City of Buried Ghosts (Elisenda Domènech Investigations #2) - Chris Lloyd

Synopsis:

Be careful what you dig up… Still recovering from the tragedy that hit her team, Elisenda takes on a new case. Except it’s not new. On an archaeological dig by the coast a body is uncovered, seemingly executed with a spike thrust through the base of the skull – an ancient tribal ritual. It soon becomes clear that this body is neither ancient nor modern, but a mysterious corpse from the 1980s.

Assigned to the case along with her team, Elisenda soon uncovers a complex world of star archaeologists, jealousy and missing persons. They find a dark trade in illicit antiquities, riddled with vicious professional rivalries. And even though she’s staying close to the crime scene, Elisenda is also never far from enemies of her own within the police force.

Just as the case seems to become clear it is blown wide-open by another horrific murder. Elisenda must fight her personal demons and office politics, whilst continuing to uncover plots and hatreds that were long buried. How far will she go to solve the crime? Is her place in the force secure? And can she rebuild her life?

Review:

So this book takes places many months after the first instalment and its clear straight away that Elisenda is still struggling with her demons and that the rest of her team are still trying to cope with the betrayal and loss of one of their team members. As stated in the synopsis, the team end up with a cold case and then a fresh case both just as gory and very disturbing. This story is about the archaeological world and its unseen dark side. It explores the issue of stolen archaeological artefacts which somehow ties into two murders committed over thirty years apart.

The plot really is great, I love how much detail Chris uses as it keep you engaged and leaves you wanting to actually go an visit the setting itself. The more I read the further I fall in love with the series, I fell further in love with the members of the team after I got to know them a little bit more. Part of me really does just want to wrap them up in cotton wool and keep them safe. Elisenda is still strong and independent and smart and she still has not issue with standing up for what she believes in no matter what which I really love, I hope that soon she can fight off her demons and have all the happiness she deserves. Alex is still haunted by his experience from the last book and I really feel for him as you can really se how deeply it has effected him, its changed his character and it actually made me sad. All Elisenda wants is for the old Alex she knows to return but he doubts that he ever will. I feel like Josep and Montse are the ruts of the litter, like they are giving the long and draining parts of the investigations, doing a lot of research and fiddly things, they do their job well and with their characters doing it, it really helps paint a picture of them and how hard working they are.

I don't really want to give too much detail on the story because this story is one of those that can lose its touch if one thing is spoilt. What I can say is though you need to settle down and hold on tight because there are twists you can not see coming. You can try and figure it out like I tried to, I have faith you might do better than I did because I wasn't even close. I feel like you should try your best to remember every character you see in the span of this book just so you can get a clearer picture of everything and trust me it will help you understand.

You easily get absorbed in the story and can really believe you're involved. I cant even think of a bad thing about this book, not this time. I didn't really know what to expect going into the book but I really loved what I got when I was there. its a 5 out of 5 from me and I really cant wait to see what Chris has in store for Elisenda and her team in City of Drowned Souls which I will be moving on to read in the near future.

I have to recommend this to any crime/thriller reader, I don't feel like youd have to read the first instalment but if you want to get to really know the characters, reading it would be best.