STANDING DEAD

Brutal acts and baffling mysteries threaten the peace of an idyllic mountain community.

Colorado deputy sheriff Mattie Wray and her sister, Julia, have ventured south to the Mexican village of Pueblo del Sol to visit their mother, Ramona. Given Mattie’s pending wedding to veterinarian Cole Walker, this should be a celebratory occasion, but it turns tense when Ramona’s friends greet her suspiciously and explain that their mother is missing along with her husband, Juan Martinez. Could the unsolved murder of Mattie’s felonious father decades ago be connected to Ramona’s disappearance? When Mattie gets back on the job, a missing person report sends her, with K-9 sidekick Robo and her friend Stella LoSasso, a detective in the local sheriff’s office, into the Colorado pine forest, where they make a horrifying discovery: Juan’s corpse, roped to a tree. Someone has apparently followed Mattie north from Mexico with vengeance on their mind. On the heels of this bizarre crime, Cole discovers another: the apparent poisoning of several horses. The eighth entry in Mizushima’s series is distinctive as ever in its authentic Western flavor and its affection for animals. Robo is an integral part of an investigative team, ferreting out valuable evidence, and the poignant equine mystery is a major plot thread. After Mattie receives a creepy letter from someone identifying themselves as “a friend of your father’s” that confirms a connection to Ramona’s disappearance, more twists and dangers await. Though Mizushima front-loads her tale with multiple backstories, an abundance of supporting characters, and a handful of mysteries, her lucid prose and caring cast should again captivate readers, new and old, and keep them engaged in the complex mystery.

Intrepid, compassionate sleuths unravel a tangle of cold-blooded crimes.