Birthright / Nora Roberts / 465 pages / 5 Gold Rings December Challenge

Callie Dunbrook is professionally pleased to participate in the dig in the small town of Woodboro.  A new community had been planned but the discovery of 5000 year old bones halts preparatory construction while the team investigates the find.  Personally, Callie is not so pleased.  She must once again work with her exasperating ex-husband, Jake, a noted anthropologist.  A woman shows up on site and claims that she is Callie's real mother; that Callie was, in fact, abducted when she was three months old.  Callie begins a heart-rending, soul-searching investigation into the truth of this allegation.  This thriller has well-developed characters, inspiring empathy and understanding, and a determination to discover the past.