Death Pans Out
Ashna Graves
Poisoned Pen, Mar 2007, $24.95
ISBN 1590583736

Her mortality hammered at her mental well-being from two fronts. Forty-five-year-old Willamette Current reporter Jeneva "Neva" Leopold's mother recently died while she battles breast cancer with a double mastectomy. Needing to recover emotionally more than physically, Neva hides at the cabin of her Uncle Matthew Burt, who went missing fifteen years ago in the desert town Billie Creek, Oregon.

Besides healthy outdoor activity, Neva keeps her mind off of the stress of grief and cancer by investigating her uncle's disappearance after he claimed a gold mine and why he and her mom abruptly stopped talking to one another. Neva questions the locals, but soon uncovers the corpse of miner Roy DeRoos. Another miner whom Neva befriended Reese Cotter is accused of the homicide; an allegation that the newcomer refuses to accept as true. However, as she keeps digging, Neva finds strange phenomena while someone wants her to cease and desist or else.

This is a terrific investigative thriller whose setting, the Oregonian desert, adds suspense to the tale. Neva is a fine person who turns to her experience and skill (inquiries) to help her regain a lust for life after taking two emotional blasts. The locals add regional eccentricities to a delightful "cold case" mystery, but Neva is the headline star of Ashna Graves' DEATH PANS OUT.

Harriet Klausner