Catacombs

July 22, 2019
Evans’s fast-paced, well-plotted 12th Faye Longchamp mystery (after 2018’s Undercurrents) takes archeologist Faye to Oklahoma City, Okla., for a conference on Native American art. In the lobby of the historic Gershwin Hotel, Faye meets legendary actor Cully Mantooth, her husband’s distant relative, who gives her an Indian flute as a present. As she’s admiring the flute, a bomb goes off. While paramedics make sure she’s okay, Faye is approached by FBI agent Tom Bigbee, with whom she has collaborated in the past. Tom wants her help exploring a complex of catacombs spread out beneath the hotel that was exposed by the explosion. Faye and the FBI team descend into these tunnels, where they discover evidence of a very cold case involving the deaths of three children. Evans blends nail-biting action with a remarkable view of the secret world that lies beneath Oklahoma City, based on an underground community that actually existed a century ago, as an author’s note explains. Those who like richly textured, character-driven mysteries will be rewarded. Agent: Anne Hawkins, John Hawkins & Assoc.