About this item
New York Times bestselling author Anne Hillerman brings together modern mystery, Navajo traditions, and the evocative landscape of the desert Southwest in this intriguing entry in the Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito series.When Tribal Police Officer Bernadette Manuelito arrives to speak at an outdoor character-building program for at-risk teens, she discovers chaos. Annie, a young participant on a solo experience due back hours before, has just returned and is traumatized. Gently questioning the girl, Bernie learns that Annie stumbled upon a human skeleton on her trek. While everyone is relieved that Annie is back, they're concerned about a beloved instructor who went out into the wilds of the rugged lava wilderness bordering Ramah Navajo Reservation to find the missing girl. The instructor vanished somewhere in the volcanic landscape known as El Malpais. In Navajo lore, the lava caves and tubes are believed to be the solidified blood of a terrible monster killed by superhuman twin warriors.Solving the twin mysteries will expose Bernie to the chilling face of human evil. The instructor's disappearance mirrors a long-ago search that may be connected to a case in which the legendary Joe Leaphorn played a crucial role. But before Bernie can find the truth, an unexpected blizzard, a suspicious accidental drowning, and the arrival of a new FBI agent complicate the investigation.While Bernie searches for answers in her case, her husband, Sergeant Jim Chee juggles trouble closer to home. A vengeful man he sent to prison for domestic violence is back - and involved with Bernie's sister Darleen. Their relationship creates a dilemma that puts Chee in uncomfortable emotional territory that challenges him as family man, a police officer, and as a one-time medicine man in training.Anne Hillerman takes us deep into the heart of the deserts, mountains, and forests of New Mexico and once again explores the lore and rituals of Navajo culture in this gripping entry in her atmospheric crime series.
About the Author
New York Times best selling author Anne Hillerman continues the mystery series her father Tony Hillerman created beginning in 1970. Anne's debut novel, "Spider Woman's Daughter," follows the further adventures of the characters Tony Hillerman made famous: Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn and adds Bernadette Manuelito as a major player. The book received the Spur Award from Western Writers of America for Best First Novel.Her second, "Rock with Wings," received the New Mexico Book Awards' Founders' Award. The third novel in the reinvigorated series, "Song of the Lion," was a finalist for New Mexico's Zia Award. In that story, Bernie and Chee go the Grand Canyon and Tuba City, Arizona to solve a crime that begins with a deadly explosion. Next came "Cave of Bones" which took the reader to the mysterious and majestic lava landscape of El Malpais for a story that concerns a missing person, possible misuse of tribal funds, and combative mothers-in-law. The fifth novel in the series "The Tale Teller," released in April, 2019, brings legendary Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn back as a full-fledged crime solver. Anne also is the author of "Tony Hillerman's Landscape: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn" with husband/photographer Don Strel. In collaboration with St. Martin's Press she established The Tony Hillerman Prize for best first mystery novel set in the Southwest.Anne belongs to many writers' organizations and served on the board of Western Writers of America. In 2019, she was deeply honored to receive the Frank Waters Award for literary excellence. She gave the annual Rudolfo and Patricia Anaya Lecture on the Literature of the Southwest at the University of New Mexico. She is a frequent presenter at the Tucson Festival of the Book, Malice Domestic and Bouchercon and has represented New Mexico at the National Book Festival hosted by the Library of Congress. She lives and works in Santa Fe with trips to the Navajo Nation.
