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Paperback Details
  • 06/2019
  • 9781941237335
  • 234 pages
  • $17.99
Leonard Krishtalka
Author
The Bone Field: A Harry Przewalski Novel
World-renowned museum paleontologist, Peter Marchand, goes missing while leading a dinosaur dig in the sweltering, desert badlands of Wyoming. He has made enemies from his serial womanizing, ruthless dealings, religious blasphemy, and unorthodox theories. Hired to find him, Pittsburgh private detective Harry Przewalski uncovers a tangle of sexual deceit, betrayal, and scientific fraud. He chases Marchand across 80 million years of intrigue and death, from the bone field of petrified skeletons to the bone rooms of the museum. Ultimately, he must excavate the nightmares in his own extinct past to keep from being killed.
Reviews
Paleontologist Krishtalka (Dinosaur Plots) puts his professional experience to good use in his satisfyingly twisty fiction debut, a series launch featuring Pittsburgh PI Harry Przewalski. Harry was once a paleontology graduate student at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, until a personal tragedy caused him to abandon his dissertation and enlist in the U.S. Army; he “escaped to a war, came back with a gun and got a license to detect.” His academic background provides Harry with an advantage when the Carnegie Museum’s director hires him to look into the disappearance of Peter Marchand, one of the institution’s curators. Marchand, who was notorious for having proposed “radical theories about changes in the Earth’s climate during the Age of Dinosaurs,” vanished 10 days earlier from a fossil-hunting expedition in Wyoming. There’s one clue: the previous spring, Marchand received a threat from a Christian fundamentalist. In Wyoming, Harry exposes multiple suspects before he astutely sorts out what had happened to Marchand. This is a promising start to what is shaping up to be an intriguing series. (BookLife)
Amazon Canada

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written Compelling Start to a New Series

Reviewed in Canada on August 13, 2020

When the star paleontologist of the Pittsburgh Carnegie Institute goes missing while on a dinosaur dig in the Wyoming Badlands, PI Harry Przewalski is hired to find him. But whenHarry, once a student of paleontology himself, arrives at the site, no one seems particularly worried. The man was known as a notorious womanizer and everybody, including the local sheriff, seems to think he just ran off with his latest conquest. However, as Harry gets to know everyone at the dig, he begins to suspect there may be more to the disappearance than anyone is saying. Everyone seems to have a reason for wanting the man gone. But, although motives are plentiful, clues are not and as the scientists prepare to pack it in, he is no closer to an answer. But Harry is not one to give up easily despite the lack of cooperation of both the dig crew and the townsfolk and even after he takes a dangerous fall that may or may not have been an accident.

Okay, I've got to admit when I started The Bone Field (A Harry Przewalski Novel Book 1) by Leonard Kristalka, I liked the idea of a noir set at a dinosaur dig but I wasn't really expecting a whole lot - frankly, I would be satisfied with a solid 3 star mystery. It definitely exceeded my expectations. In fact, I can honestly say it's one of my favourite novels so far this year. It is a real page turner and not just because of the mystery which, as intriguing as it was, ended up taking second place to the vivid descriptions of the Badlands, the in-fighting of the scientists, the history of the area, but most of all, the dinosaur facts Krishtalka, a paleontologist himself blends into the novel. This is one smart, highly compelling mystery debut and I recommend it to anyone who likes their mysteries with a bit of science mixed with a great noir detective and a solution that kept me guessing right until the ending. I will definitely be reading more in this series.

Kindle reviews

What a pleasure to read a new mystery that is exceptional in every way. The prose is beautiful--descriptions are evocative--wonderful prose. Really delightful that it's about paleontology and field work. You will fall in love with the Wyoming Badlands, learn something about dinosaurs and digs. The author's acerbic touch makes it perfect. Plot is good, too. Can't wait for the two more promised novels in this series.

 

Kindle Reviews

When Carnegie Museum paleontologist Peter Marchand disappears from a Wyoming dig site, the Museum calls in former-paleontology-student-turned-private-detective Harry Przewalski to unravel the mystery. Krishtalka's masterful prose and implicit knowledge of his subject matter conspire to weave an unforgettable whodunit that will keep you guessing to the very end. His lyric descriptions of Wyoming's breathtaking landscapes and colorful characters (both local and academic) resonate with the authenticity of someone who's walked the walk. If you prefer well-researched mysteries with a dash of literary flare, this one's for you.

Formats
Paperback Details
  • 06/2019
  • 9781941237335
  • 234 pages
  • $17.99
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