BONE CANYON

5 stars out of 5

The first book in this series - Lost Hills - didn't disappoint, and neither did this one (in fact, I think it's better). Los Angeles Sheriff's Department homicide detective Eve Ronin isn't perfect - nor is she likely to become besties with most of her department colleagues - but she gets the job done even if she has to step on some really big toes to do it.

It begins as Eve and her almost-retired partner, Duncan Pavone, are called to investigate human remains discovered in the rubble of a wildfire in the Santa Monica Mountains. As it turns out - with help from hunky and single forensic anthropologist Daniel Brooks - the tidbits belong to a woman who went missing several years ago not long after she'd reported a crime to police that somehow, in intervening years, got lost in the system.

That, of course, makes Eve's ears perk up and her nose twitch. Despite warnings to cool her heels from a few of the aforementioned colleagues - most of whom are convinced she got her homicide job by grandstanding - she plods on with the help of Duncan, who says he has nothing to lose by ruffling a few feathers. Good thing, because some of those feathers not only get ruffled, but totally bent out of shape.

The investigation goes slower than Eve would like - patience isn't one of her virtues - with roadblocks coming from unexpected places that bring a whole new meaning of dead end. The conclusion brings a twist; I was expecting one that I hoped was wrong, and, happily, I was (sorry, my lips are sealed). All told, another winner, for which I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for a pre-release copy.

Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg (Thomas & Mercer, January 2021); 287 pp.