Aimee & David Thurlo, Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove

Aimee & David Thurlo

Forge, April 2006, $24.95, 320 pp.

ISBN 0765315755

Special Investigation Ella Clah, head of the Major Crimes Unit on the New Mexico Navaho reservation, is busy working a series of car-jackings. The M.O. is simple. A woman pretends to need help with her car, and when a male passenger stops; his car is stolen by a man hidden in another vehicle. When Ella and her partner Justine are called out for what looks like another car jacking, the victim this time is dead, his body riddled with bullet.

The murdered man is Jimmy Blacksheep, who has just returned with other members of his New Mexico Natural Guard Unit from Iraq. As the investigation gets underway discrepancies between the car-jackings and the murder become evident, and Ella believes he was killed over something that happened in Iraq, especially when she receives a five page story from him in the mail. While working this dangerous case, Ella's personal life adds to her stress, as her mother decides to get married again, and her daughter's father decides he wants custody.

The Ella Clah novels are such a success because the characters grow and change over time so they never become static stereotypes. The murder mystery is well plotted with plenty of action and chase scenes, while glimpses into the heroine's personal life makes this entry and the series something very special. Aimee & David Thurlo are super talented writers who rival the works of Tony Hillerman.