Officer Bernadette Manuelito isn't fond of public speaking in front of anyone, especially a group of teen-aged girls with problems, but she's promised a fellow officer in the Navajo Police to do it at Wings and Roots as a favor. Besides, she's been promised a grilled hamburger at their camp site in the remote Malpais area of New Mexico. Things soon go south in Anne Hillerman's Cave of Bones (#742), her fourth in the Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series.
Annie Rainsong, daughter of a powerful Navajo Councilwoman, and all-around troublesome teen, has gone missing from her overnight solo camp site. Now the experienced trail guide and group leader, Domingo Cruz, has gone missing as well while searching for her. Bernadette is pulled into the search for both missing campers. When Annie stumbles into camp on her own she confides in Bernadette what she saw in a cave where she took shelter; it's a body, but the remains are ancient. Officer Manuelito soon finds herself embroiled in stolen native art, accusations of financial irregularities at Wings and Roots, and on the receiving end of Councilwoman Walker's wrath for allowing her daughter to wander off on own. Since Bernie's husband is away in Santa Fe for training, she bounces some of her ideas off retired cop Joe Leaphorn. It isn't long before some similarities turn up between the case of the missing group leader and one of Joe's own cold cases.
What I really love about these books is their setting; the isolated desert areas belonging to the Navajo Nation and adjoining reservations, and the peeks into the Navajo culture and way of life hidden to most of us. It's always a treat to go back and visit this world with some of my favorite characters.
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