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Q: There are mysteries that feature food, others forensics, still others pets, priests and poets. Why choose archaeology?
A: I write archaeological mysteries because archaeology is what I know and what I love. What I like about the archaeological theme is that the past brings an additional element to the plot. It creates different levels to the story -- allowing present and past to play off one another. In the present Lara is a very contemporary woman in terms of her job and her relationships. The past involves not only the real events of history but also the mythology of past eras.

In a sense, the past becomes part of the mystery. In The Xibalba Murders, for example, Lara has to learn a great deal about the Maya in order to discover the causes behind the death of a young man and the disappearance of an old friend, a Maya scholar. The events may seem unrelated. It is Maya history, both literally and in terms of its impact on the present, that, in a sense, links them. Meanwhile, the action is framed by the Tzolkin, the ancient Maya Count of Days. The Maya concept of time involves the association of different meanings or characteristics with each day of the week.

We do the same, of course, although we've long since forgotten it. Our Thursday, for example, is named for Thor, the Germanic god of thunder who protected men from the dark forces of chaos. There was probably a time when the day associated with Thor was thought to have some of his characteristics. In The Xibalba Murders the unraveling of the plot parallels the kind of days there would be in the Maya calendar.

Q: In The Maltese Goddess, Lara's latest adventure, which will be in bookstores in March, Lara travels to Malta to help furnish the home of a Maltese-born, award-winning architect. The architect, Martin Galea, is noted not only for his talent at design but for his womanizing. When Galea turns up dead in an antique chest, some of Lara's friends, Galea's wife included, are implicated, and Lara is determined to find the real murderer. But why choose Malta? What is it about Malta that made it the right setting for the crime?
A: Malta has an extraordinary history for such a small island, from prehistoric times right up to the present. It has -- and you can still see them -- the world's oldest free-standing stone structures, older than the Great Pyramid, older than Stonehenge.

Many archaeologists believe that these huge megalithic stone temples were devoted to the worship of the Great Goddess over a period of several centuries. A lot of research has been done relatively recently on the subject of Goddess worship in the Mediterranean, and it appears to have been a long and honorable tradition. In fact, worship of the Great Goddess may go back as far as 25,000 years.

In more recent times, the Sumerians had their Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, who later became Ishtar and Astarte. Egypt had Isis, and so on. These goddesses were very powerful deities, and earthly kings of the time received their temporal power through a sacred marriage to the goddess.

This tradition continued throughout the Mediterranean world for many centuries until Greek and Roman times when other gods, primarily male, became dominant. Much of Greek mythology, the tales of Greek heroes and the gods of Mt. Olympus, may well refer to actual events that have to do with the subjugation of centers of goddess worship. The story of the Greek hero Theseus, for example, who slays the Minotaur on Crete and takes Ariadne with him, later abandoning her on the island of Naxos, may well refer to a Greek invasion of Crete which was known as a powerful center of worship of the Goddess. Ariadne may have been a Cretan earth goddess.

I find the history and mythology of this period fascinating, and hope others will as well. What really struck me is how ancient mythology illuminates our modern life. In The Maltese Goddess, people's relationships, but particularly those between men and women, and the power struggles that surround them, provide much of the motivation of the characters.

In this way, the gods and goddesses of the Mediterranean provide a framework for the plot.

Q: The settings in your books are incredibly vivid. What role does setting play in mysteries?
A: I think setting is very important in a mystery. In the same sense that history becomes part of the plot, so too does the setting.

In The Maltese Goddess, for example, Lara goes to Malta for the first time, and is totally unfamiliar with her surroundings -- what I think in Hollywood they call the fish out of water scenario. In that way she is like most of us when we travel to new places.

In terms of her investigations, she can see things or people can tell her things that only make sense to her much later, when she begins to understand the culture a little better. So you have many different plot elements: the modern day mystery, the unknown setting, and the historical and mythological undercurrents. That's what's so terrific about the mystery genre. There is so much scope within the convention to explore so many different and, I think, interesting areas.

Q: Exploring different places, past and present, seems to involve a great deal of research?
A: To a certain extent I think I've been researching these books all my life, although I didn't know it. I studied physical and cultural anthropology for awhile in my university days, and while I decided it wasn't the career for me, it's remained an interest, one might say an obsession, ever since.

I've continued my studies on a more informal basis: I take courses on ancient cultures, their languages and mythologies, all the time. (I am one of those odd people who actually think studying Egyptian hieroglyphics in their spare time is fun!)

As well, the world's archaeological sites have provided the focus for most of my travel since I left school and I'm fortunate now to work with archaeologists, museologists and conservators in my job. I work for a branch of the Ontario government which is responsible for licensing all the archaeology done within the jurisdiction and providing technical advice and services to museums and other heritage organizations.

But each book requires its special set of research. I may think I know a fair amount about a certain era in history, but I realize how little I really know when I sit down to write a novel like this.

So, in addition to reading everything I can get my hands on, I consult with experts in that particular area-archaeologists, museologists, conservators, doctors, specialists in their fields-all of whom I've found to be very generous about explaining what they know. I also only write about places I've been and spent some time -- for example, the first time I was in Malta, long before I'd started writing crime novels, I rented a place and stayed there for two months. And now, once I have completed a manuscript, I go back to make sure I have the setting right. People tell me they used The Xibalba Murders as a bit of a tourist guide to the Yucatan this year and so I want to make sure I have that part of it as well as the history right."

Q: So where will Lara go next?
A: Peru. The northern coastal desert of Peru. The third book, which I'm just finishing up now, is about the Moche, a culture that flourished way before the Inca, and one that we've only learned about relatively recently.

And what a fabulous civilization it was! The tombs that are being found now rival King Tut's tomb, I think, in terms of the treasures and the craftsmanship, and the knowledge gained from them in just the last few years has been extraordinary. I was most fortunate this past summer to visit a number of archaeological sites, and to have them explained to me by noted experts in the field. The story is set at a Moche dig site -- but I won't tell you how and why Lara finds herself there."

Q: And after that?
A: I'm not sure. Perhaps Ireland and the Celts. Almost any place in the world you can name has a fascinating history, and I want to explore as many of them as possible.