Genre: Cozy
Mystery/Native American/Myths
Description:
“Two recent murders have rocked the small town of Chinle, Arizona, on
the Navajo Reservation. Navajo Tribal Police have found no connection between
the victims even though both were killed the same way and brutally mutilated.
Lieutenant John Stoneburner has no choice but to call in medium Sam Firecloud
and his partner, Lacey Fitzpatrick, to see if they can make sense of the grisly
facts. When it becomes clear to Sam that the murders are related to ancient
Navajo mythology, he enlists the help of an elder, his grandfather Ben, who
leads them all into the perilous realm of gods and monsters.”
Author:
“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in
a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: biography, contemporary, western,
action, romance, fantasy, paranormal and spiritual. She has been both
traditionally and independently published and is a regular contributor to the
superblog Indies Unlimited. She has a tattoo on the inside of her left wrist
that says IMAGINE. In her next life, she plans to be an astronaut. She lives in
a small community in northern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier.
She also writes under the pen name Amber Flame.”
Learn more about Ms. Bowersock and her other books on her website or
on Facebook.
Appraisal:
We first met Lieutenant John Stoneburner of the Navajo Tribal Police
in book 11, Spirit Walk. Lieutenant
Stoneburner wasn’t raised with the old ways and is therefore not a believer in
Navajo mysticism or aware of their legends and myths. While Lt. Stoneburner is
investigating two recent gruesome ritualistic looking murders that seem
unrelated, he enlists Sam Firecloud to get his opinion on the mysterious
connection between these two murders. After walking the site of the murders,
Sam’s memories of a Navajo myth are stirred and he decides he needs to consult
with his grandfather Ben.
After seeking advice from Ben, Ben’s own curiosity is piqued, He
decides to tag along on this case, uninvited. Of course he is welcomed with
open arms. (I was thrilled to get to spend more time with Ben.) So, off Sam,
Lacey, and Ben head to Canyon de Chelly. The Canyon is a geologic and cultural
wonder that sports Spider Rock, a sandstone spire that thrusts up 750 feet from
the canyon floor unconnected to any other monolith.
The plan is to camp up on the rim to watch to see if their suspicions
are correct. They suspect that the killers are invoking the gods from the
legend of Monster Slayer. Learning Navajo myths drew me into the story and the
way Sam was able to merge the past with modern myths was genius. Ha! Here I am
giving Sam the credit when the credit actually goes to the prolific imagination
of Ms. Bowersock. She also weaves in a little of the Firecloud family history
which is especially heartwarming.
Monster
Walk may be my new favorite story in this series. The undercurrent of this
tale swept me away.
FYI:
Monster
Walk is book 24 in Ms. Bowersock’s, A LACEY FITZPATRICK and SAM FIRECLOUD
MYSTERY SERIES. This series does not need to be read in order. However, you may
miss some character development.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 35-40,000 words
2 comments:
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