In this steamy archaeological thriller from Spohn (Lovers by the Lake), Carol Dunmore has always felt that she’s not like other girls. Aware from a young age of the challenges of being a woman in a man’s world, Carol learned to rely on her feminine wiles and wits to achieve her ends while always dreaming of the world beyond her high school. When she heads to New York for college, she’s instantly attracted to her Ancient Greek Culture professor, Dr. Marcus Atonasis, and becomes drawn into his side business of selling Classical antiquities with a sexual theme. Marcus and Carol embark on an archaeological dig in Greece, but when a group of armed and disguised men kidnap twelve young women from the dig, it’s clear that this adventure is more dangerous than they bargained for—and that the gods of Ancient Greece might be more than myths.

Part thriller, part graphic romance, Dark Dig pairs adventure with a supernatural twist and the possibility of soulmates as Carol and Marcus, working with the FBI and Interpol, must race to rescue their team while unraveling the secrets of the mysterious Temple of Eros. Dark Dig is in the thrall of Eros—the God, the cult, the temple, and the concept—with regular graphic sex scenes and much musing on female sexuality.

The story’s appeal is diminished by indifferent editing and the depiction of Carol, an object of fantasy celebrated for “ample” breasts and “ivory” skin, and whose May-December romance frequently throws her into the older man’s “powerful” arms. Spohn takes pains to acknowledge the harassment and double standards women face in contemporary life and throughout history, and the plot eventually centers on the organized repression of women, but scenes like the one where Carol sunbathes in a state of erotic rapture, thinking about her professor, strain credulity.

Takeaway: Greek mythology meets modern murder in this steamy mystery set on archaological dig.

Great for fans of: G.G. Vandagriff’s Murder at Tregowyn Manor, Elizabeth Hand’s Waking the Moon.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: B+
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: C+
Marketing copy: B