I realize I rarely have bad things to say about Tess Gerritsen’s writing and tonight is no different. Just finished the book “Keepsake” and must say, it was excellent. The information about Egypt, a place I would love to visit, brought archeology and history to life for me. The lessons on different forms of mummification was a bit more than I ever wanted to know but they came early on in the book so once that unpleasantness was past, the reader is able to concentrate on other areas.
The book centers around a woman who works in a museum where a mummy is found in the basement amidst the rest of the collection. There is no record of the mummy being purchased by the museum nor any record of it being donated. A quick x-ray of the mummy reveals that it isn’t from the Egyptian era when mummification was popular, though it was mummified in much the same way. Nope, the mummy is about 25 years old.
Soon other torrid things are also discovered in the museum. While the police sort through the archaic symbols left by the killer, this woman knows the whole thing is connected to her for she is not who they think she is.
It is easy to get caught up in the storyline and with this woman’s struggle to elude a stalker who has been a part of her life since her birth. Yes, one does figure out most of the answers before the end but not all of them. It isn’t a fast paced book but held my interest the entire six hours it took to read it. I barely wanted to put it down long enough to run to the bathroom.
Egypt has always fascinated me – though not to the extent it does archaeologists, I’m sure. The ability of the sculptors and builders back then was fantastic. While I don’t think I’ll ever make it there to see these wonders in my lifetime, I don’t need to see them to appreciate them. The Discovery and History channels do a great series on Egypt and the artifacts there.
I would recommend this book but would say if it is your first with Tess Gerritsen, you might want to start at the beginning so you better know the main characters: Jane Rizzoli, Maura Isles and Barry Frost.
