The fifth in Dana Cameron’s series of Emma Fielding mysteries, MORE BITTER THAN DEATH, features her intrepid archaeologist attending a snow-bound archaeology conference at a quaint Northeastern inn. Emma is there not just to carouse with her compatriots in the field, sharing experiences and insights into their respective endeavors; she is there, along with encouraging her students who seek to follow her success, to honor Julius Garrison, an archaeologist who helped blaze a trail for herself and all her contemporaries, a man who now stands at the end of his career.
Oddly, though Garrison is the honoree of the conference, he is the least honorable of all the people there. His credentials in the field of archaeology are impeccable; but his character brings forth everyone’s disdain. Everyone, Emma included, had a reason for not honoring him – a fact that draws the police to the conference when the man winds up dead after the first day.
It is assumed Garrison slipped on the ice outside the inn, hit his head, and froze to death when not discovered until the following day. Simple enough explanation for the death of an old man no one seemed to carry any fond affection for. Yet, as Emma wonders, what is with the continued presence of the police? Why are they still hanging around? And what of the peculiar break-ins? Who is stealing artifacts from guests’ rooms – not to mention from the inn itself?
Does any of this have anything to do with Garrison’s death? Perhaps. Perhaps not. However, the threatening notes Emma begins receiving coupled with the stealth attacks she sustains, suggests more is going on. But what? The police aren’t talking. And due to Emma’s inquisitive nature, Detective Church questions her away onto a list of suspects that seem to be growing.
MORE BITTER THAN DEATH is definitely an enjoyable read. Emma Fielding is a wonderful character around which any author would seek to build a book. She is not the atypical one-dimensional character whose sole purpose throughout the telling of the story is to solve the crime – never “officially” pronounced here – while working as an archaeologist and college professor on the side. No, this is a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional woman who banters with her friends – socially and professionally – serves as instructor and motivator to her students in their unsteady pursuit of the same dream; feels the emotional pain and confusion of any woman when former boyfriend, Duncan Thayer, a self-centered stud-of-a-man, who surreptitiously dumped her twenty years back, shows up at the conference, while her husband Brian is back at their home engaging in some masculine, macho horseplay. Emma is a very relevant person.
I liked this character; I liked her a lot – enough so to go back in the series and read through the previous four books. I was disappointed when her knowledge of archaeology failed to figure into the solving of the mystery; but then, if the mystery had been more prominent in the story, perhaps it would have. From my perspective, the story of MORE BITTER THAN DEATH had more to do with Emma and her relations to her friends than it did with any supposed death.
I was hoping for a plot that might divert away from the “murder” angle suggested, as it is never declared, into some manner of professional jealousy amongst conference participants. There is talk from various characters of taking different jobs or pursuing different venues, (juxtaposed with Garrison’s cantankerous reproach stomping upon any plans for advancement – providing motive for murder) and of students losing their confidence and focus for the future; yet all this is merely part of the story of events transpiring over the conference’s five days.
Read MORE BITTER THAN DEATH if you seek an entertaining, enjoyable read. It is definitely that. I liken it to the classic television show people used to look forward to every Saturday night. There is little substance, but there are great characters. Emma Fielding is just such a character, a character with ample substance, whom after this adventure any reader can call a friend.
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