A major installation and some costly practical jokes, she hopes, involving double ordering not only don’t keep Diane from forgetting about the past, but also make her uncertain about her current choices.

Just when Diane thinks things cannot get anymore complicated, her former lover Detective Frank Duncan appears with a bone in hand, wanting Diane to evaluate it. At first Diane resists, not wanting to deal with the emotions the bone will stir up. She eventually agrees when Frank explains that it may belong to the teenage daughter of one of his close friends. When the origin of the bone is called into question, Diane becomes suspicious and sends the bone sample for more sophisticated testing.

When Frank finds the wife and son murdered and the daughter still missing, the police continue searching for her, this time as a suspect rather than a runaway. Before she knows it, Diana finds herself in much deeper than she wanted, both with the investigation and Frank, leaving her little time to figure out if someone is maliciously trying to end her career or just trying to make her look incompetent.

One Grave Too Many is a fast-paced, smartly plotted novel that will keep readers turning pages long into the night. Readers new to the series are teased with details from Diane’s past assignment, details that slowly emerge throughout the novel, adding another level of interest to the plot.

Diane Fallon is a very smart heroine, finally willing to face some past demons and move on with her future. Her interaction with her colleagues is interesting as she tries to become part of things, yet always keeping a careful distance. Her reluctance to restart a relationship with Frank is understandable as she thinks a happy future lies with breaking all ties with her past. Yet, a life-threatening occurrence helps Diane realize what is really important.

One Grave Too Many is an intelligent mystery that will appeal to fans of scientific investigations, yet the details are not so gruesome as those often found in forensic mysteries.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry