Fault Line (Em Hansen Mysteries) - Hardcover

Andrews, Sarah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312253508 ISBN 13: 9780312253509

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2002

Synopsis

In Fault Line, Sarah Andrews' seventh absorbing mystery, forensic geologist Emily Hansen finds herself in a heavenly situation-for a geologist, anyway. Here, Salt Lake City, on the verge of hosting the Olympics, is hit with a major earthquake, Em's first; she's delighted to see her science at work live and in color instead of in a lab like usual. Not that it's all fun and games-the quake is minor in terms of damage, but the specter of the possibility of a much larger disaster looms.

And the geological event brings her a job. For the past few months while trying to move forward in her relationship with her boyfriend, Ray, a cop in Salt Lake, Em has been consulting for and training with the FBI as an unofficial investigator; when a state-employed geologist is murdered hours after the quake, the Feds ask Em to put her special brand of detection skills to work on the case. The disaster already has the local government types edgy, and a murder at the height of the emergency gets even the governor's attention. Em must use all the investigatory tools in her arsenal to uncover what in the dead geologist's life-earthquake related or not, professional or personal-could have made her the target of a killer.

Action-packed and tensely written, Fault Line is as much about the very real effects of an earthquake on our modern lives as it is about the science of finding a killer.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Praise for the novels of Sarah Andrews

Fault Line
"The most intriguing complexities in Fault Line lie with Em's own character."-Washington Post

"Em Hansen's seventh well-paced outing...Em Hansen is rapidly carving out a niche for herself as a forensic geologist...and may eventually make her field as popular as that of forensic anthropology or medicine."-Publishers Weekly

"The resourceful and intelligent Hansen makes a terrific series heroine...What has made the series shine has been the amount of "hard science" that Andrews, a professional geologist herself, was able to work into the stories."--Booklist

"A fine series."-Library Journal

"Compulsively readable."-Houston Chronicle

"An entertaining story...[Andrews] has a winning detective in Em Hansen."-Dallas Morning News

An Eye For Gold
"Suspense every step of the way...[with] twists and turns that will keep you turning the ages."
-The Press Democrat

"Em Hansen is plucky and smart...the mystery is complicated and absorbing."-Booklist

Bone Hunter
"[Em Hansen] is a clear-thinking, straight-talking heroine whose unabashed naivete is endearing."-New York Times Book Review

"Andrews...has become a leading light.... Her novel is a suspenseful mystery spiked with dinosaurs, science, and religion: what more could a reader ask for?"-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The latest Em Hansen is by far the best...Andrews makes the most of her paleontological background. She clearly knows her subject and, unlike many crime writers, she does not use the surroundings merely as window dressing. The novel is, in addition to a fine mystery, a lively 0exploration of the high-stakes world of dinosaur research and perceptive rumination on the debate between science and creationism."-Booklist

"Geologist Em Hansen's adventures become more and more intriguing with each new book...A most fascinating tale."-Romantic Times

"Appealing characters and fluent prose."-Library Journal

"The fifth Em Hansen novel is a fabulous blending of science and sleuthing that readers will fully relish...Sarah Andrews may be writing the best scientific mysteries this side of the medical thriller."-Harriet Klausner, Painted Rock Reviews

"Memorable...Bone Hunter knows its stuff when it comes to weaving the geology of [this] state into a crime as plausible as today's headlines."-Salt Lake Tribune

Only Flesh And Bones
"Her tale contains a canny, entertaining mixture of elements.... The intersections of new money and old ways of living in the West find a convincing chronicler in Andrews."
-Washington Post Book World

"Andrews handles [the] possibilities with a sure hand as she introduces an endless supply of secondary characters whose company is a delight. Thoughtful and uncertain, Em is especially appealing as she makes the quiet point that murder involves more than flesh and bones... After a few more cases, geologist Em Hansen may be as tough as the best of her sleuthing peers, but her vulnerability offers singular pleasures to current readers."-Publishers Weekly

"[A] fine mystery with an edgy and vulnerable heroine... There's action and passion, introspection and suspense. Em is smart company, and we learn her mind and heart along with her."-Booklist

"In the fourth book in the series, Andrews moves away from the rig to issues of mothers, daughters, and ranch life. But she continues to tell a good story."-New Orleans Times-Picayune

"A slick, endearing heroine...We tore through this novel." -Seventeen

"Em Hansen is one of the most interesting characters in recent mystery fiction-a strong woman with believable weaknesses and none of the smugness or coyness which bog down other, better-selling series heroines."-Amazon.com's Mystery Editor

"One of the finest elements of an Em Hansen mystery is female characters who are strong, lindependent and intelligent... [a] marvelous mystery."--Douglas (Wyoming) Budget

Mother Nature
"Complex and engaging... Snappy dialogue and fully realized characters, especially the immensely appealing Em, turn the field of geology into a fascinating background for a mystery."-Publishers Weekly

"Mother Nature is an intriguing who-done-it. However, what turns this into an interesting tale is the deeply developed characters (especially Em) and the brilliant insight into geology. Surprisingly, the geological aspects of the story are...extremely fascinating."
-Midwest Book Review

From the Back Cover

"Graphic, frightening, and entertaining use of earthquake science...readers may never look at rock formations with the same innocence."-Publishers Weekly

"The Resourceful and Intelligent Hansen Makes a Terrific Series Heroine." -Booklist

With the Winter Olympics approaching, Salt Lake City is trembling with excitement-literally. A real life earthquake has torn fissures into the city's preparations, and now forensic geologist Em Hansen has a rare opportunity to get some field work in before her home is overrun by tourists and athletes.

But murder can spoil anybody's plans, and when the body of the state geologist turns up in the wake of the 'quake, the FBI enlists Em's unique expertise to sort through the rubble. When the case takes her into the byzantine bureaucracy of the city's building codes, Em runs headfirst into an assortment of intimidating suspects and corrupt government officials-and an uncomfortable clue that points to her own boyfriend, Ray. On shaky ground as her personal and professional lives collide, Em must use fascinating geological science to capture a murderer before her whole life come crumbling to the ground.

"Em Hansen is rapidly carving out a niche for herself." -Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0312253508
• ISBN 13: 9780312253509
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304