One thing that is very clear when reading this book is that the author has her fair share of knowledge about the material covered. In fact I read her bio after finishing the book and it says she's an archaeologist and librarian with a PhD in palaeogenetics... among other things, and it really came across in her writing. I have a feeling she put a lot of herself into the character of Elizabeth.

Mayan Mendacity is the second book in this series, and the first I've read. Although it was fine to read as a stand alone I felt at times that I would have gotten more from it if I'd read the first book in the series first.

Overall a great read. I found some of the details about Mayan torture a bit too much, and the scene towards the beginning of the book with the dog got to me too. They were all scene that were important to the story though, just making a note as kind of made my stomach turn.

The sub-setting for this mystery is the Mayan Empire during what is called the "classical period" 250-950 CE..

I still find Elizabeth annoying with her constant need for approval and validation for everything she does; other than that, I am enjoying the mysteries.


Fuller review @ Melisende's Library (link below)

Neat and enjoyable read, follows the formula well and is satisfying as a result. Nice to see this series developing.

After finishing the first book in this series, Olmec Obituary, was I quite keen to start the next book. So, of course, it took me a little over one year to get to book two. I finally decided to read this book because I got book three in the series, Egyptian Enigma, and I felt that now is the time to read this one and get straight to book three (which I now have started to read).

I love Indiana Jones and I wanted to be an Archaeologist when I was younger. So, books that future Archaeologists and mysteries are really up my alley! Dr. Elizabeth Pimms had to in the first book give up her dreams of being an Egyptologist to support her family after her father died. In this book, is Elizabeth still missing lost career (at the moment), but both her work and family life have improved. Although the return of her fiance is not the joyous moment she had expected. Thankfully a new project distracts her. Bones have been found on a Guatemalan island, and just as in the first book will we get flashback back to the past, in this case to the Mayas. I just love how the two storylines intertwine throughout the book.

It was a great joy to once again step back into Elizabeth Pimms world. I read the book during one day because the story was so enjoyable and interesting. I loved both the mystery of the skeletons as well as the drama in Elizabeth's world. This is a great series and I recommend it warmly!

Book – Mayan Mendacity (Dr. Pimms, Intermillenial Sleuth, #2)
Author – L.J.M. Owens
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 353
Cover – Gorgeous!
POV – 3rd person, one character
Would I read it again – Yes
Genre – Cosy Mystery, Historical, Crime, Archaeology
Triggers – discussion of historical slavery, rape, cannibalism, violence (not on page), as well as some on page violence and historical political intrigue. There is also mention of modern day MS.


** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **


While I overall enjoyed the story more than book 1, I had some serious issues with my copy right from the start. The formatting, throughout the novel, was haphazard to say the least. I didn't let it count too heavily towards my overall rating because I understand this is an ARC copy, but it did carry some weight, as the disjointed formatting impacted my ability to read and follow the story.

To be short, the problems were throughout the entire novel and were thus:
each historical chapter was in a font so small it strained my eyesight
the historical chapters were also a mix of red and black font, which was annoying but overall not too bad to read
words ran together frequently, not just in the historical chapters but within Elizabeth's timeline, too. (examples such as: floortoceiling, brilliantblue, skeletalanaylsis etc) This was quite prolific.
the basic formatting of text switched from justified to left align haphazardly
dialogue became jumbled, with two or three different people talking in one line/paragraph, without any dialogue indicators to say who was speaking (examples such as:
'Good. It was good, Taid.' 'What did you discuss?'
'What each of us wants from the sessions.' 'That sounds like a good start.')
the 'mind palace' or phrenic library, wasn't separated from the main text at any point, and it often led into bullet point explanations of what was revealed instead of the cohesive notes that were explored in book 1
sentences were also cut between lines/paragraphs (examples such as:
“With four sets of feline eyes monitoring their

every move, the family tucked into a rich first course of brithyll a
chig moch – baked trout wrapped in bacon.” ← this is both to show that 'every move' could have fit in the above line but was pushed down, but also that the formatting left a large gap between the two parts of the same sentence, further displaying the formatting issues that made it possible for the gap to appear here, but not after 'brithyll a' where the sentence continues onto the next line without a large gap or a break in flow.)

I found that the beginning of the book was less well written, with far less attention to detail, less characterisation and less description that would make it possible for someone to come back to this book after book 1. I read book 1 only yesterday and was still slightly jarred by the fact that the first few pages were mostly unscripted dialogue – they had barely any dialogue tags as to indicate who was speaking or what they were talking about, at times. It wasn't until into the second or third chapter of Elizabeth's timeline that it improved and because the same writing style that I'd become used to in book 1. Anyone coming into this book after waiting months for its release or after a year or more, would probably have been far more confused than I was. But it's one other avenue of proof that these books can only be read in order, as a flowing series of one book to another. No one could pick up book 2 by accident and fully comprehend what was happening, especially since characters aren't reintroduced for a long time, far longer than a reader new to the series would have patience for, and when they are, they're explained and reintroduced with info dumps, in a far less organic way than they were shown in book 1.

I still have an issue with how much focus is given to food. I love food, but I'm in no way a food connoisseur and I don't really see what correlation food has to mysteries, not enough to justify the excessive quantities of food description given throughout. Not only by indicating what every piece of food is that anyone even snacks on, but what it's made from, what it's called, where it's from and how it works into the narrative. They're eating. That's all I need to know or care about.

I felt vindicated about my feelings towards Mai and Luke very quickly, as it was revealed before the halfway mark that I was right about both of them. I may have railed at Luke quite a bit, but I also had issues with how Elizabeth dealt with the entire situation. I didn't like that she ignored Tanya's advice from years ago, when she warned Elizabeth that Luke was a user, latching on to anyone who could help his career. Best friends don't let boyfriends come between them in that way. But I said early on in book 1 that I didn't see any real affection between them and I was right, especially when it mentioned this quote, which even Elizabeth couldn't see had spelled doom for her relationship all along:
“After frustrating years of waiting for Luke to notice her, then being patient through his often onerous requests, then being separated for almost two years, Elizabeth had been beyond surprised when it appeared he had decided to commit permanently.” ← Doesn't that just tell you everything you ever needed to know about their relationship?

There are still issues with the timeline, too. I find it impossible to believe, most of the time, that this is taking place in present day. It feels like a 1950's story, just with modern conveniences like DNA testing and modern archaeological studies. Elizabeth, especially, is a throwback from a bygone era, when she says things like “Luke and his caddish behaviour be damned.” I'm still confused by the whole suggestion of this and whether it's an Australian thing (I'm in the UK and have never been, so wouldn't know) or if it's just another throwback to a historical setting. “Tanya's visits cost her parents dearly in additional electricity for her daily hot baths in airconditioned comfort.”

There is still a whole lot of family drama going on here, though some of it makes sense. I get the Luke situation, as I saw it coming a mile off, and I liked that Matty's surgery was explored properly, as there was a big deal made about that in book 1, but the Kaitlyn situation bothered me. Not only because it was kind of unnecessary, to the extent it was taken, but also because of the way Elizabeth reacted. I don't get why each book has a supposedly academic person – smart enough to know better – reacting like a teenager in crisis mode, because of love, romance or relationships. And I'm certainly not pleased with the way Elizabeth handled the situation; doing what she did to Kaitlyn and Luke, in public, was not satisfying, despite her claim that it was. It's bitchy, cruel, and a violation of any human decency she'd shown so far. There were a dozen other ways for her to expose the truth and even get revenge, if she wanted it, but what she did was vindictive and cruel. I still don't believe it, as it was a pretty unbelieveable situation of how she managed to find the exact site and the exact image to use. It was all far too unbelievable and coincidental.

For me, though I liked the overall story and the Maya investigation, the shining parts were, again, the historical scenes. I loved Lady Six Sky so much it was ridiculous! She was a fantastic character, sly, charming, sneaky, but with an underlying soft centre that made her care about Nurse and In'laak. I love that she took care of them both, that she helped In'laak after all he'd been through, and I loved seeing her get her revenge. That part had a much more satisfying, complete conclusion than the historic story of book 1. Six was a cunning, intelligent woman who made a great ruler and it was a lot of fun following her journey, but I still feel that there were far less historical scenes than I wanted or would have liked. Too much of Elizabeth's story is thought-provoked or isolated from other characters and that, I feel, is what makes the historical scenes so much more vivid, because they're more complete than Elizabeth's story ever is. I constantly feel like she's a background character in her own story, though she gets three times as much page-time as the real main character.

With ending on a cliffhanger in the mind palace, yet again, and having the same issues as book 1 – too many cultures, too much food, too many isolated scenes of Elizabeth thinking – with the added problems of the formatting, I should have bumped this down to a 3 star. But Six and In'laak saved the day. Because of them, I gave this a bump up, because I loved their story so much. I'm looking forward to the next adventure.

The historical and cultural aspect of Mayan Mendacity by L.J.M. Owen caught my eye straight away. Truth to be told, I didn't notice it was the second installment of the Dr Pimms, Intermillionial Sleuth series at first.

The story follows a young archaeologist named Elizabeth Pimms as she slowly uncovers the story behind the skeletons from a Guatemalan island. While it is mostly centered on Elizabeth's unveiling of a personal mystery regarding her family, there are short accounts of a Mayan queen's story as the archaeologist learns more about the artifacts.

L. J. M. Owen delivers exactly what I had expected of the book in the narration department. The writing is beautiful. Even when Elizabeth is examining various bones, tedious work, the atmospheric tone is present and, in my opinion, totally romanticizes the career in a way that I don't mind. In fact, I am intrigued with the idea of being an archaeologist after reading the book.

I also enjoyed Lady Six Sky’s story. Although readers only get a few snippets of her life, I found myself intrigued from the very first paragraph. The culture is so rich and different that it's charming. Sometimes, it's extravagant and luxurious and, other times, it gives me the chills. I have never read a story so abundant with another culture. The fact that her story slowly begins to align with Elizabeth's research toward the end had me, at first, tense and later mind-blown.

As for Elizabeth's personal conflicts, I felt less of an emotional connection than I did with Lady Six Sky's. I was absolutely devastated about the circumstances of the queen's background, but I guess that Elizabeth's situation seems so trivial in comparison to the grand conflict of the ancient queen's. I would also say the emotional weight of Elizabeth's troubles is lessened by the dialogue and character interactions. The queen's story feels much more resonant in comparison. However, do keep in mind that I have not read the first book of the series. While I was not lost on the character relationships reading the book, I do think that reading the first book first is a good idea because Mayan Mendacity lacks the depth of some crucial relationships that might have been present previously.

I'm torn between really loving the book and calling it average. Although the gorgeous visual descriptions and styling are constant throughout Mayan Mendacity, I would not have minded reading a story entirely about the queen. In my eyes, I think she is developed much more as a character. Overall, I'm going to rate it a 3.5 for the wonderful and unique storytelling.

I received this advanced reader copy from the publishing company in exchange for an honest review.

I found this novel to be a little too violent. What six did to her "husband" was probably truly how the Mayans may have been.. but, I still found it to be way too violent for my taste. As for the "side story".. OMG.. narcissistic beyond belief. If I had to be in the same room as the main character.. I probably would have been happy to see her travel in time and end up under Six's care. At some point.. I just started skipping the "modern day story" as the main character drove me to distraction.

This topic is no longer of interest to me and I will not be finishing this book.

Mayan Mendacity is book two of the Intermillenial Sleuth series. I’ve anticipated to read this one after reading the first book because I believe that I will definitely enjoy it and will learn again something from the history that I know I can always share and educate others. If you haven’t read the first book on this series, check my review here. Mayan Mendacity is one of those books that I didn’t read the synopsis but just indulge myself into it (which I didn’t regret). I’ve finished this book in one sitting because it’s not just an easy to read but a page-turner as well. This book is well-written. It also proves how women are very powerful and essential in the society. These are some reasons why I love L.J.M. Owen’s book, they are not only for entertainment as it also educate her readers which is not limited to history, archaeology, philology or generics but also to gender equality.

L.J.M Owen is one of those authors whose very attentive and kind to her readers. She is very kind and always respond to my queries (usually on my Tweets). Aside from her writing skills and her academic degree, I also admire her personality.

Mayan Mendacity is another adventure of Dr. Elizabeth Pimms. She works at the library in Canberra and spend her time with family on weekends. Together with her siblings, Sam and Matty, they are attending a sibling counseling. Elizabeth has a long time boyfriend Luke, an archeologist that works in excavation site in Guatamela. She’s expecting a wedding proposal from Luke but turns out differently.

My knowledge is very limited especially about history, archaeology, philology and genetics. I’m fascinated with all the jargon and ways used in the book (in all discipline mentioned). What I’d like to have is the phrenic library of Elizabeth. Every time she use her library, I always remember Sherlock Holmes’s mind palace. I envy them for that skill. Their memories are very good that they could easily pulled out information from their memory storage.

What I like about Elizabeth is her strong personality, intelligence and how she manage problems surrounding her. It really amaze me how she handle all the stress (from family problems to work problems and relationship with Luke) and still move forward. She’s like a superwoman here and definitely represent one. She proves how strong, persevering and capable women are.

The twist that really strike me in this book is Mia’s revelation about her relationship Elizabeth’s family. I’m really shock how their family history turns out (chimerism really fascinates me; weird but I think that’s awesome!). But I’m happy how Elizabeth’s family value each other and how they accepts Mia.

Another problem is Dr. Marsh attitude towards Elizabeth. It is like she’s testing Elizabeth’s qualification and professionalism. Dr. Marsh didn’t give Elizabeth a chance to explain herself. She even doesn’t listen to Elizabeth and accuse of something she doesn’t do. Dr. Marsh questions Elizabeth’s professionalism yet she’s the one who shows unprofessionalism towards Elizabeth.

I really enjoy reading the Mayan’s story part like how I enjoyed reading Olmec’s story. Lady Six Sky’s story is exciting. I wasn’t expecting how she will revenge against Black Deer. And Lady Six Sky’s represent women empowerment.

Ms. Owen, did it again. She ends the Mayan story uncorrelated with Elizabeth’s prediction (like in Olmec’s story, the ending of the history in that book is different from Elizabeth’s prediction) which makes me want to scream and say “Hey Elizabeth! That’s not how it is!”. But yes, that’s how Ms. Owen wrote it. If she wrote that way, that’s too predictable.

My heart’s delighted that “Filipino food” features in the book!!! Gosh specifically pancit malabon, achara, pako, lumpia, and chicharon! I also appreciate that banana leaf-wrapped coconut rice is mention. And I didn’t expect to read is MANG TOMAS (my ever favorite sauce!) and halo-halo (best dessert ever!). It makes me wonder if Ms. L.J.M. Owen cook Filipino food.

I haven’t talk about Luke that much because I don’t feel to talk about him. Well he’s a jerk. He cheated Elizabeth and his logic about cheating is beyond my understanding. What I’ve notice is the development in the relationship between Nathan and Elizabeth. I kind of feel the chemistry between the two since book one but I’m in doubt because of Henry’s presence.

The ending in Elizabeth time is okay. I mean, it ended well. It’s not cliff hanging even. What made me curious at the end is the questions for book club discussion.

I plunged into the book without realizing that this was a series and that's exactly why I found myself confused in a lot of parts; thus had to leave it between! However, all the chapters I read were well-written; I especially loved the descriptions - so accurate, developed and well-thought! The writer did a wonderful job, wish I read the first book so that I could connect to this one better!

This is the second book in a series....that I haven't read. I was easily able to jump in without any confusion.

This book would be perfect for a younger reader, who are into crime and mystery. Kind of a more grown up Nancy Drew...family, friends are all involved.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for this review.

Like in the first one, the Australian librarian/archaeologist protagonist works on bones from a dig and realizes something’s wrong, in this case in a completely grisly way.
These stories are mostly soft and inoffensive, though I’m not sure I’d call them cozies. Again like the first one, it’s her large and genetically wide family that is the best part of this, along with her extended circle of friends. Even the cats get in on it, as I had a ton of fun imagining this scene in my head:
Recalling her clumsy attempt at larceny caused Elizabeth to relive a ghost rush of adrenaline. Unbeknownst to her, Loki had accompanied Elizabeth into Nainai’s room. As Elizabeth reached for the box on the bedside table she had trodden on Loki’s tail, causing the cat to scream. Startled by the yowl, Elizabeth had dropped the box. It landed on the cat’s paw, causing Loki to screech again.
That’s a cat that lives up to its name!
There’s some recipes at the end, since there’s a lot of food talk throughout.
This was a little better than the first. Hope the next one comes out soon; already wondering what archaeological alliteration the title will be. . .
(Aztec Adversity?)