In The Company of Wolves

A Native American bounty hunter tests his paranormal spy team’s worth in a hunt for his long-lost sister in Larranaga’s (The Dead Farmer’s Almanac, 2000, etc.) second series installment.

Quin Lighthorn is back with the FBI, training with three other people who have sixth senses. The hope is that the team will be able to track and find terrorists by simply using their minds. However, the rigorous training at a Minnesota mental institution is taking a toll on some trainees, leaving them suicidal or getting them locked up. The agent leading the training, Kruse, has worked with Lighthorn in the past and believes that he’s stronger than the rest of the team. Kruse decides to give them a real assignment: finding Lighthorn’s sister, Autumn, who was kidnapped 12 years ago when their parents were murdered. Lighthorn, his teammates, his friends Hawk and Slim Jim, Agent Lopez from Arizona, and an eager reporter all team up for the mission. A botched FBI investigation, human trafficking, and drug cartels are soon in the mix. Although there is a handful of characters from the last tale, Larranaga doesn’t waste time setting up the next chapter in Lighthorn’s adventurous life, which is full of hallucinations and spirits that lead him on his path. The fast-paced narration (“Quin was enjoying the sight of Gino, chained to the stall, braced for more verbal ass-whipping from his mother”) and character interactions make for an enjoyable page-turner. A Native American history lesson also creates an interesting subplot, recounting the massacre at Wounded Knee, the legend of Crazy Horse, and many other intriguing stories of tribes from Minnesota to Arizona. Once again, the author leaves plenty of plotlines open-ended, ushering in a third book in the series. 

A simple but engaging mystery with a recurring theme of uniting people for a common goal.