Archeologist Nora Kelly takes center stage in this intriguing series launch from bestsellers Preston and Child (the Aloysius Pendergast series, in which Kelly's been a supporting character). She is contacted by historian Clive Benton, who claims to have located a diary written by the wife of George Donner, who led the doomed Donner Party in 1847. Benton believes that entries in the diary could identify the location of a lost third camp set up by some of the Donner Party, and hopes that Kelly will lead a search for it. As Kelly and her team begin their work in the California mountains, fledgling FBI agent Corrie Swanson, another member of the Pendergast-verse, looks into the murder of a man found in the exposed grave of Florence Regis, who also has a link to the Donner Party. Swanson's inquiries lead her to Kelly, and the suspense rises as they get closer to the truth. The two strong female protagonists share a dynamic reminiscent of that between Pendergast and his friend on the NYPD, Vincent D'Agosta. Preston and Child have recaptured some of their old magic. Agent: Eric Simonoff, WME. (Aug.)

Young archaeologist Nora Kelly joins a perilous search for the Lost Camp of the Donner Party in this latest collaboration by Preston and Child (Verses for the Dead, 2018, etc.).In 1846, westbound travelers became snowbound in the Sierra Nevada, and in "one of the greatest calamities of the westward migration," some resorted to cannibalism in a desperate attempt to survive. Now, historian Clive Benton has the original journal of Tamzene Donner, whose body was eaten. Benton asks Kelly for her expertise in finding and studying the camp. The old bones they expect to find will have important historical significance, but Benton also confides that there may be gold coins worth $20 million hidden near the camp. Meanwhile, newly minted FBI Special Agent Corinne Swanson is assigned the case of "a dead body in a vandalized grave." Turns out there are four grave robberies, all of descendants of the Donner disaster. Kelly and Swanson work together in a mildly testy relationship, but they're really both pros. Other members of the team hear rumors of the gold, and tragedy strikes. As they get closer to where the Lost Camp might be, members of their expedition begin to die, and a serious storm approaches that threatens to cause a deadly avalanche. Of course, villainy is afoot that may snuff out Kelly's and Swanson's young lives. Neither has a personal interest in gold they can't legally possess, but others may. Yet the clever plot suggests a dark secret that lies within the bones they find. The two women are smart, likable characters, but readers ought not to take their survival for granted. Special Agent Pendergast takes a break from his own series to make a brief, consequential appearance.Like other Preston and Child adventures, this is a smart, satisfying read. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Preston and Child combine archaeology, cannibalism, and murder in this launch of a new series featuring archaeologist Dr. Norah Kelly and rookie FBI agent Corrie Swanson. Historian Clive Benton, descended from a Donner Party family, approaches Kelly about locating the purported third, or lost, Donner Party camp. He's also interested in finding a treasure in gold coins thought to have been carried by someone in the party. The camp is found, and the dig goes well until a wrangler in the group, offended by what he views as sacrilege, vandalizes the site and is found murdered. Swanson, on her first case, is sent to investigate and sets out to link the skull of Albert Parkin, who died at the lost camp, to the wrangler's death. The skull is the only item missing after the vandalism, and gravesites of other Parkin descendants are being robbed around the world. Special Agent Pendergast, star of Preston and Child's best-known series, makes an appearance, as significant as it is brief, after mortal danger is averted. But this outing belongs to two dedicated women, whose future adventures will be happily anticipated.--Michele Leber Copyright 2019 Booklist