The Bone Chamber

September 21, 2009
Burcell's second novel to feature FBI forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick (after 2008's Face of a Killer
) offers plenty of action, if not the freshest ideas. After Fitzpatrick helps identify the faceless corpse of a young woman as the daughter of the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Fitzpatrick decides to follow mysterious, predictably gruff covert government agent Zach Griffin to Rome. There they search for a “third key,” alluded to by a forensic anthropologist friend and colleague recently killed in a hit-and-run accident. Fitzpatrick and Griffin believe the key will lead them to a map, buried in the crypts of Rome or Naples, that may be connected to bioterrorism and a very bad guy named Carlo Adami. All this excitement takes them through standard variations on the Freemason conspiracy theory and a good deal of underground scrambling, Indiana Jones–style. It's all fun, if somewhat clichéd, and a little burdened by Fitzpatrick's many moments of brooding and indecision.

January 4, 2010
Readers seeking a DaVinci Code-type thriller will dive right into this page-turner from Anthony Award winner Burcell, an FBI-trained forensic artist, much like his protagonist Sydney Fitzpatrick. Sydney, who previously confronted her father's murder in Face of a Killer, now works for the FBI in Quantico. When Special Agent Zachary Griffin asks Sydney to identify a murder victim without a face, she postpones her vacation to help, then continues the investigation on her own. Clues lead Sydney to the Vatican, where she rejoins Zachary to pursue the lost, legendary Templar treasure. Meanwhile, the two agents are being pursued themselves by two separate sets of killers. From Washington to Rome to Tunisia, the action is fast-paced and non-stop, compensating for characters that lack dimension.