial setting for this novel changes that. Corrie has been given what she sees as a make-work case—examining a fifty-year-old corpse discovered on federal land—and only calls in Nora as a necessary unpleasantry for recovering the remains. Nora, on the other hand, is competing for a promotion at work with a newly hired, male senior curator. So, when Corrie comes to ask the favor, Nora hopes that the agent isn’t “… going to throw her current dig into the extended chaos she had with the previous one.”

The book is classified as a “historical mystery” on Amazon, although the whodunit element seems to fade about halfway through as the villain begins to tip his hand. Why this foe would be committing all the crimes that occur during the story, however, remains a mystery and the authors work this question into what might be considered a twist. To me, however, it felt more like a dividing of the storyline and by...

United States on Apr 03, 2022

Stephie: Spannend und durchgehend flüssig zu lesen. Man taucht in die Story ein und möchte das Buch eigentlich nicht mehr zur Seite legen. Ich hätte mir allerdings gewünscht , dass Pendergast nicht nur am Ende des Buches kurz auftaucht. Aber es ist halt ein Corrie und Nora Buch . Ich freue mich schon auf das nächste!

Germany on Feb 01, 2021

KGBeast: Wer auch immer die Produktvorstellung bei Amazon geschrieben hat arbeitete entweder auf der Grundlage eines Vorentwurfs oder kann nicht wirklich gut lesen.

Zunächst einmal wird kein Agent bei der ersten Schießerei verletzt und Corrie hat keine Schuldgefühle und der Fall, der ihr zugewiesen wird ist ein Schusswechsel zwischen einem Sheriff und einem Plünderer im Keller eines ehemaligen Bordells in einer verlassenen Goldgräberstadt in der Nähe des militärischen Waffenforschungszentrums White Sands, bei dem beide verwundet werden. Und da High Lonesome Bundesland ist, ist nun mal das FBI zuständig.

Zusammen mit Sheriff Watts findet die Agentin in dem fraglichen Keller die 75 Jahre dort liegende Leiche eines Mannes und da es ewig dauern würde - und sehr viel Geld kosten würde - ein forensisch-archäologisches Team des FBI nach High Linesome zu bringen nutzt sie die Tatsache, dass Nora Kelly in der Nähe eine Ausgrabung hat um sie um fachfrauliche Hilfe zu bitten.

Da zunächst noch nicht klar ist, ob hier im Zusammenhang mit dem Toten überhaupt eine Verbrechen vorliegt, hält das FBI den Ermittlungsaufwand anfangs klein, doch als der angeschossene...

Germany on Jan 28, 2021

Jon Doe: Corrie Swanson is called back in by the FBI after a man is found digging in an abandoned Gold Rush town from the 19th century-who takes a shot at the Sherriff who captures him. It's Federal land, so she's the investigating Agent-but she needs the help of a professional archaeologist to uncover the human remains found.

So she calls Nora Kelly, who is willing if busy, but able to rearrange her schedule, despite issues at the university she works for. However: the man, it turns out, has suffered a unique cause of death relating to being found near White Sands military base. The kind of unique that creates questions which MUST be answered.

Which leads them onto the trail of a vastly different ancient mystery, which may answer a question most think is part of the mythology of the area. But they are not the only one's looking...

The authors do an excellent job of showing how the work and research done leads Corrie and Nora along the trail to answers. They also have fun with a cowboy Sheriff who, it turns out, doesn't need the most modern firearms to do his job. They manage to portray infighting within the FBI as well as Corrie's boss Orders her to find a way to get...

United Kingdom on Jan 24, 2021

MDub: It’ll be difficult to do justice to my pleasure with only words, but as with most anything dear to me, I’ll do my level best. Fair warning: many likely spoilers ahead. Likewise, like some other things attached to me, this will be long and distinguished.

I write in praise not only of their most recent work (The Scorpion’s Tail), but in awe overall of the literary universe created by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (aka The Gents). Their individual works, separately, are excellent....but their combined efforts with regards to the expanding “PenderVerse” are amazing. It’s tough to think of any other fiction world which is at once so capable of drawing me into it, and so immediately relatable to the “real” world.

Every single work is readable, entertaining. More importantly they are ENGAGING. The obvious research, the attention to continuity and detail (even in ‘crossover’ or ‘spinoff’ tales) is consistently impressive. I know, since I am an unrepentant dick and exacting consumer. My first contact with The Gents was an email, offering my services, having caught some minor (nigh negligible) technical errors. (Their response was polite and...

United States on Jan 16, 2021