Airtight Case

Lindsay Chamberlain #5

by Beverly Connor

In a seemingly random event, forensic anthropologist Lindsay Chamberlain is attacked and left for dead. Buried in a shallow grave in the woods, she manages to escape, although she suffers from loss of memory as a result of the ordeal. When Lindsay's memory returns, it is incomplete. She copes with the trauma by ignoring it, and she allows the authorities to handle the investigation. As the probe quickly comes to a dead end, however, the assault looms like a dark cloud over her peace of mind. Lindsay joins excavations at an 1830s farm site on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Unlike previous digs where Lindsay has worked, this site is an unhappy one. Crew members are on edge and argue among themselves, and the site director takes an instant dislike to Lindsay. Furthermore, the principal investigator is under suspicion of murdering a local resident and stealing valuable papers from her. If that weren't enough, Lindsay and the crew are lodged in a haunted house, and even though she is the only crew member who doesn't believe in ghosts, she is the only one who sees them. When very old sealed lead coffins dating from the 1700s are discovered, Lindsay becomes so excited with the discovery that she momentarily forgets her own troubles. However, her relief is short-lived, for inside one of the coffins are the disturbing remains of a woman who has something frighteningly in common with Lindsay. Then when one of the crew disappears, no one but Lindsay is worried or seems to care. If she doesn't figure out what's happening around her, she might lose her sanity, or worse, her life.

Genres: Mystery, Suspense, Archaeology, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

480 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

I'm Beverly Connor and I love archaeology. I worked in Georgia and South Carolina as an archaeologist doing both fieldwork and analyzing artifacts. I also love mysteries. I combined these two loves and now write mysteries in which I weave my professional experience as an archaeologist into stories of murder and intrigue in both my Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation series and Lindsay Chamberlain Archaeology Mystery Series.

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read - best in this series! By this book, Ms Connor found her groove, in my opinion. Who do you trust to dig with you? What or who is in the lead coffin? Lots of guessing involved in this book.

No spoilers here!

2 thumbs up and 4.5 stars!

[Dolf Patijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last Lindsay Chamberlain book in the series so far, and it was a very enjoyable read, with again a lot of information about excavation thrown in for good measure. I really hope that Beverly Connor will write more books in this series, but I doubt it as this one is from 2000. I also liked her Diane Fallon series but I've all of them read as well. Recommended.

[Noelani · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Another solid read by Beverly Connor. We hit the ground running as Dr Lindsay Chamberlain has amnesia at the beginning of this book and a stranger, claiming to be her husband, chases her to take her with him. John finds her and convinced her to come with him and takes her home. The next day, Lindsay regains her memory of those around her, and even remembers waking up after having been buried alive, but who buried her or who tried to claim her at the hospital is a blank space in her mind.

This novel is interesting with suspicion and suspense throughout. I think this is a good place to end the series, though I wish there was more character development throughout. Every character is the same throughout the books. At least they’re consistent.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Enjoyable Read

I've read several of Beverly Connor's mysteries now and enjoyed them all. I feel as though perhaps her protagonists Lindsay Chamberlain and Diane Fallon are somewhat interchangeable but I'm okay with that. I suspect they are both " doppelgangers" for the author but again, that's not necessarily a problem. I've been enjoying the archeology aspect and after finishing this one I followed a number of links supplied in the bibliography. I've always said Id like to be an archeologist if I didn't dislike getting dirty. Reading Beverly Connor's books, I can indulge my archeology fascination without getting hot, sticky and sunburned. It's a win-win all around.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts with Lindsay Chamberlain in the hospital with amnesia. When she gets her memory back, she remembers being buried alive. Turns out she was attacked on the way from a conference to visit a friend; she has no idea why. Now she is assisting on the excavation of an old farmstead where the site director, Claire, is hostile to her and doesn’t appear to know how to manage. She thinks Lindsay is there to spy on her since she was sent there by Francisco Lewis, her boss, at the request of a friend of his. There are odd things that Lindsay discovers, but her self-confidence isn’t what it was prior to her attack. Will she be able to figure things out?

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the best of the series! So much wonderful history, plenty of tension, smashing beginning, and plenty of characters. The Smokey Mountains area of the United States suffers from stereotyping, but Ms. Connor shows such an interesting historical background and why the geography contributed to it and how human behavior can provoke contrary outcomes--historical and contemporary. And, the touch of romance bodes well for our main character's future. These vicarious archeology digs meant that I didn't have to get dirty in reality, BUT I sacrificed the joy of discovery!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the opening of the story, Lindsay has amnesia and a strange man is claiming he is her fiancé and tries to arrange to have her released from the hospital in his care. She escapes to the forest where she is thankful to find she knows how to survive. As she regains her memory, rather than determining that she and only she can investigate, she tries not to remember whatever dreadful thing it was that happened. A suspenseful read with an intelligent heroine.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book begins with a girl who can't remember who she is getting rescued. It turns out to be Lindsay. Someone has attacked her and left her for dead. Her boyfriend comes to get her and after she's home, she remembers who she it, but doesn't remember what happened. She is asked to go help on an archeological site where things are not what they seem. Can these two things be connected?

Okay. Has a good mystery and also lots of history related to the archeology.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book!

I would highly recommend this book to any lover of mysteries. Great plot, fairly well rounded characters, highly believable action. Author knows her science well. Would have liked more detail about the romance between the main characters. Great for a book club. Will read others in the series.

[Brian K. Rhoads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Positively GRIPPING!!!

Absolutely one of the BEST forensic thrillers I have read. Actually the series is so well written I have read each one of them twice. This series is the total package. It will have you turning page after page, not wanting to know what happens next but NEEDING to know what happens next.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in three sittings. Finding an engrossing book was something I really needed at the moment. I think maybe there were some quasi-fantastic leaps of logic, but it’s kind of miraculous how Lindsay doesn’t give me Mary Sue despite her brilliance. I really enjoyed this whole series—I might have to hunt down copies for myself.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Good mystery with interesting bits of information on historical documents, archaeological excavation, etc. sad that this is the last of the series, but it’s one of the best.

[Debra Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lindsey is kidnapped and buried alive and this is how the book starts out. Can she get her life back on track.

[Jane Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another success!

I cannot begin to say how much I liked this book! Loved the information about the digs, the suspense and turnings and mystery.

[Morag Riddell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another mystery with a lot of twists and turns and history thrown in. Adding amnesia to the Lindsay's woes, making it harder to solve.

[Donna · Rating 1 out of 5]

too draggy; didn't finish

[Sheri Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exciting Lindsay Chamberlain mystery. This one has som really creepy elements in it.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got really, really boring.
Read about half, & decided not to finish.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have read any of the first four books of the Lindsay Chamberlain mysteries you know already Beverly Connor is a good writer. Read Airtight Case and you will know she is a great writer. Airtight Case is simply the best of the series.

One thing I enjoy in particular about Connor's stories is how she introduces the element of mystery literally with the first few sentences, and we are already asking our questions and eager for the answers. In this story, we find Lindsay as a bruised amnesia patient in a Tennessee hospital; a seedy stranger tries to claim her as his fiancee but she appears to know enough that her life would be in more danger were she to allow herself to accompany this man. Her instincts, as usual, are correct.

Skip ahead some time later and Lindsay has joined an excavation in Great Smoky Mountain area, where her reputation as a forensic anthropoligist and amateur sleuth evokes fascination among some on the dig and derision from one manager in particular who is convinced Lindsay's presence is a threat to her authority. Nonetheless, the crew is more concerned with the discovery of a makeshift graveyard in the area, and Lindsay tries her best to concentrate on the mysteries of the mountains' past rather than her own.

The ghosts of her past troubles, however, continue to haunt her, and are literally manifested in Lindsay's consciousness as actual ghosts prowling the nineteenth-century home being used as headquarters, ghosts only Lindsay can see. When some a superior from her school and some locals persuade Lindsay to help investigate the mysterious death of an elderly relative which may be connected to the dig site, Lindsay is forced to hold on to her slowly slipping sanity lest she arouses too much suspicion and once again puts herself in danger.

Connor has created a passionate and respectable character in Lindsay Chamberlain, a lady who, while she does not necessarily laugh in the face of danger, manages to steel herself enough to not let it destroy her. Connor's descriptions of the archaeological dig and its surrounding history are superbly detailed, and provide for a few surprising revelations in the supplemental mystery which ties in nicely with Lindsay's own adventures.

I've mentioned before that I knew Beverly Connor briefly in Athens, and that when I last spoke to her (back when A Rumor of Bones she was contracted for five novels. Now that Airtight Case is out, I would sincerely hope a contract renewal is in Connor's future. This series has produced some unique, compelling stories, and so long as Connor's ideas are fresh, I should hope to read of Lindsay's escapades for years to come.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book begins with tense action as a woman with no memory is in the hospital recovering from being buried alive. Her husband comes to bring her home and she refuses to go, running away in the woods. She is deeply afraid of what she doesn't know but feels wisps of intuition and dread. A man comes and coaxes her out and takes her home. At home, she remembers who she is and that the man is her lover and home is truly home. It is Lindsay Chamberlain, forensic anthropologist, academic, and a smart, knowledgeable woman driven by her curiosity, both academic and otherwise.

She cannot remember the crime and the events that lead up to it but is otherwise recovered when her Division Chair sends her to participate in a summer dig, an activity meant to relax her. When she arrives, the dig is far from peaceful with undercurrents, rivalry and whispers of crime for the contemporary members of the crew. It soon becomes clear that her kidnapping and attempted murder is somehow linked to this project, as her memories continue to nag at her and the menace continues to draw closer and closer. Intertwined with this mystery is the mystery of the family being uncovered at the dig.

Suspenseful and interesting, interspersed with interesting information on archaeology, this book is great. The action and characterization is tighter.

This is the last book in the series and it was written in 2000. The author's website says a new book is in progress with no due date projected. Once can hope it would be soon.

[Barbara ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lindsay Chamberlain is a forensic anthropologist and an archeologist which means she can investigate the murders she uncovers while onsite at a dig. She's excellent at unraveling the mystery even when the evidence is a hundred plus years old. She's also pretty darn good at discovering who is trying to kill her in the present too.

After a conference, Lindsay is kidnapped, buried alive and left for dead. When she digs her way out of the grave and is taken to the hospital, she has amnesia and doesn't remember anything including her own name. As an archaeologist, digging up graves is a huge part of what she does so this event was very traumatizing for her and her career. Her boss sends her on an "easy" dig so she can regain her confidence and sense of self. Unfortunately, danger lurks on the dig and it is up to Lindsay to once again rescue herself from imminent danger. Who of the many people at the dig site wishes her harm? With all the little "pranks" happening, Lindsay is scared to death and determined to figure out who is the culprit and why they are trying so hard to kill her.

This is the second book I've read in this series and though it is long and involved, it is very well written and the bag guys are well disguised until the very end. Cleverly done and a very enjoyable mystery.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably one of the best Lindsay Chamberlain mysteries I've read. The story was interesting, it started with a great hook, and I really enjoyed trying to solve this mystery. I was really surprised when I found out who the culprits were. As always, the historical backstory in this novel was extremely interesting, and I'm really glad that the mystery of the child deaths were solved. John still played a role in this installment, and I was happy about that because I enjoy seeing them together. I can't wait until she finishes the next book in this series!

[Raji · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually, I'd rate the entire series a 4.5. I raced through this series and am a little disappointed that there isn't another book, but I hear Beverly Connor is working on one.

I enjoyed the series thoroughly, found Dr Lindsay Chamberlain both likeable and believable and found archaeology more interesting than I had though earlier. I like the detail Beverly Connor puts into her stories. It makes the books all the more engaging.

I am going to read her Diane Fallon books soon in the hope that they will be just as good if not better.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this series. The main character is forensic anthropologist Lindsay Chamberlain. I think my love of the show "Bones" is what got me interested in the author's other series, which follows another forensic anthropoligist/museum director Diane Farrell. In the last Farrell book, Chamberlain was an integral character, so that made me want to go back and hunt down her series. I wish there were more books, because I found that I liked the Lindsay books better than the Diane ones.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Archaeologist Lindsay Chamberlain found herself recovering in a hospital with amnesia after having been buried alive. She escapes the man who claims her as his fiancée and is found in the woods by her actual boyfriend. She recovers her memory but still has terrifying flashbacks. Even when sent to a dig in Tennessee by her University of Georgia boss, she still feels threatened. Great Smoky Mountains National Park and NASA both feature in the story.

[Ckatims · Rating 5 out of 5]

.We are allowed once more into Dr. Chamberlain's "classroom."

The plot is riveting and slowly developed along with the wealth of historical and scientific information we have come to expect. I am enjoying this series both for the literary pleasure and the deeper appreciation I have gained for the scientific community that toil so diligently for Humanity

[Phillipa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a little sorry that this is where the Lindsay Chamberlain series ends, I would've kept reading. Even tho they're not the most amazing books, I still really enjoy them :)

I was disappointed that Drew & her hubby seemed to getaway scot-free.

[Rebecca Secrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to put down

I have read the five books in Beverly Connor's Lindsay Chamberlain series in five days. Of course, it would have been quicker if I did not have to eat, sleep, bathe, etc. Anyway that should give you some idea of how good these books were.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like her writing style. It's also forensic anthropology and a great mystery novel.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

story opens with Lindsey having amnesia, but she recovers and uncovers murder and forgery of historical documents. Excellent series.