The Prodigal Daughter by Mette Ivie Harrison

 

First Line: Kurt and I were in marriage therapy again.

 

It is a fraught time in the Wallheim household. Linda and her husband Kurt, who is a bishop in the Mormon church, are going through marriage therapy. Too many things have happened in her life, and Linda's outlook and thinking have changed. Kurt resents the changes and wants the woman he married back.

 

In this time of tension and stress, Linda's son Joseph asks for her help. Sabrina Jensen, the babysitter for their infant daughter, has vanished, and he wants his mother to help find the young girl. As she begins to ask questions in order to form a better picture of her, she realizes that Sabrina has been under a great deal of pressure from her parents to be the perfect Mormon daughter... and that she has been the victim of a horrible crime at the hands of her own classmates, good Mormon boys all and future church leaders.

 

Linda is sickened and determined to find Sabrina regardless of the cost to herself. Her search will lead her to the homeless on the dark, frigid streets of Salt Lake City, and what she discovers will make her question whether the Mormon community's most privileged and powerful will ever be called to task for past sins.

 

~

 

The Prodigal Daughter is often a very painful book to read, wrapped as it is in the #MeToo movement and the author's own life. Has the #MeToo movement made it easier to speak out about sexual assault in religious communities? Personally, I doubt it because it's much too easy to blame outsiders for the problem. It simply couldn't happen here, not with our good little boys raised in the teachings of the church! (Notice how I did not single out the Mormon church?)

Mette Ivie Harrison's life has become shredded due to her Linda Wallheim mysteries and her unflinchingly honest portrayal of crime in Mormon communities. I'd love to say that I'm shocked by the Mormon reaction to her writing, but after having lived in Provo, Utah, for three years, I am not. Her writing is honest. She talks about the good things the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does. She talks about what she strongly believes in. But-- and here's the rub-- she also talks about where the Church often fails.

 

In The Prodigal Daughter, it's the plight of runaway and thrown-away children who either can't deal with their parents' insistence on being the perfect Mormon child or who have been thrown out because they don't live up to their parents' expectations. Harrison also paints a clear picture of Mormonism, #MeToo, and women as second-class citizens. It's not pretty, but as Linda Wallheim says, "If the truth destroys something, then it probably wasn't real to begin with."

 

As I said earlier, The Prodigal Daughter is often painful to read as Linda tries to find Sabrina and provide her with safety and acceptance. The truth can hurt. But it's as if all the things Harrison has been living through as she wrote this book squeezed some of the heart out of it. It feels rushed and doesn't quite measure up to previous books in this excellent series, but that does not make it a bad book. Not in the slightest. If you like mysteries that provide you with a strong, clear look into another world, mysteries steeped with a sense of place so palpable that you can touch it, I strongly urge you to read Mette Ivie Harrison's series in its entirety. Begin with The Bishop's Wife.

The Prodigal Daughter by Mette Ivie Harrison

eISBN: 9781641292467

Soho Press © 2021

eBook, 264 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #5 Linda Wallheim mystery

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

Not of This Fold by Mette Ivie Harrison

First Line: Every year on the Friday night before Halloween, we put on a ward Trunk or Treat in the gym for the whole neighborhood, Mormon and not.

All five of Linda Wallheim's sons have now flown the nest, and she has a lot of time on her hands. She's spent that time becoming close with one of the women in her ward, Gwen Farris, as well as worrying about the state of the country and of her openly gay youngest son who is on his mission in Boston.

Gwen is losing faith in the church, and it has a lot to do with the local "Spanish ward," which is comprised of both legal and undocumented immigrants. When her friend, Gabriela Gonzalez, is found strangled to death at a gas station, Gwen's feeling of guilt is overwhelming. Gabriela's last call was to her, and Gwen ignored it. When she decides the police aren't doing enough to find Gabriela's killer, she seeks justice herself, and Linda finds herself a reluctant partner who's mainly involved in order to keep her young friend out of harm's way.

I have a great deal of admiration for Mette Ivie Harrison. Yes, she's writing mysteries-- a genre that some literary snobs dismiss with a sniff-- but she's also testifying to the current state of her church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It's the most even-handed, honest portrait of the Church I've read, and it's put Harrison in danger of being excommunicated. In this series, main character Linda Wallheim has dealt with various aspects of her religion as she solves crimes. A continuing issue in Not of This Fold is its stance on LGBT rights, as Linda's youngest son is openly gay and on a mission for the church. But the main issue here is the one of immigrants-- how they are seen by the church and how they are treated. I've probably made this book (and the series) sound as though they do nothing but preach religion, and they do not. NOt at all. However, the Mormon Church is the backdrop, the cultural setting, and to understand it a little is to be better able to unravel the mystery. For most readers, Not of This Fold will resemble reading a mystery set in a foreign country, and more knowledge is always a good thing.

Linda Wallheim is proud of her cooking and is picky about what she eats from other cooks' tables. But first and foremost, Linda is a mother. It's the primary gene in her DNA. With all her sons out of the house, she has found herself drawn to Gwen Farris, who is the age Linda's daughter would have been if she'd lived. Linda is aware of her maternal feelings, and she certainly needs those protective instincts because Gwen has never met an impulse she didn't give into. During the course of their investigation into Gabriela's death, Gwen constantly puts their lives in danger, and these TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) moments are infuriating. (Yes, I did have a difficult time with this character. With behavior like that, if Gwen does make it through the police academy, she's not going to live long when she gets out on the street.)

The mystery in Not of This Fold is first-rate, with plenty of red herrings, and it was so good to see Linda's husband, the eternal eye-roller and naysayer, getting involved. The added bonus of learning more about another culture makes Harrison's entire series one you won't want to miss. I know I don't.

Not of This Fold by Mette Ivie Harrison

ISBN: 9781616959425

Soho Crime © 2018

Hardcover, 360 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #4 Linda Wallheim mystery

Rating: B+

Source: the publisher
 

 

Blood Atonement by Dan Waddell

First Line: The candle on the ledge guttered as it neared its end, shadows dancing on the wall.

Still on the mend from the events in The Blood Detective, DCI Grant Foster is supposed to be on light duty. That goes out the window when a single mother is murdered and her fourteen-year-old daughter abducted. When his investigation turns up strikingly similar circumstances in the disappearance of another young teenager three years previously, Foster believes there is a link, and he turns to genealogist Nigel Barnes to piece together the facts and find the connection.

The trail leads Barnes right back to 1890 when a young couple arrived in the UK. This husband and wife were running away from a terrible crime...a crime that is having horrible repercussions in the here and now.

Having enjoyed the first book in this series, I had to get my hands on this second, which also appears to be the last. Blood Atonement acknowledges the elephant in the room: the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints and the powerhouse position they have in the world of genealogy. Members may not be happy with Waddell's depiction of their religion since it touches on fundamentalist offshoots that practice polygamy as well as the actions the church has taken to erase (or at least cover up) things that have happened in their past that may not show them in a favorable light. It's this subterfuge that makes Barnes' investigation for the police so difficult.

The solution is convoluted and laced with a heavy dose of irony, but this isn't really what grabbed most of my attention. The still-healing Foster is brought face-to-face with a young boy-- eleven-year-old Gary-- whose life is in danger, and he takes it upon himself to protect him. Gary has been nothing but trouble most of his short life, but it's heart-warming to see how Foster warms up to him-- and how Gary reacts to him. Protecting Gary brings several of Foster's own shortcomings into sharp focus, and the seasoned copper knows he needs to mend his ways.

To be honest, Blood Atonement's mystery had a bit too much religion for my taste, but the characters are what made the book. I like watching how Nigel Barnes sifts through archives to find answers, and DCI Grant Foster is just the sort of homicide detective I like.
  

Blood Atonement by Dan Waddell

ISBN: 9780141025667

Penguin Books © 2009

Paperback, 344 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #2 Nigel Barnes mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Paperback Swap

Bookman Dead Style by Paige Shelton

First Line: "It's my good luck you're here."

If it's January in Star City, it's time for the annual Film Festival, and the small town in the mountains of Utah is filled with movie stars, skiers, and fans. They all seem to be visiting the shops in Bygone Alley, including The Rescued Word where Clare Henry and her grandfather put new life into old typewriters and restore beloved books.

One of the visitors to the Henrys' shop is the wildly popular star, Matt Bane, and when Clare sees him being led out of the Fountain Hotel in handcuffs mere hours after his visit, she can't believe what she's seeing-- and hearing. Bane is accused of killing his sister, but Clare doesn't believe a word of it. Before you can shout "Action!" she's off to bring the real killer to justice.

Paige Shelton's "Star City" setting in the mountains of Utah sparkles in this second book of her Dangerous Type mystery series. Readers get to see the town filled with skiers intent on conquering the slopes and movie stars hoping that their latest films do well in the festival. Clare Henry isn't the type to become starstruck, which makes her favorable reaction to superhero star Matt Bane even more profound. There's something not-quite-right about how new police chief (and Clare's ex-boyfriend) Creighton is handling the arrest and that gives Clare even more incentive to conduct her own investigation.

Bookman Dead Style has the feel of a book that's filled with insider information about its setting, which is a fictionalized version of Park City. Super secret parties thrown by a Hollywood megastar. Allusions to a world-famous author who rents an unusual space where she goes when she needs peace and quiet to write. Getting tickets to the various films being shown. In addition, there's always something new to learn about business facets of The Rescued Word. This time, it's ribbon tins-- the packaging typewriter ribbons came in back in the day. The tins figure in a separate crime, and now that I've seen them I understand why people would want to collect them.

Shelton brings in a character who's a "sister wife"-- a member of a polygamous family-- and since the character had little to do with the plot, I have to wonder if she'll figure in a future book in the series. I'll just have to wait and see, albeit a bit impatiently because I'm certainly enjoying this series!
  

Bookman Dead Style by Paige Shelton

ISBN: 9780425277263

Berkley Prime Crime © 2017

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Dangerous Type mystery

Rating: B+

Source: the author  


 

For Time and All Eternities by Mette Ivie Harrison

First Line: My fourth son, Kenneth, pulled in the driveway as I was cleaning up the breakfast dishes.

Marriage to the daughter of a polygamous family is something that Mormon bishop's wife Linda Wallheim never envisaged for her son Kenneth. Polygamy is a practice Linda abhors, feeling that it dehumanizes women and makes children vulnerable to unhealthy family structures. But when family patriarch Stephen Carter invites Linda and her husband for a visit, they accept. Reluctantly. 

With his five wives and twenty-two children, Stephen is convinced that his way of life is righteous, but Linda cannot get over the feeling that something is deeply wrong-- even though she has no concrete proof. When one of the family members is found murdered, Linda vows to stay at the compound as a sort of liaison between the unworldly wives and children and the police who must investigate the crime. It's a situation in which she does good for others at great personal cost to herself. 

Mette Ivie Harrison continues her engaging series in this third book to feature Linda Wallheim, a caring and compassionate Mormon bishop's wife who would nurture the world if given half the chance. In For Time and All Eternities, she explores not only polygamy but the November 2015 exclusion policy in which the Mormon Church took an unforgiving stance against the LGBT community within its ranks. Linda, her husband, and sons show a modern Mormon family facing challenges that we all must face-- except for Linda's penchant for solving murders. While Linda investigates, she sheds light on her faith, helping non-Mormons understand what her religion is all about. Being acquainted with the Mormon lifestyle has given me a great appreciation of Harrison's books, although I am certain that the devout have given her more grief than she ever thought possible. It's what the devout of all faiths do.

Although the mystery is good in For Time and All Eternities, I thought it easily solved just by observing human behavior. Fan though I am of this series, I found this book to be too personal, that it dwelt too much on church matters. It's as though Harrison couldn't maintain a necessary degree of objectivity and it weakens the story she tells. There's no doubt about it. Mette Ivie Harrison is a very talented writer. She's also very brave for writing these books. I look forward to seeing what the future holds in store for her.
   

For Time and All Eternities by Mette Ivie Harrison

ISBN: 9781616956660

Soho Crime © 2017

Hardcover, 336 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #3 Linda Wallheim mystery

Rating: C+

Source: the publisher

To Helvetica and Back by Paige Shelton

First Line: "The trouble is with the 'L.'"

Star City, Utah is known for its skiing, but nestled in a side street in town is a wonderful little shop called The Rescued Word where Chester Henry and his adult granddaughter Clare repair old typewriters and restore old books.

When a stranger comes into the shop demanding Clare turn over an old Underwood typewriter that she's repairing for a customer, Clare has to call the police to get him out of the building. The next time she sees the man, he's lying dead in the alley behind the shop. Why in the world would an old typewriter be worth killing for?

Paige Shelton comes out of the starting blocks on fire with this first book in a new series. Her setting of Star City (a thinly disguised Park City) is perfect: filled with the fascinating sort of history so many old mining towns have, as well as skiing, lots of tourists, quirky residents, and a strong cast of characters.

The mystery is a good one, based on local history, and Shelton had me eating out of the palm of her hand in the sections dealing with rare books. Everything about The Rescued Word fascinated me: the old building it's housed in, the fact that it's turned into a family business with Clare's young niece also working there, how the Henrys have adapted their business with the passing years-- even how Baskerville the ill-tempered cat's favorite napping spots follow the path of the sun from one side of the store to the other.

All of these things provide a strong foundation, but the cast of characters make the entire book shine. Clare is just the right blend of smart, feisty, and capable. Her grandfather Chester is the soul of the business, having built his own Gutenberg press that gave his store its start. Chester loves his family, but he's also got a private life he's not quite ready to share, and that's driving Clare crazy. A handsome geologist named Seth who's new to the area, and Clare's best friend Jodie (who happens to be a local police officer... always a plus for an amateur sleuth) round out the main characters of what's sure to become a favorite new series of mine-- and yours, too.  Bring on book two!
 

To Helvetica and Back by Paige Shelton

ISBN: 9780425277256
Berkley Prime Crime © 2016
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Dangerous Type mystery
Rating: A
Source: the author 

His Right Hand by Mette Ivie Harrison

First Line: One Friday night in May, in lieu of our regular couple's date, my husband, Kurt, and I were going to the annual bishopric dinner.

It's difficult enough keeping an elaborately staged death on church property quiet, but what happens when people in Draper, Utah, learn that the dead man was not only Bishop Wallheim's right-hand man, he wasn't even a man but a biological female?

The bishop's wife, Linda Wallheim, is concerned about the ward, but she's even more concerned about Carl Ashby's grieving family. To complicate matters, her husband seems more affected by Carl's gender than his death. In the Mormon faith, gender is considered part of a person's soul, and as the days pass, Linda sees Church officials more concerned with hushing up the story of Carl's transgenderism than they are with solving his murder. She soon realizes that police are going to need an ally on the inside if they are going to have any sort of chance to find Carl's killer, and she's the only one who can help. She's got to work fast. Rumors are already beginning to spread, and they're threatening to tear her community apart.

With the Mormon Church's recent hardline decision on the LGBT community within its ranks, His Right Hand couldn't possibly be more timely. In this second book to feature Linda Wallheim, there are many secrets to be uncovered, and some of these secrets belong to Linda and her own family. The more about Carl Ashby that's uncovered, the clearer the killer's identity becomes, but proving it is tough because Church officials have closed ranks against the police. This is a maneuver that has been perfected over almost two centuries because of the intense persecution Mormons faced in the nineteenth century. 

Linda seems more sure of herself in this second book in the series. She still questions her place in life now that her last child is off to university and out of the house, but she's calmer, and it's got a lot to do with the friendship she's formed with a neighbor. It was fascinating for me to watch Linda investigate this extremely volatile case, especially with regard to her uneasy relationship with the homicide detective in charge.

One of the strengths of this book (and the series) is the portrait of Mormonism that Mette Ivie Harrison paints for us. It is a heartfelt portrait by an artist who has done much soul-searching. It is a balanced portrait that is as honest as the artist can make it, showing both the good and the bad in this religion that most people know nothing about. 

Many readers like me enjoy reading mysteries set in other countries in order to learn about different cultures. Often we forget to pay attention to the different cultures that are on our own doorstep. I find Harrison's Linda Wallheim books to be good mysteries with strong characters. That they are also meditative and enlightening is icing on the cake.  
 

His Right Hand by Mette Ivie Harrison

ISBN: 9781616956103

Soho Crime © 2015

Hardcover, 352 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #2 Linda Wallheim mystery

Rating: A-

Source: the publisher 


 

The Bishop's Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison

First Line: Mormon bishop's wife isn't an official calling.

Linda Wallheim is at a crossroads. For most of her life, she's been a caregiver: a wife, a mother to four boys, and a hardworking member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Now that her youngest son is about to leave the nest, she feels the need to become involved in something that's more for her own well-being than for anyone else's. 

As a bishop's wife and with her husband's blessing, Linda often plays a part in the lives of ward members who are experiencing problems of some sort, and now she finds herself in the role of amateur detective. A man has come to her husband to say that his wife has disappeared, taking nothing with her-- not even her very young daughter. Linda knows the missing woman and just can't believe that she'd leave her little girl behind. Certain that something's happened to her, Linda begins to investigate. Another woman whom Linda has admired from afar has a dying husband, and as Linda is drawn into this situation, she finds that she has questions about what happened to the dying man's first wife. A young couple is experiencing fertility problems, and as Linda learns more, she senses more to the problem than malfunctioning body parts. Soon she's so immersed in  the lives of these people that she draws the concern and disapproval of her husband, but she can't stop. Her conscience will not allow her to.

The Bishop's Wife is more a nuanced character study of Linda Wallheim than it is a mystery, although finding out what's happened to these characters is absorbing. As a detective, Linda is as amateur as they come. With each new piece of information she gleans, she changes her mind about what happened and who's responsible. This habit keeps readers on their toes (if not a bit exasperated). Having picked up the author's clues along the way, I was not surprised by the story's resolution, but I found Linda Watching to be a fascinating new hobby.

Perhaps the greatest strength of this book is the insight Harrison gives readers into the Mormon faith. To many, Mormonism will seem like entering into a foreign country. In this I had the inside track. I'm not a Mormon, but I lived in Utah and attended Brigham Young University. For me, The Bishop's Wife was familiar territory, and what I liked about Harrison's weaving of faith into this storyline is that she was fair and even-handed. She shares both the good and the bad about this religion, and she does it in the best way possible: by the words and actions of her characters. 

Do not avoid reading this book because you fear being bogged down by theological rambling. You won't be. Instead you'll be drawn into a story about a very interesting woman whose conscience will not let her stand idly by. Like so many other characters in crime fiction, Linda will not rest until she's found the truth.
 

The Bishop's Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison

eISBN: 9781616954789 

Soho Press © 2014

eBook, 352 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Linda Wallheim msytery

Rating: B+

Source: NetGalley

The Ghost Rock Cafe by Chinle Miller

First Line: Bud Shumway pushed his dark brown Oakley sunglasses up onto the bridge of his nose, where, like fresh tar running down a sloped roof, they slowly began their journey back down to the end of his nose again.

Bud Shumway's the sheriff of Emery County in south-central Utah, an area that's beautiful, remote, and sparsely populated. Wilma Jean is Bud's wife, but they see each other so seldom that Bud "wondered if he were really married or if she wasn't just a figment of his imagination, albeit a pretty one." Bud would like to spend more time with Wilma Jean, but that isn't in the cards. Someone keeps breaking into the Ghost Rock Cafe, and now an old hermit's body has been found not far away from there. On the surface, it looks like a cougar kill, and rumor has it that Bigfoot was spotted in the area, but this isn't Bud's first rodeo. The old hermit was killed by a man, not a big cat. All he has to do is start asking questions among the locals and the geology students and professors studying in the area to find out which one of them is a killer.

The main reason I picked up this book to read was because of the setting. I lived in Utah in the mid-1970s, and my weekend ghost town explorations led me through this area many times. Author Chinle Miller brought back some very good memories with her description of this part of the San Rafael Swell and towns like Price, Helper, and Green River. I even picked up some local history as I rode shotgun with Bud on his many trips from one spot to the next. (He should get paid by the mile.)

But as good as a setting can be, I'm not going to keep reading if the story or the characters are bad. Fortunately the mystery has as many twists and turns as some of the trails Bud has to drive, and the characters are quite engaging. Bud knows how to keep his sense of humor around the local government penny pinchers, and most especially with his new deputy, Howie, who could try the patience of Mother Teresa. Bud's got a sharp eye for detail, too.

Yes indeed, Chinle Miller's skill with her setting, story, and characters exceeded my expectations, and I know I'll be riding shotgun with Bud again in the future. If you like an intriguing mystery that's set out in the wide open spaces and filled with colorful characters, you should ride along, too.

The Ghost Rock Cafe by Chinle Miller

ISBN: 9780965596192

Yellow Cat Publishing © 2011

eBook, 245 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Bud Shumway mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased as an eBook from Amazon.

The Serpents Trail by Sue Henry

First Line: A partially open door always has a question in it.

When she learns that her dear friend Sarah Nunamaker doesn't have long to live and wants to see her, 63-year-old Maxine ("Maxie") McNabb packs her Winnebago and-- with her miniature dachshund Stretch riding shotgun-- hits the road. It's a long journey from Alaska to Grand Junction, Colorado, and when Maxie arrives, Sarah only has time for a brief cryptic message before she dies.

Maxie has no time to grieve; however, she's been appointed executor of Sarah's will. Then Sarah's house is broken into. Someone is searching for something, and Maxie's hoping she has the edge in finding it. Her friend had a penchant for secret hiding places, and Maxie just might be able to find the elusive object someone is willing to kill for.

I was in the mood for a soft-edged, intriguing mystery filled with excellent characters, and that's exactly what I found in The Serpents Trail. Already familiar with Sue Henry's Jessie Arnold mysteries set in Alaska, I wanted to see what a wandering sixtysomething widow with a small dog and an RV could do.

Maxie McNabb is in the minority in the crime fiction community of characters. She's in her sixties. She's widowed after two happy and fulfilling marriages and has no inclination to go that route again. Her friends and her dog Stretch supply all the companionship she needs. She's also got itchy feet and loves to travel all over the continent in her Winnebago. I rapidly fell in love with her independent spirit and level-headedness. Another aspect of her character that I deeply appreciated was that she possesses no desire to be either a victim or a hero. She's smart; she knows her capabilities; and she gets help when she needs it. We need more characters like Maxie McNabb in crime fiction.

In many ways, the mystery is a treat, with Sarah's habit of creating secret hiding places all over her house and having a will that creates altogether too much interest amongst those who may inherit. People aren't always who they seem either, and that will and those suspicious characters are the deciding factors in Maxie's little trip to Salt Lake City to do a little sleuthing in Sarah's family tree. The only jarring note in the entire book was the fact that the ending wasn't quite convincing-- but that doesn't bother me much. I've already ordered other books in this Maxie and Stretch series!

The Serpents Trail by Sue Henry

ISBN: 0451211227

New American Library © 2004

Hardcover, 288 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Maxie & Stretch mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Paperback Swap

Picture of Lies by C.C. Harrison

First Line: This was supposed to have been a make-up vacation.

Since investigative journalist Keegan Thomas's little daughter Daisy was kidnapped, she's been trying to bury herself in work to avoid thinking about the nightmare her life has become. Now she's facing burnout.

Keegan decides to take some time off to go to Monument Valley to put some names to the faces in an old photograph that was found in her grandfather's belongings after his death. She's surprised when most of the Navajo refuse to speak to her, but she eventually learns that one of the children in the photograph was kidnapped by missionaries and taken to a boarding school. In trying to find out what happened to the child, Keegan will not only learn shocking truths about her family that stretch back two generations, she will be putting her life in danger.

This is one of the few times a book cover has drawn me to a particular book, and when I learned that Picture of Lies is a mystery and does indeed take place in Monument Valley, I had to read it.

I love Monument Valley, and I'm happy to say that Harrison does a good job of giving readers a feel for the vast distances and incredible beauty of the area. I also liked her portrayal of the Navajo characters in the book. I had mixed reactions to Keegan and her archaeologist love interest, Dante, however.

Dante is a handsome, intelligent, caring hunk with a deep dark secret in his past. We get to see the reason why he's hiding out in one scene, but I felt that more about this could have been added throughout the story to make him an even stronger character. The relationship between Dante and Keegan also gathers speed and seriousness a bit too quickly in comparison to how they behaved toward each other in the first sections of the book.

I found Keegan to be a mixture of girl-next-door, journalistic pit bull, and incredible naivete. When she decides to drive off across the desert not knowing where she's going (and not telling anyone what her plans were), equipped with improper clothing, very little water, and a cell phone that didn't work in the area, I just shook my head and rolled my eyes. If it sounds like I've been out in the middle of nowhere, I have, and her lack of common sense greatly disappointed me.

This isn't the only time she experiences the unforgiving nature of this place, and although I may bemoan her lack of survival smarts, these scenes do give readers a real sense of what it's like out there. When Keegan travels with one of the Navajo, the Navajo knows all the rutted tracks to the places they're traveling to; very little driving is done on paved roads. In fact, paved roads are few and far between, and when Keegan mentions leaving Kayenta and turning off on the "interstate" when heading to Window Rock, don't believe her. There are no interstates up there.

By book's end, two important plot threads are left untied, which makes me wonder about future Keegan Thomas books. With the setting, the customs of the Navajo, and a very intriguing mystery in Picture of Lies, I would be willing to read further... as long as Keegan packs a hat and plenty of water.

Picture of Lies by C. C. Harrison

ISBN:  9781432827755

Five Star Publishing © 2011

eBook, 326 pages

Thriller

Rating: B-

Source: Purchased and downloaded from Amazon.

Endangered by Pamela Beason

First Line: It was almost time.

Wildlife biologist and freelance writer Summer Westin is on assignment in southern Utah for the Save the Wilderness Fund. As she's about to hike out to her camp, she hears a mother calling for her child and has a little boy run into her, but before she can do anything, the little boy runs toward a man on the other side of the trees. Assuming the man is the child's father, she waves, the man waves back, and Summer heads out for her camp.

She arrives in time to take once-in-a-lifetime photos of a female cougar and her cub walking out across Rainbow Bridge. Having all the latest portable technology, she uploads her photos and her article to SWF and calls it a night. Returning to town the next day, she's stunned when she learns that the little boy has gone missing and is presumed to be the victim of a cougar attack. The news media has swarmed over the story and is inciting every nut with a gun to show up and blast holes in the killer cougars.

Knowing the cougars had nothing to do with it, Summer is in a race with the clock before the government sends in trained shooters to track down the big cats. Getting in her way at every turn is FBI agent Chase Perez, and Perez hopes the cougars are at fault-- because the alternative could be a whole lot worse.

As soon as Summer took those photos of the cougars at Rainbow Bridge, I had a huge smile on my face. For years, I've loved Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series, not only for Anna herself, but for the National Park settings and the wildlife. Now here is Summer Westin, a woman who carries a camera instead of a gun, and she likes to get out in the middle of nowhere to observe wildlife.  I'm in heaven!

Beason also provides romantic interest in FBI agent Chase Perez. Normally I prefer my crime fiction sans romance, but Beason hits just the right note with hers, and the sparks between Summer and Chase add to the story rather than detract from it.

This is pretty much a two-person show, but two secondary characters-- both rangers in the park-- perform admirably and show just how dangerous it can be to be a solitary ranger facing a motley assortment of park visitors. And if you like excitement along with wilderness and wildlife, you're going to love the tour of caves in a rainstorm that the author supplies. I couldn't read fast enough!

Are you looking for another writer who can fill your craving for adventure, wilderness, wildlife, and strong characters? Add Pamela Beason to your list. The second book in this series, Bear Bait, is already in my sights.

Endangered by Pamela Beason

ISBN: 978042524498 
Berkley Prime Crime © 2011
Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages

Environmental Mystery, #1 Summer Westin
Rating: A+
Source: Paperback Swap

On Deadly Ground by Michael Norman

Title: On Deadly Ground
Author: Michael Norman
ISBN: 9781590587133
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2010
Paperback, 278 pages
Genre: Police Procedural, #1 J.D. Books mystery
Rating: B
Source: Purchased as an eBook from Barnes and Noble

First Line: Environmental activist David Greenbriar climbed steadily higher onto the Kaiparowits Plateau, unaware that this would be his last sojourn into Utah's southern wilderness.

Kanab, Utah is divided by one topic: land management. On one side are those who want federal lands to be opened for ranching, recreation, and the creation of jobs (mining, etc.). On the other side are those who want these delicate ecosystems closely monitored and protected.

Recently arrived from Denver where he was a homicide detective, J.D. Books has returned to his Kanab roots as the first Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement Ranger in the area. When environmentalist David Greenbriar is found dead, Kane County Sheriff Charley Sutter asks for help from Books. Without too much digging, Books discovers that Greenbriar's wife has been having an affair with Lance Clayburn, and physical evidence links Clayburn to the killing. Everyone else is ready to stamp PAID on the case, but Books keeps digging. When he turns up information that leads to a Las Vegas business conglomerate with ties to organized crime, he knows that the investigation is anything but over.

Author Michael Norman has a strong background in law enforcement and criminal justice, and it certainly shows in On Deadly Ground. Books is a tireless investigator, and the Bureau of Land Management is fortunate to have someone with his expertise. Although the book skates perilously close to the cliched "blind" local police, Norman serves up a welcome surprise.

In fact, that wasn't the only welcome surprise in this book. The killer is one scary guy that actually made me nervous. In addition, the cast of characters is an interesting bunch, and-- along with Books himself-- I'm looking forward to getting to know them better as the series progresses. I'm also looking forward to learning more about southern Utah. It's an area that's beautiful and remote, and I'm certain it's filled with enough investigations to keep J.D. Books occupied (and readers entertained) for a good long time to come.

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