I was looking forward to this archaeological mystery, but I was left feeling dry. The mystery is both not very strong here and not well-presented. The writing is juvenile and the main character Elizabeth is simply self-enamored big baby.

Yet, the love of a family (the grandparents are dreamy!) and the love of food can cover many of the literary sins. I certainly have enjoyed these parts!

I loved this book and it has made me want to read more from this very talented Australian author.
"Dr Elizabeth Pimms is a 26 year old archaeologist whose dream of publishing the next great discovery comes crashing down with the death of her father. Despite being forced to return to Canberra to be the financial backbone of the delightfully eccentric Pimms clan, she manages to find herself embroiled in a 3,200 year old mystery, academic fraud, and heartbreaking family drama."
It has all the things I love in a good read, mystery, drama, archeology and intrigue. I WILL be reading the series :)

The story was very slow and I found it hard to get into. I also had a hard time relating to the main character, Dr. Pimms. I picked this book up several times in hopes of enjoying it more but it never did keep my attention. Unfortunately I ended up giving up a little over halfway through the book. It's a shame too because I love archaeology and was hoping to find another good series with an archaeological background. Maybe one day I'll give it another try.

I liked the narrative between modern day Elizabeth and the Olmec Kingdom. I admit to knowing next to nothing about Olmec Civilization, so I found that fascinating.

But one thing really stood out for me - I found it curious that Elizabeth, a self confessed Egyptologist, should be requested to work on Mesoamerican remains. I guess I naively assumed that most archaeologists would have a specialty field - and thus someone with more than a passing interest (and more qualified) would have been brought in.



Fuller review @ Melisende's Library (link below)

A good story with a good plot. Will happily read author again. Well written.

Book – Olmec Obituary (Dr. Pimms, Intermillenial Sleuth, #1)
Author – L.J.M. Owens
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 352
Cover – Gorgeous!
POV – 3rd person, one character
Would I read it again – Yes
Genre – Mystery, Historical, Crime, Archaeology


** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **


WARNING: contains mentions of historical rape and tyranny (not on page)


I enjoyed this one, my first by this author, though it was a lot more of an academic mystery than I'd expected. I had thought it would be a murder mystery or a historical mystery, but I found the 'cosy' aspect suited the story and characters just fine.

The story had a good start, with great characterisation and I found Elizabeth to be, initially, very relateable. As an archaeological student, I love that it was written by an experienced archaeologist. The attention to detail, the characterisation, and the plotting and setting. It was clear that a whole lot of research and knowledge went into making this book as historically accurate as possible, while allowing the fictional narrative to hold. When it comes to the writing, I loved the detail, accuracy and the writing of the historic Olmec sections. They felt so evocative and natural, and felt all the more relateable for the modern speech patterns used, making it easier to transition between the past and present storylines.

Now, saying that, I do have some problems with the historical plotting. Like the sense of it being unfinished. There were lots of unanswered questions that I can't guarantee or even imagine will be answered in the next book. Such as, did Ajaw just get away with everything and carry on his disgusting dynasty in Olmec times or did the fates and the truth finally see justice done? There was no concept of that being resolved within the story, even in a quick mention. I also felt that the entire Luke issue was left unanswered, though there is a higher likelihood of his reappearance in the next book.

There was a lot I liked about the story beside that. There was a really lovely contrast of professional passion and excitement in the prologue set against the short sharp shock of her father's death leading into the main story.

The characterisation of Elizabeth started off really well, showing us this smart, independent woman who had a love of archaeology, history, and Egyptology. But, as the story progressed Elizabeth had quite a few Drama Queen moments that made my feelings about her wane a little. There were times when she was ungrateful and selfish, but that made her a little more human and less 'perfect', so I quite liked that they happened, even if they were a little more often than I would have liked. She had a tendency to burst into tears or throw a temper tantrum when things didn't go her way, that often turned me off.

The side characters were intriguing; I loved Nathan and Henry, who were academic, quirky, a little weird, but totally relateable. I loved them both equally. But, I had some reservations about Luke, the boyfriend. I didn't believe in their relationship nor their long-distance ability to survive. Judy was nice but I definitely had problems about whether she was trustworthy and about her strange temperament. At times she was normal, other times she was a little dismissive, didn't seem to care about what was happening, and she had suspicious conversations with strange people that wasn't explained. At first I was suspicious about Mai, but it quickly became clear who she was and why she behaved the way she did. Though her part in the story wasn't actually explained, there is a pseudo-spoiler at 99%, on the Coming Soon page, that reaffirms my theory.

Elizabeth's family were interesting. I liked Mattie and Taid (apparently meaning grandfather, though it was used in place of his name so often that I got confused about how it was being used) the best, though I did find it really confusing to keep track of who was who, etc, because of the variety of cultures, ethnicities and personalities.

When it came to formatting, I loved the little Olmec heads at the Chapter headings, how the timeline and era were clearly marked in bold at the start of the chapter, and that the chapters spent in Olmec were in a slightly different font, making it clear at first glance that the time/location had changed.

I do feel like the setting was confusing, for a while. The timeline of Elizabeth's story was simply marked as 'present day', but often read like something from the early 1950's, especially due to her manner and personality traits. There was also a lot of confusion about the cultures involved. It felt like the book was crammed with far too many cultures, and it was often difficult to keep track of what was going on, who was who, and where they were from. There was the historical Olmec society, Elizabeth's Welsh, Chinese and Australian family heritages that felt too many for one story. Sometimes I felt they were only added to legitimise the numerous recipes and detailed food descriptions.

The story dragged in some places, focusing too much on the family dynamics and food, than on the actual story. I could easily see the book being at least fifty pages less, if the excess food and family dramas were limited. There were also a few times where the investigative processes were over explained. A few times some of the characters were immature and overly dramatic, leading to incidents that feel unrealistic and orchestrated to lead to other events or revelations.

I'll admit that I was hoping for something along the lines of Amelia Peabody, but this is a bit more 'cosy', and far less crime/drama fuelled. It lacked a little excitement, as it was all academic, leading to a lot of pages that were 100% Elizabeth's thought processes and written events that demanded no other involvement from people. I feel like this is where it failed, a little. The family dramas, their home life, and the numerous cooking mentions, as well as Elizabeth's regular coffee with Nathan were used to inject some involvement from other people and some actual dialogue. Without them, this would all have been Elizabeth sitting inside her mind palace or working in a lab, never speaking to anyone, so while I understand the need for them, I kind of wish it wasn't required so often. There were huge chunks where nothing happened but Elizabeth sitting thinking about things or doing investigative tests that the average reader wasn't likely to fully understand.

~

Overall, I think the story was good, well plotted, and put together. It was slow in parts, and I would have liked more of the Olmec period, rather than just a chapter or two within the entire novel. It was a little disturbing to read the POV of the Olmec character Ajaw at the end, considering he was a historical tyrant and rapist; I much preferred the POV of Ix and her family.

I ended the book feeling slightly ambiguous about the end. I'm still curious to read more in the series, but I felt that there was a lot left to be desired, a lot left unsaid that I wanted to know. The recipes felt unnecessary, taking up a lot of space at the back of the book, which left me feeling disappointed that the story ended at 94%. There was also no Contents page, so I felt surprised and dismayed to find that there was a collection of much needed lists at the back of the book: a glossary of technical terms, a lexicon of foreign language phrases, and recommended additional reading. It would have been great to know about these before I started, so that I could refer to it when needed.

I feel it needed some excitement, something that raised the blood pressure or caused some apprehension or mystery, that wasn't about the archaeological case. It also could have used less descriptions and more activity that wasn't just focused on Elizabeth. But, in the end, I did enjoy it and look forward to seeing the characters and plots grow and evolve over time. I'm intrigued to visit the various periods of time that the author has chosen, though I can't deny that book three excites me the most, since my favourite period of history was Ancient Egypt. I'm intrigued to keep going.

I Love books that let me learn new things when reading them and this did not disappoint!! however, i wasn't a massive fan of the main character Elizabeth, finding her a bit hot-headed and her relationship with boyfriend Luke seemed a bit of a nowhere to go plot. Overall i enjoyed the story and would reccomend the book

A very enjoyable mystery that keeps one fascinating and totally engaged until the very end.

For some reason did I not expect Olmec Obituary to take place in present time. I thought it would take place at the beginning of the 20th century. It's odd how a cover and the blurb can make you expect something else than what you get.

I'm actually a bit surprised that this book is labeled cozy crime because that's not the feeling I got when I read the book. Sure there are no sex scenes and not much violence, but it felt too serious to be a cozy crime book. Sure it had its funny moments, but most of the time it had a serious tone, especially since the main character and her family is recovering from a death in the family and Elizabeth herself has had to give up on her career as an archaeologist to support her family. So, she's not always a happy camper. But I guess since it's not many bloody murder scenes sprinkled in the book can one see this book as a cozy crime novel.

Olmec Obituary is a page-turner. I started to read the book in the evening and finished in the middle of the night. I came to enjoy Elizabeth Pimms and her family quite much and the flashbacks 3000 years ago to the life of the skeletons Emily is examining adds drama to the story. What was it that killed all those people and will Emily get to the bottom of the mystery?

This is definitely a new favorite series of mine. I was intrigued by the mystery with the skeletons and Elizabeth's problem with both her family and work kept my interest up from the beginning until the end of the book. It was such a splendid book.

Olmec Obituary is one of those books that I hoped would be entertaining to read, but in the end, surpassed my expectations. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

Hi, sorry I wasn't able to fully download before it expired.

The archaeology was good. I particularly appreciate that though she did all that analysis and work, she never found out what happened to the women-very realistic for archaeological work. However, Elizabeth herself, felt unbearable. I could not stand how indulged she was and so that really put a pall over the well-done archaeology.

I was expecting not to like this book, and I chided myself for picking it for review. However, I was pleasantly surprised that I did like the book, and plan to read more books in the series.

Elizabeth Pimms, a full time librarian, and part time archeologist is challenged with investigating bones from a recently unearthed Mayan cemetery. If that was all that was going on, everything would be fine. But Elizabeth is also dealing with someone sabotaging her research, a breakup with the man she expected to marry, and a co worker telling her that she is her sister. Whew! All this combines into a very enjoyable mystery on many different levels. Elizabeth handles all of her challenges well, but they each present a mystery of their very own.
Interwoven into this story is another story of a Mayan girl who rises to be a leader in her tribe, and the challenges she faces. Elizabeth "channels" this girl thoughts and life while researching the bones, and it is very interesting about the parallels in the two girls lives. Men!

I thought the interweaving of the two women's lives was an interesting touch and that, combined with learning more about Mayan culture made this more than you average mystery. I look forward to Elizabeth's further adventures.

This is a hard pass for me - the writing is amateurish and stilted, the characters are one dimensional, and the lead, Elizabeth Pimm, needs a hard shake and a wake up call. I realize that to be annoyed by a fictional character is, hmmm... a waste of time? Unfruitful? Potentially ridiculous? But girl, seriously, SHUT UP. Also, this is peppered with "dratted younger sister" and "sharing those little moments of understanding". BOOOOOOO. This is the book version of a Lifetime movie so, I guess if you're into that go for it?

Archaeological mystery? I’m there!
While there is a main character, and a mystery to solve—eventually—the best part is the interplay within her giant family, which has so much genetic mix: Chinese, Welsh, Berber. There’s plenty of supporting cast as well, from fellow librarians to an archaeologist she Skypes with; my favorite was the meek geneticist. But I wrote a note about halfway through where I said I didn’t know what the mystery is supposed to be, or if there was one, which is my main problem with the plot.
Food plays an important part in this family’s life, so there’s recipes—completely incomprehensible to me, of course—and a glossary at the end. But once I look back at it I find I enjoyed it, even though I had some difficulty following the chain of evidence. Didn’t think I would like the Olmec sequences, but it turned out the ballcourt-playing princess was the most interesting character of all.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

This was a gorgeous read, lately I've been obsessing over Agatha Christie and mystery novels so when I saw this book here on Netgalley, with its intriguing synopsis and awe-worthy cover, I had to request it! I really liked it, I really felt connected to the main character and the writing flows just perfectly. Totally recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and Echo Publishing for a free digital copy of this book.

While reading, this books makes me ask questions like the questions that Elizabeth had in mind. My curiosity didn't stop there to the point that I searched about the Olmec online. I like this book because it gives me new information, learning and understanding about anthropology, history, sociology, some part in biology. Further, the most that strikes my interest was philology. I'm very much interested with that now. I like reading books that I benefit at the end, I mean that I learn new things or about some part of the world. It's well-written and page-turner book.

I know my friends and fellow readers will enjoy this, especially those who like adventure kind of readings.

I really loved the tagline for this book, and it's what made me want to read it. Unlike the tense mystery I was expecting, this book is warm and inviting - it's a great read for snuggling under a blanket with some tea (and maybe a cat or two) on a miserable day.

Owen weaves in quite a bit of information about archaeology without the text getting too weighted down. Many of the bits and pieces she put in had me looking things up later - she took a subject that could be dry in its details and brought it to life. I also really loved the way she told two stories at once: that of the protagonist (Dr. Pimms,) and also the stories behind the bones she studies - who they were, and how they ended up where they ended up dying.

What kept me from giving this book a higher rating was the characterization. The protagonist is sometimes difficult to like, with the crying sprees and the naivety. Unlike the strong-female-character I was expecting, she behaves a bit like a spoiled highschooler. Many of the other characters have very black or white characterizations; they're either totally bad (and act totally bad, because they're bad,) or completely good (and act totally good, because, well, they're the good guys.) It made some parts of the story a little too predictable.

Overall, I would recommend this book, and will be looking for the sequels.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.