Synopsis
If a city is to grow, it is sometimes necessary to go downward first, into the layers of earth and the mounds of detritus left behind like a snake's skin from earlier periods. Usually, there's nothing much to be discovered in the holes that will become the foundation of new buildings: some stones, old wood, broken bottles.
Fifty feet from Wall Street, where New York City began, some urban archaeologists have sifted through the layered years and uncovered the usual and then they found the unusual: the burned bones of a man murdered three hundred years ago.
For magazine columnist Kay Engels, the body, discovered by her friend Vera, might make an interesting story ... if anything can be learned about what happened in the tavern where the murder probably was committed. For the moment, though, the site is just a news item . . . until another very contemporary murder takes place and the story turns deadly.
From Little Moscow in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach to the top of the skyscrapers lifting Manhattan ever higher, Kay digs into the world of real estate development and finance, unearthing a blueprint for murder that now has her name right at its foundation.
Reviews
A somewhat slicker follow-up to the debut novel that introduced features reporter Kay Engels (Murder at the Class Reunion, 1993). Kays working for a magazine in New York; missing her lover Tony, away on business; deciding to look for her long unheard from Aunt Sally, whom shed recently discovered to be her real birth mother; and renewing ties with old school friend Dr. Vera Contas, an archaeologist. Veras present dig is in the Wall Street area where realtor Alan Elkan will be putting up a commercial building after Vera completes the required archaeological survey. So far she has uncovered traces of a burnt-out 17th- century tavern, probably frequented by seafarers, possibly even Captain Kidd. The open site has been plagued by vandalism, despite security overseen by Jerry Murtaugh, who also works for Alans father, a longtime builder in Brooklyn. A fatal accident (or was it?) involving construction worker Kevin Conley; a shot fired at Vera; the trashing of Kays carall this, and more, climaxed by the murder of Alan Elkan, sends Kay on a dangerous investigation centered in Brooklyn nearly costing her life. Motivation lacks credibility, and Kays first-person narrative spends too much time on inner angst, but most readers will find the archaeological lore and Brighton Beach background at least mildly diverting. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Investigative journalist Kay Engels (Murder at the Class Reunion, LJ 7/93) divides her time between trying to find her own birth mother and covering an archaeological dig just off Wall Street for long-time friend Vera. Vera's time at the site (of a burned Colonial tavern) is limited owing to construction deadlines, but she feels sure her discoveries will make her name. As their work progresses, untoward events plague both Vera and KayAvandalism, murder, perhaps even conspiracy. The rather nifty plot concept compensates for the somewhat scatterbrained characterization and sometimes lackluster prose. For larger collections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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