An Eye for Gold

Em Hansen Mystery #6

by Sarah Andrews

Packed with suspense, science and lots of gold, Sarah Andrews' sixth novel takes us from the eagles' domain high over the American West right down into the depths of the earth itself.

Like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, Andrews' engaging heroine, forensic geologist Emily Hansen, uses geological clues to solve crimes. Now, fresh from extricating herself-just barely-from suspicion in the investigation of the murder of a dinosaur paleontologist in Salt Lake City, Em allows a wily FBI agent to talk her into assisting the Bureau on another case.

Em and the agent head into the deserts of gambling and gold mining country, where fortunes-and lives-are won and lost. Their task is to investigate the high stakes behind conflicting reports about an endangered species on federal land, land the government has leased to a proposed billion-dollar gold-mining operation.

But when they arrive, they discover the case has taken an alarming and lethal turn. The biologist they have flown five hundred miles to interrogate lies dead in her pickup truck at the edge of a lonesome road, and a key mining geologist has gone missing. What started as a simple fraud investigation quickly develops into an intricate murder case in which Em must unravel the secrets of gold, the desert, and an Indian tribe struggling to maintain its secrets. The wide-open spaces harbor a deadly enigma that is all too human-and what's at stake is not just Em's life.

Andrews has updated observations into the dirt on dead men's shoes for the golden age of high-tech forensic analysis. An Eye for Gold is an enthralling, nail-biting adventure in the air and underground-her best book yet.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Geology, Mystery Thriller

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

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 4 out of 5]

"Temporarily unemployed and conflicted over a rocky relationship, forensic geologist Em Hansen accepts an assignment aiding the FBI in a fraud investigation of a billion-dollar Nevada gold mine. There are no guarantees on the frontier, and Em ends up smack in the middle of a minefield of intrigue where dead bodies, burning range fires, endangered rodents, and goldbricking employees are the order of the day. Her detecting skills are soon put to the test when the company's 'golden goose' geologist goes missing, and she discovers that what glitters at the Granville mine is of a hue more green than gold. In order to get to the bottom of this complicated case, Em must throw caution to the wind and leap headfirst into the gaping portal where darkness rules -- and the only sound is the terrified pounding of her own heart."
~~back cover

This book was just chock full of fascinating characters! A Paiute shaman, several rabid environmental warriors, geologists of all shades of morality, a gold junkie, a retired prostitute, and FBI agents from previous books, and the requisite Mormon family. Made for interesting reading!

A very complicated plot, which didn't make a lot of sense to me until the end, and the end was full of surprises. All the endings I imagined didn't happen, and endings I though impossible did. I'm liking Em more and more with each book because she's feisty, very intelligent, and struggling to fit into life the way she thinks most people do. And she loves being outdoors.

And, there was a wee bit of archaeology, which always wins my heart, and I managed to gloss over all the technical explanation of how gold is formed, refined, etc. And the ending had me on the edge of my seat -- only knowing there are more books in the series kept me from fearing the worst!

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book of the series as much as I have the previous titles. The first half or so was weighed down with a lot of technical information and introspection of the main character. There was a mystery from the get go, but it was overshadowed by Em trying to figure herself out. The second half got better, but by then I was already slightly soured by the book. I wouldn't necessarily recommend skipping it if you are reading the entire series as there were some pivotal character developments that took place, but don't expect it to be up to par with the pervious books.

[Sharon Jacksack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a slog in the beginning as we have to deal with the relationship stuff, but once that is out of the way, the mystery is a lot of fun.

[Nastarana · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I did like: there are wonderful descriptions of Western landscapes. In that one respect, the author is almost as good as Tony Hillerman. Also her writing style is not bad, not intrusive.

What I did not like: changing point of view. First person narration by Our Heroine alternated with authorially omniscient third person segments introducing and describing the bad guys. I found this confusing and unnecessary. If the story is about how Our Heroine solved the mystery, let us meet the villains as she does. Too many characters were introduced too quickly and the plot got lost in the confusion of who was whom. There are are mystery authors, such as Raymond Chandler and Walter Mosely, who can keep all the threads of an intricate plot in hand, rather like a lace maker manages her bobbins. Andrews is not one of them.

Finally, there is Our Heroine, Andrews' alter ego, the gal whose feminine allure is such that she can attract a drop dead handsome Mormon suitor; whose naïve brilliance has attracted a legendary FBI agent to trick, or persuade her to join up. Or something. Maybe Andrews knows things I don't but I doubt that that is how the FBI goes about recruitment. It also occurs to me that if the Feds. need a specialist in geology, they simply hire one. In mining country, they might have such a specialist on retainer. And, wouldn't you know it, this paragon of modern womanhood is a pushy, loudmouth, spewing emotion all over the landscape jerkess. I am really, truly fed up with this particular trope in modern fiction. Let us please have heroines who are smart and capable, yes, but also have decent manners.

[Robert Enzenauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book. It is the first Em Hansen Mystery for me. The author was recommended to me by a colleague from college who is also a PhD geologist. The protagonist - a female geologist is very likeable. The story is interesting and the plot is well developed. I read a hardback edition, so no issues with poor formatting etc on a Kindle. As a former nuclear engineer, I really enjoyed the scientific descriptions of geology specific to gold. Also living in Colorado, I enjoyed the western locale. I will share this with my artist daughter.

[Robert Enzenauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book. It is the first Em Hansen Mystery for me. The author was recommended to me by a colleague from college who is also a PhD geologist. The protagonist - a female geologist is very likeable. The story is interesting and the plot is well developed. I read a hardback edition, so no issues with poor formatting etc on a Kindle. As a former nuclear engineer, I really enjoyed the scientific descriptions of geology specific to gold. Also living in Colorado, I enjoyed the western locale. I will share this with my artist daughter.

[Peggy McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun geeky geology read. I loved that it occurred in an area I know.

[Jan Yarnot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many characters to keep straight, for me. I do get the feeling that Em will finally begin to get herself together!

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with other Em Hansen books. we get a lot of fascinating background detail pertaining to the main plot setting and subject, in this case, Great Basic geology and gold mining in particular.

[Unwisely · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was exactly as terrible as every other review said. I mostly read it to fill in the gap, because I read some of them out of order. But....not only was this awful, I determined that there is *another* book I missed. *sigh*

Perhaps this would be an excellent case study of "how much technical information can be awkwardly shoe-horned into dialogue", but otherwise I can't recommend it.

[Emily Schnabl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going to give this three stars but moved it to four stars closer to the end as strands get pulled together. Em's friendship with Faye is a nice new dimension for Em's character, which can become a little one-note. (I have sympathies for Em but sometimes you wonder how she functions at all in society).

[scherzo♫ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awkward, clunky dialogue stuffed with unnecessary, huge chunks of technical data; too many smarmy and non-smarmy men drooling over main character; average story gets lost in author's proselytizing agenda.

[John Rasmussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

a rather interesting story, written by a geologist and it features geology as the background of the heroine. for me a distraction is the author explaining basic geologic interpretation processes as part of the story line.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one when it first came out and didn't like it much. I guess my tastes have changed or I've become a better reader and more eager to learn about things of which I am totally ignorant, like gold mining.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's because I've been reading these out of order (and I know what comes after), maybe it's because I've read too many of these books, or maybe it's because I really REALLY hate Ray and don't give a crap about their desperate relationship, but this book wasn't as fun as the others.

[Samira · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have misplaced the book and simply did not find it compelling enough to complete. Or to look for all that hard. If it turns up, I will probably finish it, if not, not.

[Eunira]

Found this unexpectdly at Estante Virtual.

[Ayelet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Em is getting a little tiring and less plausible as time goes on.

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many characters with not enough information to build on the plot. SOme characters were more developed than others.

[Zora]

So irksome in the first three pages, I would have kicked it across the room several times had it not been a library book.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not one of her best books.

[Katharine Ott · Rating 2 out of 5]

"An Eye for Gold" - written by Sarah Andrews and published in 2000 by Minotaur Books. A quite boring geological mystery.

[Sandybear76]

Nevada, gold mines, desert sands, Em trying to decide what to do

[A.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting richer. I feel like I am growing with Em.