Excavations

February 1, 2023

Accomplished excavator Elise. Art historian Kara, about to break off her engagement. Floundering undergrad Patty. And Z, who can't seem to keep a boyfriend or a job. They're all together at an archaeological dig in Greece, and against the odds, they all become friends. Fittingly, the excavation revolves around the question (actually debated by scholars) whether sports were invented by women. A debut with a 50,000-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2023
Zara (or Z, as she's sometimes called) is floundering, having just been broken up with for the umpteenth time. When she gets an email from a former flame inviting her to join him on an archaeological dig in Greece, sponsored by her alma mater, Z jumps at the chance to push off important decision making for the summer, not realizing how life changing this trip will be. While on the dig she discovers an artifact that could upend everything known about women in sports history; when Z shares this find with frenemy Kara and unofficial mentor Elise, the women must decide if they're going to take down the archaeological patriarchy together or let the discovery tear them apart. Witty and acerbic, Myers' debut is humorous and sharply written, as if Aubrey Plaza's April Ludgate from Parks and Recreation decided to write a sun-drenched novel about feminism, friendship, and archaeology.

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May 1, 2023

DEBUT Myers's first novel offers a promising storyline that is marred by uneven pacing and forced witticisms. Emotions run high at a Greek archaeological site, run by the chauvinistic and self-aggrandizing Dr. Charles Barton, where Elise, Kara, and Z reluctantly find themselves working together again after six long years. Lead excavator Elise is driven to find evidence based on a rumor that women may have also participated in ancient pre-Olympic games, while Patty, a first-year undergraduate, is manipulated by Dr. Barton to spy on Elise. Elise's nemesis, Kara, is the dig's extremely ambitious preservation director who seeks to take over the project and propel her career higher. Commitment-phobic Z, invited by her ex-boyfriend Gary to join the crew, is shocked to hear that he is engaged to Kara. The disappearance of artifacts as well as other strange events around the site force the women to resolve their personal issues and work together to uncover the truth. VERDICT Myers, who studied archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania, realistically portrays working on an archaeological dig and vividly describes the beautiful countryside, calling to mind Elly Griffiths's Ruth Galloway series.--Joy Gunn

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Starred review from May 1, 2023
Myers' lively comic novel focuses on the raw passions of four women, not for men or each other--well, maybe those too--but mostly for the physical experience of archaeology, the grueling grunt work of a hot summer dig. The dig in question takes place in Greece under the auspices of autocratic Dr. Charles Barton, from an unnamed university. Zara, Kara, Elise, and Patty arrive with different skills and expectations. Patty, a clueless undergraduate intern who knows nothing about archaeology, has become Barton's spy and general whipping girl. Zara had a wonderful experience in Greece as an undergrad on the dig six years ago until she broke up with her grad student boyfriend, Gary, now a committed archaeologist. She's drifted through various botched jobs and boyfriends ever since. Aware that Gary will be there, she joins this year's dig on a desperate whim. But Gary is engaged to ambitious, high-strung perfectionist Kara, who was also on Zara's first dig and now runs the site lab; she's worried that her goal of a job at Sotheby's could be derailed if she doesn't find two missing discuses for which she's responsible. Eccentric, independent 44-year-old Elise lacks academic credentials but is highly respected as an adept professional excavator. She and Kara blame each other for a loss suffered several years earlier, a small but valuable statue Elise found and Kara restored before it was supposedly destroyed by an earthquake. Is there a connection between the discuses and the statue? Maybe. Myers gives the angst-ridden, imperfect women entertainingly distinct voices and personalities. The men are fun too, both the appealing ones and the creeps. (And then there's the voice of the buried.) Desires collide and relationships realign rapidly as the dig begins to go awry. Myers is adept at academic satire with a feminist bent and at unsentimental romance, but she really shines at bringing to life a working excavation: the smells, the grime, the exhaustion. And the exhilaration. Fresh, funny, intelligent, and deeply satisfying.

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