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Diane Fallon #5
Dead Hunt
When Clymene O'Riley, a cold-blooded killer who may be responsible for numerous murders, escapes from prison after revealing a shocking secret, forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon is accused of a bloody murder that places her in the path of an angry killer. Original.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Beverly Connor
26 books247 followersI'm Beverly Connor and I love archaeology. I worked in Georgia and South Carolina as an archaeologist doing both fieldwork and analyzing artifacts. I also love mysteries. I combined these two loves and now write mysteries in which I weave my professional experience as an archaeologist into stories of murder and intrigue in both my Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation series and Lindsay Chamberlain Archaeology Mystery Series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
May 3, 2024
Stolen Egyptian artifacts show up in lieu of the non-stolen ones the museum ordered. This puts the assistant director in a terrible spotlight which leads to more twists and turns. Very entertaining.
June 29, 2021
This forensic anthropology mystery enmeshes the attractive characters in an inventive plot. Insights into the workings of the museum world provide the special sauce.
July 3, 2015
Another fun read dealing with stolen Egyptian antiquities and some fairly complex revenge attacks. It was nice to see the new DNA lab put to use so effectively. I continue to enjoy the witty dialogue, the forensics and the strong characters in Connor's novels. They get into sometimes unbelievable situations but she carries the reader with her intricate plots. Good stuff.
May 20, 2015
Great read - twists and turns and lots of red herrings tossed in for good measure. A couple of intertwining cases involving the museum. A lot of angst in this book and lots of forensics to keep your mind reeling! Just exactly who is behind all the goings on?
2 thumbs up and 5 stars
2 thumbs up and 5 stars
August 9, 2016
An new wrinkle in the serial killer plot, though the bits about antiquities are more interesting than the major plot.
July 5, 2017
As usual, Diane Fallon is busier than humanly conceivable. She has a cold-blooded murderess tasking her to protect one of her prison guards. She has a major scandal with the provenance of some Egyptian artifacts purchased by the museum. And as usual, she is surrounded by a rather large number of mean people. Fairly suspenseful in spite of the implausibility.
June 30, 2019
Stolen artifacts
Book 5 of this series has bad publicity about the museum saying they were dealing in stolen artifacts. If that weren’t enough someone is trying to kill Diane and a murderess has escaped from prison. Does it all connect somehow? An intriguing mystery and engrossing and entertaining read
Book 5 of this series has bad publicity about the museum saying they were dealing in stolen artifacts. If that weren’t enough someone is trying to kill Diane and a murderess has escaped from prison. Does it all connect somehow? An intriguing mystery and engrossing and entertaining read
July 11, 2017
I'm a big fan of the Diane Fallon books, but this one wasn't my favorite. Not sure if I wasn't paying as close attention to all the little details, but this book had so many random twists & turns it lost me a few times. But it still kept my attention, for the most part.
March 22, 2018
Great Series.
I started this series last year and enjoy following Diane Fallon and her team. It’s always an adventure. I put Beverly Connor among my favorite authors. If you like series mystery you will enjoy reading these books.
I started this series last year and enjoy following Diane Fallon and her team. It’s always an adventure. I put Beverly Connor among my favorite authors. If you like series mystery you will enjoy reading these books.
September 17, 2017
Must the same as the others in the series. Good, but not spectacular. I'll probably continue reading this series.
July 20, 2018
Good mystery and who dunnit. Enjoyed the characters as they are developing. Had been a while since I've read any from the series, forgot how much I enjoyed them
July 19, 2020
Another great twisty turny mystery with forensic evidence and museum intrigue thrown in for good measure.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
December 23, 2020
A very likable series; love the combination setting of museum and forensic lab.
March 23, 2023
This one took me a long time!! Was very slow to start but it did eventually pick up the pace and when it did it was enough mystery and intrigue to keep me going!
June 9, 2010
4.0 out of 5 stars Multifaceted mystery keeps the reader turning the pages..., August 3, 2009
This review is from: Dead Hunt (Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation, No. 5) (Paperback)
This fifth in the series is another entertaining and educational read. The author, pedigreed herself, has written a character who is smart and spunky. Diane Fallon is the director of a museum of natural history (RiverTrail) and also heads another division housed in the same large building - a crime lab that has everything from an osteology laboratory (her own specialty) to DNA analysis. In addition to being an expert in many of the forensic sciences, she is a caver and is physically fit as well. This happens to be a good thing for Diane because she is nearly murdered, kidnapped, or imprisoned in every novel! Despite all the bruises and injuries she suffers as she escapes these attempts on her life, she usually manages to help the FBI or the local police solve the mystery.
In this investigation, Diane visits a female prisoner who has an urgent request. When this convicted murderer subsequently escapes, Diane and her museum and lab employees are drawn into the mystery of this "Black Widow" with no past. A parallel investigation involves the museum under suspicion of purchasing questionable antiquities.
Because of the combination of the natural history museum and the crime lab, the reader learns many interesting facts about different subjects in each book - in this one are tidbits of Egyptian archeology, osteology, medicine, police investigation, forensic art/sculpture and facial recognition, DNA analysis, etc.
Although these are not what I consider heart stopping, suspenseful thrillers, I think most readers will enjoy the science and also develop a fondness for Diane and the other recurring characters in this series and won't want to miss this one. I'm looking forward to Scattered Graves (Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation, No. 6).
I also think it's a series that should be read in order, so start with One Grave Too Many (Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation, No. 1) so you can get the full background on Diane Fallon and how all this came about.
This review is from: Dead Hunt (Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation, No. 5) (Paperback)
This fifth in the series is another entertaining and educational read. The author, pedigreed herself, has written a character who is smart and spunky. Diane Fallon is the director of a museum of natural history (RiverTrail) and also heads another division housed in the same large building - a crime lab that has everything from an osteology laboratory (her own specialty) to DNA analysis. In addition to being an expert in many of the forensic sciences, she is a caver and is physically fit as well. This happens to be a good thing for Diane because she is nearly murdered, kidnapped, or imprisoned in every novel! Despite all the bruises and injuries she suffers as she escapes these attempts on her life, she usually manages to help the FBI or the local police solve the mystery.
In this investigation, Diane visits a female prisoner who has an urgent request. When this convicted murderer subsequently escapes, Diane and her museum and lab employees are drawn into the mystery of this "Black Widow" with no past. A parallel investigation involves the museum under suspicion of purchasing questionable antiquities.
Because of the combination of the natural history museum and the crime lab, the reader learns many interesting facts about different subjects in each book - in this one are tidbits of Egyptian archeology, osteology, medicine, police investigation, forensic art/sculpture and facial recognition, DNA analysis, etc.
Although these are not what I consider heart stopping, suspenseful thrillers, I think most readers will enjoy the science and also develop a fondness for Diane and the other recurring characters in this series and won't want to miss this one. I'm looking forward to Scattered Graves (Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation, No. 6).
I also think it's a series that should be read in order, so start with One Grave Too Many (Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation, No. 1) so you can get the full background on Diane Fallon and how all this came about.
August 23, 2009
Diane Fallon is the director of the museum in a small town in Georgia. In addition, she's the director of the crime lab, housed at the museum. She administers both with knowledge, understanding, and expertise; to me she is too much the perfect, flawless administrator. Yes she works very hard but also seems to make no mistake.
Nevertheless, her exertise and knowledge and ability to work the politics and with various law enforcement makes for really great suspense stories.
In this book, she's asked by an FBI profiler to interview a convicted murderer -- a black widow -- because the profiler believes that the prisoner has had multiple identities and murders. Shortly after Diane's trip to the prison, the woman escapes and a complicated, fascinating mystery begins. This one is a page turner.
Weaving into the story is a subplot of looted archaelogical treasures that threatens the reputation of the museum.
Fascinating story with lots of interesting and unexpected twists and turns.
Nevertheless, her exertise and knowledge and ability to work the politics and with various law enforcement makes for really great suspense stories.
In this book, she's asked by an FBI profiler to interview a convicted murderer -- a black widow -- because the profiler believes that the prisoner has had multiple identities and murders. Shortly after Diane's trip to the prison, the woman escapes and a complicated, fascinating mystery begins. This one is a page turner.
Weaving into the story is a subplot of looted archaelogical treasures that threatens the reputation of the museum.
Fascinating story with lots of interesting and unexpected twists and turns.
February 9, 2008
I'm not sure what to say about this books. It's a good potboiler mystery without too much description of the gore. But it isn't something that I'm going to go back and reread.
Throughout the series, I've liked the idea of having the murders mixed with the museum mysteries through the past few books. But it's starting to get a little old for me. This time, most of the museum staff wears Richard III t-shirts in support of a colleague who is accused of dealing in stolen artifacts.
The murder half of the mystery is about a black widow who escapes from prison and somehow blood that matches her DNA winds up in Diane's apartment. Which means that Diane must be a murderer according to her enemies. Even though they seem to have known her for several years. And she never murdered anyone before. Bleh.
I do like Connor's books better than a lot of more popular forensics mystery writers (see: Kathy Reichs).
Throughout the series, I've liked the idea of having the murders mixed with the museum mysteries through the past few books. But it's starting to get a little old for me. This time, most of the museum staff wears Richard III t-shirts in support of a colleague who is accused of dealing in stolen artifacts.
The murder half of the mystery is about a black widow who escapes from prison and somehow blood that matches her DNA winds up in Diane's apartment. Which means that Diane must be a murderer according to her enemies. Even though they seem to have known her for several years. And she never murdered anyone before. Bleh.
I do like Connor's books better than a lot of more popular forensics mystery writers (see: Kathy Reichs).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2014
Diane Fallon once again brings us through her life as museum director and forensic anthropologist. Dead Hunt is one exciting thriller, that's for sure. The intricate plot-weaving by Clymene O' Riley - Iris - is almost genius. It's not that the sibling plot hasn't been used before, but Beverly Connor really knows how to build up the suspense and blow the readers' minds even before the Big Reveal. Her sub plots also complicate matters because they usually don't form part of the big conspiracy even though all the clues point to it. It's a wonderful page- turner, as are all Connor's other Diane Fallon forensic investigations.
March 24, 2008
Connors excels at setting up nice twisty plots. Sometimes, as in this book, the twisty plots don't always get as fully resolved as I'd like. With so much going on, she sometimes loses or drops one of the story threads and I'm left scratching my head a little.
That being said, Diane Fallon is a hugely competent heroine and I appreciate that. She runs a Natural History Museum as well as a crime lab, and as strange as the mis sounds, it works well to diversify the mysteries from book to book. Good effort.
That being said, Diane Fallon is a hugely competent heroine and I appreciate that. She runs a Natural History Museum as well as a crime lab, and as strange as the mis sounds, it works well to diversify the mysteries from book to book. Good effort.
June 19, 2011
Another excellent instalment in the Diane Fallon series I find them ridiculous but gripping reads, this one has a particularly high body count and I'm amazed she is still alive after the number of times she has been attacked. Kept me guessing the whole way through and I'm not sure at the end that I got it properly sorted in my head with the number of different Clymenes there were and who did what!
May 2, 2008
Beverly Connor always packs a lot into her books, and this one is no exception. Full of interesting forensic information in addition to a good picture of what the daily life of a museum involves. Plus the mystery plot itself is always exceptional. In this book the "thrills" just kept coming. Not sure how one woman survives all she does in such a short space of time, however!
April 13, 2011
I liked this installment in the series, but I thought it was a bit brief. I would have liked to have explored the storylines and history of the triplets a bit more. As with all the other books in this series, I was not able to put this down. I like how the story keeps you guessing, although for the first time I had one of the mysteries figured out before it was revealed in the book.
August 12, 2013
This book was not what i was expecting, its so different from the others so far, which is a nice addition. The inclusion of the affair involving Kendal was a wonderful twist, the murders had all to some degree been similar and this case was very refreshing. It is starting to get redundant how often Diane is attacked at her own museum, but still hilarious nonetheless.
January 6, 2016
Oh God, how I hate these oh so perfect band of crime scene investigators surrounding Diane Fallon, who obviously, is Miss Perfect in every aspect. The reason why I read these novels are the crimes and the investigations...and the crimes in this novel were by far the worst to date (I read these books chronological order).
July 17, 2017
This is the first book I have read by this author. I found it a little confusing because I didn't know the past history but for the most part was a good book. Once I got past the history I was able to get into the book and enjoy the story.
October 3, 2014
Okay, I think this has been my absolute best book in the series so far. I mean, aside from the happens-every-time attack on Diane Fallon, which is getting beyond predictable and is well into the realm of ridiculous now.
May 17, 2016
I really enjoyed this installment of the Dr. Diane Fallon series. There were a lot of twists and turns that tied together nicely and although some of the plot twists were a little out there, she made them work.
March 27, 2008
I really enjoy forensic novels and Beverly Connor writes a good one. This is the 5th book she has written and each one is different and interesting.
April 11, 2008
Loved the latest installment, the black widow character she is dealing with is really intriguing as well.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews