Ancient Ones

An Emmett Parker and Anna Turnipseed Mystery

By: Kirk Mitchell

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Though there are signs of foul play, BIA investigator Emmett Quanah Parker and FBI special agent Anna Turnipseed aren't looking for a killer - the remains dug out of a riverbank by an illegal fossil hunter are 14,000 years old. Parker and Turnipseed are sent to Central Oregon as official witnesses to the examination of John Day Man, as he is dubbed, for the bones have quickly provoked a controversy that threatens to erupt into violence: the skeleton is not Native American but distinctly Caucasian, shattering long-held tenets concerning who the first inhabitants of this continent were.

Emmett, with his Comanche and white ancestry, and Anna, a reservation-born Modoc with Asian blood, share a sensitivity to both parties' concerns - and a forbidden attraction that's causing them professional and personal problems. They've broken the unwritten law that partners should never get emotionally involved. Having crossed that line, Emmett and Anna are too distracted by each other to see the escalating suspicion and fear around them when a young tribal anthropologist is swallowed by the misty night - and within hours of her disappearance the fossil hunter who discovered the skeleton is found disemboweled.

The Warm Springs Indians insist that the unburied bones of the Ancient One have been turned into a skep, a murderous spirit that haunts the darkness. As winter closes in on the steppes of the Colombia Plateau, accusations of ritualized murder fly between the Indian and white communities - and the fight turns deadly when a second skeleton is unearthed.

In the midst of the turmoil, Emmett and Anna are paralyzed by their own demons. This estrangement could prove deadly if they stop watching each other's back long enough for a killer to target them too. And at the center of it all are the Ancient Ones, exacting a terrible price as the dark path to resolution runs a gauntlet through the boneyards of prehistory.

©2001 Kirk Mitchell (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A superior police procedural ... [Mitchell] keeps the suspense ... high." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Tony Hillerman, watch your back.... Mitchell knows his turf and delivers a savory whodunit without remorse." (People)

I liked it!

I don’t usually like horror stories but I did like this story. The love story softened the over the top ghostbuster drama. Very enjoyable!!

Just Gets Better!

This is my favorite ! Mr. Mitchell just gets better with each new story. Can't wait for the next one .

Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Loved learning about Native Americans, definitely looking forward to the next book! Narrator was excellent

Perfect for a horror movie

This writer can pile on the suspense. There's a highly visual horror movie in here, especially as story progresses, but I wonder if Hollywood would dare take this one on.

Light fare

Enjoyable light summer time reading.
Sexual tension between FBI agent and BIA agent continues from her prior novels not totally resolved as last chapter shows.

Too Bloody

This one while developing the characters more was needlessly bloody and violent. Too bad because extended and repeated violence did little to further the plot. Sometimes more is not better. If you like the series and are not too squeamish then go ahead. Narrator is excellent with varied voices.

kept me interested I was not ready for it to end

loved it. you should listen to this book also.
I loved the history of the natives.

Narrator should have done more research!

I enjoyed the storyline, even though there were times I had to go back to figure out who was who. But as an Oregonian, I was offended that the narrator did not do any research to figure out how to pronounce city names and place names that were horribly mispronounced. It was very irritating to have an author write a story about a specific area and not have the narrator care enough to pronounce names correctly. Specifically: the Dalles, Kaneeta, and the list goes on.

I’m hooked, well at least for the first 2.

Oh No! I just went to the next audio book n found out the narrator is not Stefan Rudnicki. His voice, his characterizations cannot be replaced after hearing him for 2 books.
I’ll go ahead n read the 3rd. I suggest you do the same.
Sorry Dick Hill.

The reader

I love listening to Stefen Rudnicki I have imagine that Emmit would sound like that.