This is the second archaeological-based mystery thriller I have read by this author, though I didn't enjoy it as much as Buried Circle. This one is based around the discovery of a temple to Mithras in some old mines underneath Bath. While I love Bath, we don't get to see much of the city here, and indeed we don't get that much of the mystery either. While there were some creepy and atmospheric scenes set in the utter darkness of the mines, much of the novel concerned the childhood travails of the central character, Kit Parry, and her complex relationships with her families and friends as she grew up, with chapters alternating between her childhood and her current (2007) work as a mining engineer, facing sexism from many of her colleagues in an overwhelmingly male industry. For me, there was rather too much of Kit's personal life, and not enough of the mystery/thriller elements in a slightly rambling and probably overlong novel. I understand what the author was trying to achieve, but this imbalance was a bit of a disappointment to me. ( )

A rattling good yarn which won't change your life but is hugely entertaining. Why should the boys have a monopoly on that? ( )

This was one of those books that I finished because I time invested into it more than because I enjoyed it. The story was not bad, and the characters were solid, but I found the story slow. I thought I would enjoy it much more than I did. ( )

Another great read by this author have read a previous book but enjoyed this one more it makes you think of the completely different world that is buried underground and how much history is buried never to be seen again! ( )

I thought that this was a novel that I would like more than I did. The premise and the existing reviews on LT made it sound good but I had a few problems with it. Maybe I should bear in mind that this is a debut novel and I do hope that she writes another as this does show some promise. It is not a bad book but some of the characterisations and scenes were just slightly off, in my opinion.

With a new name, a successful career and a failed marriage behind her Kit returns to Bath to work - stabilising the old mining quarries that are causing subsidence in the buildings above. But memories of her childhood (and an incident in the first chapter) seem to affect her judgement and she acts in ways that seem irresponsible to me. I preferred the sections of Katie as a child, as it seemed the most interesting part of the story.

So it wasn't a complete waste of reading time but it could have been better. ( )