The Thirteenth Skull

by Bonnie Ramthun

Book Overview

Discovering an ancient skeleton can be murder, as homicide detective Eileen Reed discovers when her parents ask for her help in a missing person's case. The missing man, an archeologist, has been... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0966269675
• ISBN13: 9780966269673
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Loveland Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

WOW - No Mental Babble!!

read this - BUY THIS - back Bonnie Ramthun; she writes a good mystery without stream-of-consciousness writing (aka mental babble) and doesn't use char stupidity as a major plot device, two of the bigger no-nos used by most contemporary mystery authors; and it has a reasonable ending, Aunt Agatha doesn't appear from Boise as the secret killer; we definitely need more authors like this!!

A great read from a charming writer!

Bonnie Ramthun has experienced more in her relatively short life than many people dream about. She was trained as a computer science major, which lead into the military. Once there, she engaged in helicopter crash investigations, which eventually led to war gaming. Her knowledge of the military and computers, plus a love of writing from an early age, uniquely qualifies her to write military mysteries of the first order. THE THIRTEEN SKULL is her third novel, following up the two critically acclaimed novels GROUND ZERO and EARTHQUAKE GAMES.Eileen Reed is a big city cop who has come home to Wyoming to assist her parents in a missing professor case. The professor is an archaeologist, and Eileen not only finds his corpse in short order, but also stumbles upon an Aztec crystal skull and skeleton, buried beneath buffaloes who were led over a cliff in the traditional hunt for food by American Indians. In the meantime, Eileen's boyfriend, Joe Tanner, a defense programmer at a top-secret installation, has just survived an attempt on his life by two ruthless hit men. Joe flees to his beloved's parents' home, unwittingly endangering all who are at the Reed ranch, including some interesting guests. But it is the mystery surrounding Devil's Tower which eventually creates the denouement and solves the case:"'Many thousands of years ago a group of seven maidens were gathering summer berries here. You may have heard that they were attacked by a bear, but no, this is not so. This place has been a bad place since the earth was born. Some places are like this, always dark and evil. Some places are strong and good. This place, even before the Tepee appeared, was bad.'"Bonnie Ramthun has managed to combine numerous elements into a humdinger of a mystery: love; treachery; myth; the Great West; archaeology; music; and hunting. Ramthun has a unique style that grabs the reader from the first page and takes them on a ride that is both fascinating and grueling. And when it is over, the reader is sorry to see the tale end, which is the mark of a great novel. The plot kicks and is tightly woven; the characters are interesting and caring; and there is even pathos for the truly rotten bad guys. A great read from a charming writer!Shelley GlodowskiReviewer

A wild ride of a great book-- with people I care about!!

Sometimes a third book can drop the ball, but not this one. Ramthun writes a story that takes us on a non-stop adventure from the first page to the last. Her minor characters are so fun that I forget that it is a story. This book has a rock and roll star who is a hunter and a gun-toting independant, but yet we see how he feels so passionate about a sport that needs a voice. Yet the main characters, some of whom we know from Ramthun's prior books, continue to delight, entertain and have us hanging on the edge of our seats. I really like Ted, Lucy's husband and his role in the book. It is not a long book, but contains so much adventure I wonder how she does it. I recommend this to all adventure readers, conspiracy readers,besides readers who like a little mystery, romance, science fiction, angel believers, and anyone just wanting a fun read.

Fast-paced excitement . . .

I read The Thirteenth Skull in one sitting. Although it was the first Eileen Reed mystery I've read, I was intrigued from begining to end, and never found myself wondering if I'd missed anything from the two previous Eileen Reed mysteries. The characters are fun, the story plausable and interesting. I highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.

Exciting Thriller

This third book in the Eileen Reed series combines elements of mystery, thriller, and science fiction for a great read. Colorado Springs police detective Reed is at her family home in Wyoming preparing for her wedding to Defense Department war gamer Joe Tanner. An archaeologist digging on ranch property is murdered, while in possession of a crystal skull allegedly having mystical powers. At the same time, an assassination attempt is made on the life of Tanner by a contract killer. When Joe flees to Wyoming to be with Eileen, the two storylines intersect and the action is almost non-stop ending in a fiery climax on Devil's Tower. Likable characters, great setting, and action-filled narrative-a fine follow-up to "Ground Zero" and "Earthquake Games."