by Doward Wilson

The newest mystery series from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries introduces us to Dana Cameron’s first of six books featuring archaeologist, Professor Emma Fielding. Site Unseen has college professor, Emma, working on a site on the coast of Maine that may contain evidence of a Colonial settlement that predates the Jamestown Colony.

Courtney Thorne-Smith plays Emma opposite James Tupper, who plays FBI Agent Tim Conner. When Emma and her college students discover the buried body of a local man in their dig site, Tim shows up. He represents the FBI department that specializes in the illegal theft and trafficking of relics and antiquities. As Emma continues to investigate the murder, her dig site is vandalized and a significant find stolen! When that doesn’t slow her down, her stepmother’s home, where the dig site is located, is torched. When the fire is determined to be arson, Emma just becomes more determined to find the murder. Shortly after she confronts her main suspect in his home, he turns up dead, and she is the main suspect.

Old friends in town are not the people she thought they were and even her department head and mentor wants her to shut the dig down permanently, but Emma is adamantly opposed to that idea. With the support of Tim and her students, Emma is determined to solve the murders and continue working her dig site.

I was not familiar with either of the stars before this movie, but I thought they and the entire cast worked well together to make this an exciting adventure to watch. The scenery and background shots were beautifully done. I found the script to be both brisk and sharp, and the movie moved right along without missing clues or suspects. I have not read this or any of the author’s other books, but I will be real soon. Archaeology makes for fascinating adventures and mysteries. This movie series is off to a great start, and I am hoping to see more of them very soon.

Dana Cameron’s professional career started as a historical archaeologist. With that training and field experience she made a natural progression to writing stories about her adventures on dig sites. This movie and book series are a must watch and read for any mystery buff!

Editor’s Note: I personally remember Courtney Thorne-Smith from her role on Melrose Place.

You can check out KRL’s reviews of other mystery movies on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel in our mystery section, and you can check out an interview with the author of Site Unseen, Dana Cameron, about the movie. You can also check out the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel website to learn more and check out their schedule for more movies.

Doward Wilson is a retired and avid cozy, paranormal, and adventure reader who can’t say no to most books. He recently moved from Independence, Missouri to Gladbrook, Iowa. Located in Central Iowa, Gladbrook (population 900+) is small town, rural farming at its best.