Rating: 
Summary: an amazing read
Review: Truly an amazing story very well told. The characters were compelling and interesting. The attention to detail regarding ancient Egypt as well as the modern methods of Xray, MRI, and fast MRI was absolutely fascinating.I couldn't put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating research, shaky writing
Review: Uneven writing occasionally threatens to derail Carol Thurston's masterfully researched story of forensics and Egyptology. Thurston develops two stories in tandem, 33 centuries apart. In 1359 BC Egypt, a young, dedicated physician helps former Queen Nefertiti birth a girl, daughter of Ramose, a high priest. At a Denver museum, medical illustrator Kate McKinnon feels an odd affinity with a young Egyptian woman, whose mummified corpse presents a baffling host of questions. X-rays show broken ribs, a shattered hand and, most amazing of all, a man's severed head lying between her legs. As radiologist Max Cavanaugh helps Kate with the latest imaging techniques and Kate combines her forensic skills with her knowledge of Egyptology, the parallel story explores Aset's life growing up in an atmosphere of palace intrigue and excess, the physician her friend, teacher and protector. Thurston weaves the machinations of history against a background filled with ancient medical technique and details of daily living. The modern sections are equally substantial. Technology and academic knowledge combine to penetrate the mystery - the painstaking interpretation of hieroglyphs and scenes painted on the sarcophagus, cat-scan readings of the bones, computer imaging to rebuild the face, even flashes of inspired intuition. An intriguing premise, filled with fascinating detail. Where the story runs into problems is in the relationships, ancient and modern, between the heroes and heroines. Stilted dialogue and over-labored internalizations threaten to mire the characters in fretful introspection rather than passion. But fans of Egyptology and forensic medicine will find much to applaud.
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