After reading some of the reviews from others who have read this book, I can understand how they thought it was confusing. It did have a lot of technical terms and was about a culture that most of us do not understand. However, I did not let that keep me from enjoying the story. Even with all the technical jargon, I found the book very enjoyable. In America, we are used to what we experience on a daily basis, and that is a means of comfort to us. Reading books like this one remind us that we are not the only culture in the universe, and that there is a different world out there than the one we know. I found myself applauding Lily Sampson as she searched to find truth and meaning throughout the story. As a woman archaeologist in a land full of men who typically don't view women as being able to have so much freedom, Lily sought to prove that she could do whatever a man could do. It was this motivation that helped to keep her alive during her many struggles throughout the book. This was very well-written, and I hope the technical language and culture shock doesn't dissuade people from reading an incredible book. ( )

I recieved this book as part of the Member Giveaway program on LibraryThing.com. I enjoyed this book, however, there were a lot of technical terms and cultural terms that I didn't understand, which led to some difficulty i reading. Overall, it was an interesting plotline, and I will read more from this author.

I received this book through the members giveaway on Librarything. The books time period is 1943 and the story takes place in the Middle East. While on a pretense of being on an archeological dig, Lily and Gideon's guide is murdered and Gideon is thought to be the killer. The location names and peoples names were distracting to me in this book. It is a short book but the storyline wasn't all that interesting. ( )

The Scorpion's Bite by Aileen G. Baron is the third book in a series about Lily Sampson, an archaeologist and intelligence agent in the Trans-Jordan desert during World War II. When her Bedouin guide is murdered and her traveling companion accused of the crime she doesn't know who to trust or where to turn. Shortly after that she learns that her real mission is to protect the Trans-Jordan oil pipeline from being destroyed by the Nazis and simultaneously trying to destroy the oil pipeline supplying the Nazis. Sound confusing? Now add a plot to kill the 8 yr old king of Iraq and you can't keep anything straight.

There were just too many plots, murders, double agents, and betrayals for me to keep track of in this short mystery. I listened to it on audio and that probably didn't help. Still, I got so lost as to who was on what side that the book didn't make much sense to me in the end. I did like the characters. Lily in particular seems to be an appealing mix of strong and savvy, but still feminine and emotional. The landscape is beautifully described and I loved the few archaeological parts. I had not read the first books in the series, so maybe I will go back and start at the beginning.

Again, I listened to this book on audio. It may be that it is just too densely packed with action to listen to without losing some of the detail. Kirsten Potter reads the book. Its hard to accurately critique her reading given how I felt about the book, but I thought she did a good job of bringing Lily's character out. ( )