Sarah Andrews: An Eye for Gold

St. Martin’s Minotaur (Paperback), ISBN 0-312-97792-1

This book confused me. It leapt relentlessly from character to character, from philosophy to geology, and from mystery to personal relationship problems. I wanted to like it, to be involved, to be unable to stop reading, but that didn’t happen. The book kept forcing me to backtrack to figure out who this was, or what that meant. Unfortunately, sometimes that happens when you join a sleuth mid-series.

The FBI offers unemployed forensic geologist Em Hansen a job acting as an assistant in a fraud investigation involving a billion-dollar gold mine in Nevada. At the same time, the mother of Em’s Mormon boyfriend makes Em uncertain about the future of any romantic relationship with the man. A fire rages. Someone kills a woman who may be a whistleblower before she can publicize the environmental impact of an impending mining operation. A geologist disappears. Native Americans provide some mystical elements. Then we meet a bunch of rodents, which seem to be either endangered or spreading. Determining which qualifies as a major detecting job all by itself.

I really wanted to like An Eye for Gold, but I spent more time going back, trying to find where I lost the thread than I did enjoying the book. The obscurity of the plot is a shame, because Em proved to be an engaging character. Not only that, I’d like to visit Nevada and learn more about what a forensic geologist does. From An Eye for Gold, I think Em works as a detective. I think.

Of course, I could just be having a bad hair day — something it helps to remember whenever you read anyone’s opinion of a book.

Patricia Lucas White

Patricia Lucas White’s latest historical novel, To Last a Lifetime, was an Eppie finalist for 2003. To Last a Lifetime and two of her fantasy romances, the Sapphire Award-winning A Wizard Scorned and The Godmother Sanction, can be ordered through Hard Shell Word Factory. Her recent contemporary, PS, I’ve Taken a Lover, is available from Lionhearted Books.