A Fall in Denver

Em Hansen Mystery #2

by Sarah Andrews

In her second mystery, the cantankerous geologist and sleuth Em Hansen travels from the oil fields of Wyoming to the corporate boardrooms of Blackfeet Oil in Denver, where something deadly is on the rise. Original.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Geology, Mystery Thriller

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Sarah Andrews is a geologist who writes mystery novels about a geologist.

She currently lives in northern California and invests her free time on community pursuits and flying, skiing, and sailing with her husband and son.


Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Sarah Andrews's first Em Hansen novel, Tensleep, staked out new territory in the mystery field with its winning combination of geology, ecology, and mayhem. Critics and readers alike fell in love with Em Hansen, the engaging female protagonist who solves crimes while battling stereotypes in the rowdy and unruly male world of the oi8l patch.

"The oil field has always been a volatile place to risk making a living. But now, during one of the steepest downturns ever, hard lessons await geologist Em when she swaps her blue jeans for tweeds and heads for Blackfeet Oil's corporate headquarters in Denver.

"She's coming up in the world -- all the way to the twelfth floor of the Cattlemen's Exchange Building, where everyone seems far more qualified than Em and where nothing seems to make sense. Why, for instance, does Em and not the knowledgeable and attractive Peter Tutaraitis get an assignment so important that it has corporate titans doing battle in the boardroom? And why, during Em's first day on the job, does a twenty-seven-year-old accountant named Gerald Luftweiller plunge from the building's sixteenth floor to his death? Was it suicide, or was something more ominous behind his fateful plunge?

"When a temporary lull leaves her stocking her desk with paper clips and reading the company policy manual, Em has time to ponder her strangely unfriendly colleagues and the possible reasons for Luftweiller's demise.

"There's time, too, to reflect on the oil patch itself, the land of temptation, where power, money, and sweet-talking men can quickly lead a lonesome cowgirl astray, especially when old rivalries crop up in a new venue. Surrounded by people she can hardly trust, missing her boyfriend Frank, who is still in Wyoming, Em soon finds herself looking for a ruthless killer, not oil.

"A Fall in Denver, set in the lively Mile High City, takes us into the gambler's world of oil and geology, where death can have strings attached, and truth can be a matter of interpretation.

"Rich with geological detail and an insider's view of the oil industry, this is the novel that will confirm Sarah Andrews's place as one of the most talented new voices in crime fiction."
~~front & back flaps

I just dove head first into this book. I enjoyed Tensleep so much & was anxious to see how a particular story line developed in this book. To avoid spoilers, I was sorely disappointed in the outcome of that part of Em's ongoing saga, but the book was very well written and it was interesting to watch her grow from the naive young woman she had been. I found this plot harder to follow -- more convoluted: one of those "if THIS happened, then THAT person must be involved ... I think ..." sort of plots -- not my cup of tea. I'm hoping the remaining books in the series are more to my liking than this one, and I still retain a small hope that that story line will be resolved the way I want it to be.

[Lindsay Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beach reading. Em Hansen is a geologist who solved the murder of her friend Bill while working as a mudlogger in WY. Now she's taken a desk job as a geologist for an oil company is Denver. The title is a double entendre as she's there in the fall and two workers in her building fall to their deaths as she's starting her new job.
She finds it difficult to find friends as it appears she's a young woman in a male oriented business and she's been hired at a lower salary to replace people who've been laid off. There are also a number of her acquaintances from her hated east coast prep school who have relocated to Denver for one reason or another - including one of the dead guys. Her first task is to analyse one of the company's oil fields. It eventually turns out that their field shares an oil source with a neighboring field owned by another company. That company has been pumping gas back in while waiting for the price to go up. Em's company has been pumping this out and stealing it from the other company. Knowledge of this, plus rivalries amongst the prep school contingent, has set in motion the events leading to the deaths.
Em can't help herself from investigating. She eventually joins forces with the Denver PD detective working the case to figure it all out.
This was a easy read and a painless way to learn some more about geologists at oil companies. The twist at the end was both predictable and a little unlikely, but I've definitely read crazier.

[Janet Mahlum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, better than a 3 so rounded up to 4 but a weak four. A good book but not great. It started like the first book in the series, a little slow, but then picked up speed and raced downhill to the end. I don't know why no one knew who the "little girl" voice belonged to. There was only one person it could possibly be. I never did figure out Menken. Maybe we're not supposed to. I didn't guess the killer, never would have. I got lost on a lot of the geological stuff. But I loved being in Denver. I was very familiar with so many of the places and on some of the drives I could see familiar sites as we went past.

[Mark Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read, but not a terribly unpredictable solution to the mystery. The characters are fairly superficial as everything is told through the eyes of the main character. Personality traits are well developed, but nothing more. I also found the constant reminders early on in the book that Em is a geologist rather annoying. Saying it a couple times is ok, but I found it a distraction.

[Wendy Beckman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling writing with a great plot

This is another great story about geologist/sleuth Em Hansen. Some of the strangest details are based on facts. Em finds herself in Denver, working with suits -- in a suit -- in a building where people are committing suicide by jumping. Or are they?

[Zora · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5/5

[Paul Close · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, but dragged significantly in the middle. There wasn't a strong character to tie the book to, and the main character is rather flaky and lack confidence.

[Judith Trail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woman geologist in a traditionally male-dominated profession. Dealing with corporate skull-duggery in the oil business. People get killed. Great fun and a good read.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many people falling out of buildings. Can it be coincidence? Em Hansen to the rescue to figure it out.

[Margaret Goodlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A petroleum geologist seeks to understand who killed the engineer. Interesting mystery set in a petroleum corporation.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good read. I love the writing--the feisty Em--learning about the geology of oil drilling I hadn't know--and the nasties in the mystery plot. The awfulness of life for the "new girl" in a business culture alien to her was so appealing! Although the Texan Maddie McNutt was great fun, her Texas accent rang a little overdone to a Texan--but look at her lines! To her roomie, Elyria, "I’ll be glad to see you. I’ll have your horse saddled, compañera. We have miles to ride."
"God’s got a warm spot for girls from Texas."
What's not to love.
So many well-crafted sentences, memorable--everybody, good guys and bad guys are easy for me to recall even days after reading this. The dénouement -- delicious!
On to more Sarah Andrews!

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

This is the 2nd in the Em Hansen series. I think I enjoyed the 1st "Tensleep" more as this one took a while to get going. Em is a geologist, in the 1st book she is working on a site in Wyoming but in this one she's moved to an office in Denver (surprise...) and people start falling out of windows. Well plotted and although sometimes Em seems like a different character to the one in the 1st book I'm looking forward to meeting her in the rest of the series. I also like the bits the author writes at the end about her own experiences as a geologist and which scenes from the book are lifted from reality.

[Joy Carreño · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the general plot of the book; new geologist from Wyoming hired into a business that has just layed off employees. Then, to make things worse, a coworker falls from the building to his death. Suicide or murder? Em Hansen sets out to find the truth. What I didn't like was Em's personality - she seemed to struggle with self-confidence. She couldn't even speak to coworkers for the first week of employment. Her end of the dialogue was often huh? This wimpy persona didn't fit with the intelligent detective wanna-be trait that drove Em. To make this a five star read for me, Em would have to be much more sure of herself.

[Sandy Weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I love geology and mysteries, I find this series fun to read and I am hoping to send it along to my friend who is sitting on a drill rig this fall in the field. This title is slightly less fun than the first one and I think it might be the big city setting as opposed to being in the wide beyond somewhere far from the crowds, but with someone learning the business, I suppose it is necessary to experience all sides. Looking forward to the next one!

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

#2 in the Em Hansen series.

Em Hansen is a new petroleum geologist, hired by Blackfeet Oil. On her first day an employee of another company hurtles to his death past her boss' window. An engineer for the project she is working on soon follows from the same window. Police sergeant Ortega and landlady Elyria are interesting, but ties between Eastern schoolmates and Denver are clashingly coincidental.

[John Rasmussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in the Em Hansen series, this book has a very interesting thread following Em as she starts work for an oil production company based in Denver. Her immediate boss is killed, and she get involved in the social interactions and police activity in the investigation. A very novel ending, which I shant describe as it would spoil the story to another reader.

John

[Veronica Erb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fall in Denver places Em Hansen in a very different setting from an oil rig. I very much enjoyed getting to know her, and seeing her progress through her journey of self-discovery through her career.

Oh, and the mystery was quite good, too!

---

I give it four stars. I'd recommend to fans of mystery novels and folks who think like Em and me.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost want to give this two stars. It's nowhere near as enjoyable as the last book I read by her. The story is pretty infuriating (is anyone nice to Em? Anyone at all? EVER?) and there's an embarrassing Talking Villain at the end that I really could have done without. Also: is everyone in that building completely certifiable or what? WTF was up with the boss and his daughter?

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is getting much better! The heroine, Em Hansen, is a geologist, and my daughter is a geology major, so I had to embark on this mystery series. Excellent second book: the action begins on Page 1, and the intrigue doesn't really stop. I almost finished it in one day but exerted self-control. Looking forward to #3!

[WyoLady 93 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This the 2nd in the Em Hansen Mysteries. I did not like it as much as the 1st in the series, as it got a bit bogged down with the geology and oil descriptions, but necessary as it was critical to the plot. All in all I enjoyed it and the ending was surprising as to "who dunnit," which in my eyes makes a mystery successful. I will continue on with the 3rd in the series.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. Once again, didn't understand the geology references. The beginning was a little slow, but it was cool to read about her going to places in Denver. The last half was more interesting and got me wanting to finish the book.

[Holly Keimig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another action packed forensic geologist mystery! This series was written just for me I think. The story moved along well and I learned some new things along the way too. Definitely recommend this to geologists/mystery-lovers/anyone interested in how the oil and gas industry works.

[Sarah Wade]

I found this while wandering through the library and picked it up by chance. By page 30 I decided there were too many curse words for my liking so I decided not to read it.

On to the next one....

[Eunira]

Second in the series.

[Ayelet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent most of the book saying, "Go back to Frank!" How weird to have a job where you sit around and do nothing.

[Anna]

I couldn't seem to get into this book, even though I thoroughly enjoyed a later one in the series. Maybe I'll try again later.

[Glena · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much profanity for me.

[db · Rating 4 out of 5]

geology references made it fun

[Susanne Steinbock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good mystery

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun story.