‘Dead Past’ by Beverly Connor
Published by Piatkus Books London
ISBN 0-7499-3759-9

The fourth in the Diane Fallon series continues the high quality of its predecessors. This genre of forensic archaeological style mystery is increasing - besides the two series that Beverly Connor produces we have Mary Anna Evans, Christine Gentry, Dana Cameron and - an early example - Aaron Elkins. I like the heroine, Diane, very much - she behaves in a humane manner against the provocations of evil and misguided people. She is expert in her field combining the running of a museum with forensic work on corpses for the police using the resources of her laboratory. 

In Dead Past Diane aids in the investigation of an explosion in a house with a meths lab in the basement and student accommodation above. Unfortunately a party in an upstairs apartment means that many students are feared to be among the dead. Diane not only does forensic work on the bodies but she attempts to unravel the cause of the explosion. She is constantly thwarted in these efforts by a mixture of media frenzy, zealous local officials keen to allocate blame and the machinations of a man who wants to get her job.
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Jennifer Palmer
Previous Diane Fallon adventures are One Grave Too Many, Dead Guilty and Dead Secret. Dead Hunt, the next in the series, is now also available. Beverly Connor also writes a series featuring Lindsay Chamberlain, a forensic anthropologist.