Excavations

DEBUT Myers’s first novel offers a promising storyline that is marred by uneven pacing and forced witticisms. Emotions run high at a Greek archaeological site, run by the chauvinistic and self-aggrandizing Dr. Charles Barton, where Elise, Kara, and Z reluctantly find themselves working together again after six long years. Lead excavator Elise is driven to find evidence based on a rumor that women may have also participated in ancient pre-Olympic games, while Patty, a first-year undergraduate, is manipulated by Dr. Barton to spy on Elise. Elise’s nemesis, Kara, is the dig’s extremely ambitious preservation director who seeks to take over the project and propel her career higher. Commitment-phobic Z, invited by her ex-boyfriend Gary to join the crew, is shocked to hear that he is engaged to Kara. The disappearance of artifacts as well as other strange events around the site force the women to resolve their personal issues and work together to uncover the truth.