An Eye for Gold (An Em Hansen Mystery)

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 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.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.