The Poisoned Pen recently hosted a virtual event with two authors whose mysteries are set outdoors, Margaret Mizushima and Scott Graham. Mizushima’s latest Timber Creek K-9 mystery is Hanging Falls. Graham’s books are set in the National Parks. His new book is Mesa Verde Victim. You can order copies of books by both authors through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Here’s the summary of Mizushima’s Hanging Falls.
Murder stalks the rugged Colorado high country–and sends Mattie Cobb on a quest to uncover the darkest secrets from her past in the sixth gripping installment of Margaret Mizushima’s Timber Creek K-9 mysteries
A deluge has flooded the high ground near Hanging Falls–but heavy rains aren’t the only menace descending on Timber Creek. While on a scouting mission to pinpoint trail damage, officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo stumble upon a body floating at the edge of a lake. Robo catches human scent, which leads to an enigmatic forest-dweller who quickly becomes suspect number one.
With help from veterinarian Cole Walker, Mattie identifies the victim, and discovers an odd religious cult whose dress and manners harken back to the 19th century. As the list of suspects grows, an unexpected visit from members of Mattie’s long-lost family sheds new light on her childhood as they help Mattie piece together details of the fateful night when she was abducted at age two.
The tangled threads of the investigation and family dynamics begin to intertwine–but darkness threatens to claim a new victim before Mattie and Robo can track down the killers.
*****
Check out the description of Scott Graham’s Mesa Verde Victim.
“An absorbing archaeological mystery, rich in historical detail and local atmosphere. With its colorful characters and fast”“paced plot,Mesa Verde Victim is a fascinating find.”
—AUSMA ZEHANAT KHAN, author ofA Deadly Divide
Hounded by false accusations of murder, archaeologist Chuck Bender and his family risk their lives to track down an unknown killer on the loose in a rugged canyon on the remote western edge of Mesa Verde National Park, where ancient stone villages and secret burial sites, abandoned centuries ago by the Ancestral Puebloan people, harbor artifacts so rare and precious they’re worth killing over.
SCOTT GRAHAM is the National Outdoor Book Award”“winning author of the six”“volume National Park Mystery Series for Torrey House Press, including Canyon Sacrifice, Mountain Rampage, Yellowstone Standoff, Yosemite Fall, and Arches Enemy, and five other books. He is an avid outdoorsman who lives with his wife, an emergency physician, in southwestern Colorado.
*****
You can listen to both authors talk about their books via the video.