This is the best of the three Emma Fielding mysteries so far, but still not up to the standards of my three favorites (Hannah Swensen's, Aurora Teagarden and Mystery 101). I am enjoying the relationship building between archeologists/professor Emma Fielding and FBI agent Jim Conner. I appreciated this episode because it introduced a romantic rival in fellow archeologist Duncan Thatcher.
There is a special event at the university organized by Emma, bringing in a veritable who's who in the archeological world...at least in North America. Emma has invited her friend Jim Conner to give a talk on antiquity fakes. On the opening night, the key note speaker and president of the organization is murdered as a sub plot, one of Emma's students is trying to become a member of an elite skull and crossbones like organization. One of the initiation activities involves stealing an artifact from the archeology department.
As mentioned this is my favorite of the three Emma Fielding Mysteries, mainly for the romantic developments...but there has always been something slightly awkward about the Courtney Thorne-Smith role and in this episode I found the Duncan Thatcher character to be equally awkward, especially as his accent seemed to come and go. The series is really a recommendation for me unless you are hardcore or have nothing else to watch, but if you are watching the series...more bitter than death is the best.
