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Diane Fallon #2
Dead Guilty
When three bodies are discovered hanging in the woods, causing her lab to become the center of a media frenzy, forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon becomes the target of a twisted killer who is determined to draw her into his deadly game of obsession, betrayal, and murder. Original.
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 7, 2004
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 87 reviews
May 11, 2015
Great book from start to finish. Ms Connor is fast becoming a favourite author.
Three bodies are found hanging from trees deep in the woods and a noose reserved for a fourth! Lots of forensic investigating, lots of twists and turns, honorable mention for Canada, and a bit of spelunking makes this book a great read.
2 thumbs up and 5 stars
Three bodies are found hanging from trees deep in the woods and a noose reserved for a fourth! Lots of forensic investigating, lots of twists and turns, honorable mention for Canada, and a bit of spelunking makes this book a great read.
2 thumbs up and 5 stars
January 31, 2022
I truly love this series featuring Diane Fallon, a forensic archeologist who also runs a museum. For me, that is the best of all worlds. This particular book revolves around hangings that are quite graphic but the story is so on point and realist that I believe it needed to be told.
February 22, 2021
Our forensic anthropologist/museum director is called to the remote rural scene of three hanging bodies, and the job for her and the team is to not only gather clues as to who did this, but also the identities of the dead.
March 17, 2015
I'm really enjoying this series of books; they are very engaging. I love all the details and the mysteries solved, despite the improbability of all the events happening. However I don't read these books for realism!
April 10, 2020
"In the shadows of Diane Fallon's new forensic lab in Georgia, a land survey crew has discovered three bodies hanging in an isolated patch of woods. The sensational case has aroused the interest of the media, unnerved the locals -- and inspired a gruesome game between the killer and Diane. It begins with taunting e-mails and chilling phone calls. Where it leads is a dangerously personal investigation as each bizarre clue brings Diane closer to a heartless betrayal and a desperate man's obsession for justice -- and revenge."
~~back cover
I quite enjoyed this book -- I suppose the solution must have been obvious to many readers, but I was completely blindsided, so that the pieces didn't fall into place till the very last pages. I liked Ms. Fallon as the protagonist, and of course forensic anthropology is always a hit with me.
~~back cover
I quite enjoyed this book -- I suppose the solution must have been obvious to many readers, but I was completely blindsided, so that the pieces didn't fall into place till the very last pages. I liked Ms. Fallon as the protagonist, and of course forensic anthropology is always a hit with me.
July 19, 2023
I really enjoyed this murder mystery although I felt the end was rushed. I couldn’t figure out who the “bad guy” was until they were revealed so I liked that. Good fast paced mystery, very entertaining. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series.
August 20, 2017
Good second book in a series; however, we still know nothing about Ariel. If I hadn't read the first book, I wouldn't know she is alive. Seems like a miss.
March 23, 2014
Well, this is my first book of Ms. Beverly Connor & after gathering some information about her I found that this is her 3rd book. The premise was interesting but her writing was very bad. I think Ms. Connor forgot to introduce her main lead Ms. Diane Fallon's posture. I still don't get how she looked like, forget to be in sympathy with her if you don't know how the main character look like.
After reading so many novels about mystery & crime I found that are always two characters - 1. Who'll do all the autopsies 2. Who'll run behind the killer to track him down. But here, Ms. Fallon seems to do both on her own. From the bones she found out that the victim was ballet dancer & many other revelations. If you are not well versed with science terms, you may find several jargon terms for which you need to have a dictionary besides you.
The only good thing about the books is that it is not boring. Yes, in that area Ms. Connor succeeded. Small chapters with lots of dialogues with each characters. You won't find any swearing in the book until the end. Not you'll find any sensuousness. The revelation of the killer was good. But the climax was pathetic.
I might think twice before reading her other books.
After reading so many novels about mystery & crime I found that are always two characters - 1. Who'll do all the autopsies 2. Who'll run behind the killer to track him down. But here, Ms. Fallon seems to do both on her own. From the bones she found out that the victim was ballet dancer & many other revelations. If you are not well versed with science terms, you may find several jargon terms for which you need to have a dictionary besides you.
The only good thing about the books is that it is not boring. Yes, in that area Ms. Connor succeeded. Small chapters with lots of dialogues with each characters. You won't find any swearing in the book until the end. Not you'll find any sensuousness. The revelation of the killer was good. But the climax was pathetic.
I might think twice before reading her other books.
May 13, 2014
I've always like believably flawed characters. Diane Fallon, however, is perfect to the point of almost Mary Sue-ish - working two full-time high position jobs competently, dating a guy, is a former Human Rights Investigator, has a younger guy crushing on her, has a sob story involving her almost-adopted daughter, and can be calm in the face of terrifying situations etc... Need I go on? Nonetheless, I love her; she doesn't irritate me or make me jealous of her not-so-ordinary life, which is a rare thing for seemingly perfect characters.
I also love the way pieces of the puzzle fall together without being too complicated, but were intricate enough to hold suspense and tension throughout the novel. Although, some of the language usage in some parts were a little awkward, which made me stumble out of the world - for just a bit - in which Beverly Connor created; it didn't seem to be a problem for the novels later in the series.
I also love the way pieces of the puzzle fall together without being too complicated, but were intricate enough to hold suspense and tension throughout the novel. Although, some of the language usage in some parts were a little awkward, which made me stumble out of the world - for just a bit - in which Beverly Connor created; it didn't seem to be a problem for the novels later in the series.
April 26, 2009
Diane Fallon, a museum director also directs a forensic crime lab for her Georgia community. They are called to a process a scene with three bodies hanging from ropes. There is a fourth rope, but no victim. Soon, the two forest workers who found the bodies have either disappeared or were brutally murdered. And Diane begins to receive mysterious gifts, emails, and phone calls. The menace grows the footprint of the crimes increases.
Interwoven into the investigations are stories of museum nad community politics, a love story, and very, very interesting bits of information on caving, knots forensics, diamonds, gems and more. All of it makes a great plot with good, strong characters. Darker than the novels featuring her other forensic anthropologists, this series brings in intense and complex emotions. Compelling.
Interwoven into the investigations are stories of museum nad community politics, a love story, and very, very interesting bits of information on caving, knots forensics, diamonds, gems and more. All of it makes a great plot with good, strong characters. Darker than the novels featuring her other forensic anthropologists, this series brings in intense and complex emotions. Compelling.
September 4, 2007
DEAD GUILTY (Forensic Investigation-Georgia-Cont) – Ok
Beverly Connor – 7th in series
Onyx Fiction, 2004 – Paperback
Forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon is called to the site of a murder scene where thee people have been hanged. But it becomes personal when she starts received threatening emails and phone calls.
*** While I always learn new things in reading Ms. Connor’s books, I also find myself wishing she’d get on with the story. After being told, way too many times, that the character is an expert in knots and likes caving, I did a lot of skipping through the story. The dialogue is wooden and awkward, and, for my taste, the plot could have been edited down to a tighter, faster-moving story. It’s an okay book
Beverly Connor – 7th in series
Onyx Fiction, 2004 – Paperback
Forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon is called to the site of a murder scene where thee people have been hanged. But it becomes personal when she starts received threatening emails and phone calls.
*** While I always learn new things in reading Ms. Connor’s books, I also find myself wishing she’d get on with the story. After being told, way too many times, that the character is an expert in knots and likes caving, I did a lot of skipping through the story. The dialogue is wooden and awkward, and, for my taste, the plot could have been edited down to a tighter, faster-moving story. It’s an okay book
March 11, 2012
I'm one of those mystery fans who love to read about detectives using technical expertise and arcane knowledge--rather than brute force or trickery--to solve crimes. The Diane Fallon series features a forensic anthropologist who is also the director of a natural history museum in north Georgia. For fun, she goes caving and is an expert on rope tying. Who knew there was such a thing as forensic rope analysis, but there is, and it helps find a killer who has hanged three unidentified victims. While tracking the killer, Diane is also working with the museum staff to find out more about the Egyptian mummy they have acquired. Both the museum staff and the crime lab staff get involved, and it makes for a good read.
January 22, 2012
Three stories in one, since forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon is also the director of a natural history museum in Georgia and a spelunker in her spare time. She is called in when three bodies are found hanging in an isolated woods. The author does quite a bit of research for this absorbing series. Knots are a key to the investigation and the book describes anything that you could possible want to know about them, as well as other topics of interest associated with forensics, museums, and cave. Sometimes too much information and I wish that I could compress as much activity into a day as the heroine. Nevertheless, one of the best series of the genre.
July 23, 2011
I am enjoying this series -- it's got a lot of description of bones and decomposition, etc. Very much like Bones on TV, but without the very quirky characters. In this book, you learn about what happens to the human body when it's been hanging outside for a while ...
November 26, 2013
Really enjoy the Diane Fallon series. Good twist and plot to this story. The characters become more likable with each book.
September 22, 2024
Dead Guilty by Beverly Connor is the second book of the Diane Fallon mystery series set in contemporary Georgia. Forensic anthropologist Dr. Diane Fallon has 2 full-time jobs: museum director and head of the forensic lab (conveniently housed in the museum). She loves both jobs, even if they keep her too busy for her caving hobby. A lab assistant teases, "Sleep? You don't still do that, do you?"
The death toll rises quickly in this fast-paced mystery. Yet Diane can't see a convincing connection between the murders, until a surprise plot twist ties up all loose ends.
Favorite quotes (entertaining and informative):
To her it was a process, and knowing the processes that work on bodies after death is to understand pieces to a puzzle of great consequence that she had to solve.
"Can you really find out anything from knots?" "You can make some good guesses about the person who tied them. How good he is at tying knots, perhaps what kind of job or hobby he's had. There's a specific knot for every purpose. Some are commonly used, and some are rare. Most people don't even know there is such a thing as forensic knot analysis."
"I asked you two days ago to come fix the air conditioner.." Pause. "I don't care if it's the vents, not the unit. The temperature is too high in here. I have dead bodies rotting on my tables. No amount of lemon juice is ever going to get the smell out of my hair." Lynn tapped a pencil on a pad of paper as she listened. "I don't care if both your ankles are sprained. A man your age has got no business being on Rollerblades. Let me remind you that I'm a woman who knows how to kill and leave no evidence to show up in the autopsy. I want this problem fixed, and I don't mean tomorrow."
"A rapist's DNA can show up in the maggots who have ingested it."
She couldn't imagine going back into forensics--working with death and evil in places where evil won often and was rarely punished.
The relationships among museums were a mixture of intense competition and helpful collaboration.
Rate of decay is highly dependent on the environment. Bodies decay differently in Alaska than in Hawaii, or the Sahara, or Portobelo. And they decay differently out in the open, or hanging, or sealed in an enclosed space, or buried shallow, or buried deep, or buried in a limestone environment. It also makes a difference if they have open wounds, such as the cutoff fingertips.
The hyoid is the only bone in the body that isn't connected to another bone. In the body it anchors the muscles that are used in speech. It also supports the tongue and, like this one, is nearly always broken during strangulation.
"That business about losing the trace if you don't keep people talking for several minutes is just a device used by the movies to keep the detectives from finding the killer too quickly. Phone companies have been able to trace a call in a matter of seconds for more than twenty years."
Over three-quarters of the world's diamonds are controlled by one company, and they're very good at making diamonds seem rare.
Moissanite costs about three hundred dollars. It has a higher refractive index than a diamond and is almost as hard.
There was nothing as peaceful and soothing to her as a seashell.
The death toll rises quickly in this fast-paced mystery. Yet Diane can't see a convincing connection between the murders, until a surprise plot twist ties up all loose ends.
Favorite quotes (entertaining and informative):
To her it was a process, and knowing the processes that work on bodies after death is to understand pieces to a puzzle of great consequence that she had to solve.
"Can you really find out anything from knots?" "You can make some good guesses about the person who tied them. How good he is at tying knots, perhaps what kind of job or hobby he's had. There's a specific knot for every purpose. Some are commonly used, and some are rare. Most people don't even know there is such a thing as forensic knot analysis."
"I asked you two days ago to come fix the air conditioner.." Pause. "I don't care if it's the vents, not the unit. The temperature is too high in here. I have dead bodies rotting on my tables. No amount of lemon juice is ever going to get the smell out of my hair." Lynn tapped a pencil on a pad of paper as she listened. "I don't care if both your ankles are sprained. A man your age has got no business being on Rollerblades. Let me remind you that I'm a woman who knows how to kill and leave no evidence to show up in the autopsy. I want this problem fixed, and I don't mean tomorrow."
"A rapist's DNA can show up in the maggots who have ingested it."
She couldn't imagine going back into forensics--working with death and evil in places where evil won often and was rarely punished.
The relationships among museums were a mixture of intense competition and helpful collaboration.
Rate of decay is highly dependent on the environment. Bodies decay differently in Alaska than in Hawaii, or the Sahara, or Portobelo. And they decay differently out in the open, or hanging, or sealed in an enclosed space, or buried shallow, or buried deep, or buried in a limestone environment. It also makes a difference if they have open wounds, such as the cutoff fingertips.
The hyoid is the only bone in the body that isn't connected to another bone. In the body it anchors the muscles that are used in speech. It also supports the tongue and, like this one, is nearly always broken during strangulation.
"That business about losing the trace if you don't keep people talking for several minutes is just a device used by the movies to keep the detectives from finding the killer too quickly. Phone companies have been able to trace a call in a matter of seconds for more than twenty years."
Over three-quarters of the world's diamonds are controlled by one company, and they're very good at making diamonds seem rare.
Moissanite costs about three hundred dollars. It has a higher refractive index than a diamond and is almost as hard.
There was nothing as peaceful and soothing to her as a seashell.
October 10, 2021
Diane Fallon is a forensic anthropologist whose lab is housed within a museum. There's a lot of boring politics of how this came to be. She's called out to the scene where three people have been hanged. It's up to her and her team to identify the time of death. Other people peripheral to the case start to turn up dead. Diane starts to receive phone calls and emails from a mysterious person who wants to justify why they've done what they've done.
This was a very boring thriller for me. If it's not talk about why Diane has her lab in the museum and how a lot of people in town don't like that, it's lots and lots and lots of talk about knots. Yes, knots. As far as subjects to be looked at in depth, that kinda ranks right down there for me! I'm not interested. That may just be personal preference. But if you want to learn about knots, this is the place to come, because Diane is an expert on them. It about sent me to sleep.
This book is very much what I call Research On The Page. I understand authors do a lot of research and want to reflect this in what they write so that the information appears accurate. In my opinion, the research should only reflect that the character with that expert knowledge knows what they're talking about. I don't need a dry lesson that goes on for pages and pages and pages, which is exactly what happens in this book, multiple times, and not just about knots. (For example, diamonds.)
There is a subplot involving the museum acquiring a mummy and Diane and co trying to determine its provenance. This plot has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot. Nada. Why is it there? It only serves to slow down a story that is already going nowhere fast. Nothing starts coming together until about the last 50/60 pages, which is far too long to have your various story threads hanging in the air before tying them all up. (See what I did there?) The solution to the story seems rushed and really quite arbitrary.
Combined with characters that never come to life, spouting flat dialogue, this book is guilty of the worst book sin: simply being flat-out dull.
This was a very boring thriller for me. If it's not talk about why Diane has her lab in the museum and how a lot of people in town don't like that, it's lots and lots and lots of talk about knots. Yes, knots. As far as subjects to be looked at in depth, that kinda ranks right down there for me! I'm not interested. That may just be personal preference. But if you want to learn about knots, this is the place to come, because Diane is an expert on them. It about sent me to sleep.
This book is very much what I call Research On The Page. I understand authors do a lot of research and want to reflect this in what they write so that the information appears accurate. In my opinion, the research should only reflect that the character with that expert knowledge knows what they're talking about. I don't need a dry lesson that goes on for pages and pages and pages, which is exactly what happens in this book, multiple times, and not just about knots. (For example, diamonds.)
There is a subplot involving the museum acquiring a mummy and Diane and co trying to determine its provenance. This plot has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot. Nada. Why is it there? It only serves to slow down a story that is already going nowhere fast. Nothing starts coming together until about the last 50/60 pages, which is far too long to have your various story threads hanging in the air before tying them all up. (See what I did there?) The solution to the story seems rushed and really quite arbitrary.
Combined with characters that never come to life, spouting flat dialogue, this book is guilty of the worst book sin: simply being flat-out dull.
April 5, 2018
Like this series but...
I have read two books in this series and have enjoyed learning more about forensics but I think there was too much unnecessary information that distracted from the mystery. And honestly, how did the killer suddenly appear in the script? Although I appreciate the amount of knowledge or research of criminal forensics, and found some of the information fascinating, this book could have been much better without lengthy descriptions. I do plan to read the next book in this series and I think the author has enough talent to create a very good series. Is it comparable to John Sandford or Elly Griffiths? Absolutely not, but I do believe that there's talent here.
criminal forensics
I have read two books in this series and have enjoyed learning more about forensics but I think there was too much unnecessary information that distracted from the mystery. And honestly, how did the killer suddenly appear in the script? Although I appreciate the amount of knowledge or research of criminal forensics, and found some of the information fascinating, this book could have been much better without lengthy descriptions. I do plan to read the next book in this series and I think the author has enough talent to create a very good series. Is it comparable to John Sandford or Elly Griffiths? Absolutely not, but I do believe that there's talent here.
criminal forensics
May 17, 2017
I love the Diane Fallon books, however this one was not my favorite. The plot was really complicated and difficult to follow at times. There was so much going on and so many dead bodies. It was clear to see the author wanted to accomplish a lot of different things throughout this book, unfortunately the end result was a convoluted plot line that didn't make a whole lot of sense. It was like the author went off on so many random tangents throughout the book she had problems trying to bring everything together as she went along. All in all, it was an okay read.
August 19, 2019
3.75-4 stars. Another solid read from this author. Some of the drawbacks from the first novel has been rectified and the plot seemed much tighter.
What I liked: all the science. I loved reading the science. Those long necks, though? Geez. Crazy.
What could be improved: WAY too many deaths. People were dropping like flies in this one! Also the female relationships were weird. Either they were brief interactions or catty ones. I don’t quite have a handle on them.
Will read author again.
What I liked: all the science. I loved reading the science. Those long necks, though? Geez. Crazy.
What could be improved: WAY too many deaths. People were dropping like flies in this one! Also the female relationships were weird. Either they were brief interactions or catty ones. I don’t quite have a handle on them.
Will read author again.
November 24, 2017
I listened to the audiobook. I almost couldn't finish due to the narrator. I had to take numerous breaks and listen to other books. There were so MANY mispronunciations, emphasis on wrong words, emphasis on the wrong syllable, her Canadian accent creeping into the awful Georgia accents, etc., that it was very distracting from the actual story. A decent story was ruined by the wrong narrator, one that I feel shouldn't be in the business.
February 3, 2019
This one took me a long time to get through, it’s just too slow. I’m also not a fan of mysteries that go in circles and have oblique unnecessary information. The conclusion, while dramatic was unsatisfying because the pertinent clues came too late. I’m hesitant to continue with the series, okay characters just too boring
February 10, 2020
I think Diane Fallon's saving grace is that she's rather abrasive, or at least abrupt at times. That keeps her from being too cloyingly perfect.
This was enjoyable, like the first, with the same spiraling ridiculousness at the end that a lot of good authors fall prey to (Tony Hillerman, Barbara Hambly, etc.)
This was enjoyable, like the first, with the same spiraling ridiculousness at the end that a lot of good authors fall prey to (Tony Hillerman, Barbara Hambly, etc.)
February 3, 2022
This is the second in a series about a forensic anthropologist that solves crimes AND runs a natural history museum near Atlanta. She gets involved in figuring out a set of murders where people are hung from trees or otherwise tied up. I appreciated the science (about the forensics of knots, about skeletons and visual representations, about mummies, and about caves).
April 14, 2022
Three hangings, no id on the bodies. More people are killed, are they all related?
Three diamonds are found!
Diane Fallon and her team are on the scene of the crime.
At the museum, a mummy is donated!
Three diamonds are found!
Diane Fallon and her team are on the scene of the crime.
At the museum, a mummy is donated!
November 3, 2017
4.5 stars
March 15, 2020
Good series.
April 30, 2020
Another good mystery with many intertwining branches that finally come together right at the end. Also, some neat information on mummies from the museum perspective.
May 15, 2020
Great Mystery
Love this mystery series. Rich with characters and situations. Love the museum setting and I have always been fascinated by caves.
Love this mystery series. Rich with characters and situations. Love the museum setting and I have always been fascinated by caves.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews