THE SHAMAN SINGS

Ute Indian prophecy, scientific investigation, cryptanalysis, and old-fashioned intuition join forces to solve the murder of star Rocky Mountain Polytechnic grad student Priscilla Song, whose breakthrough research in room-temperature superconductivity would have made her rich and famous if she hadn't been strangled, stabbed, and gutted (a case of demented overkill that's one of the very best clues in this well-clued mystery). While his Keystone Kops chase the obvious suspect, handyman Julio Pacheco, all over Colorado, catching up with him to their repeated cost, Granite Creek Police Chief Scott Parris- -blessed or cursed by premonitions himself—teams up with reporter Anne Foster to track down the physicist who plotted to steal Priscilla's discovery; but it's old Ute shaman Daisy Perika who finally brings down the killer. Newcomer Doss tips his hand a little too early, but he plots like a pro while playing different ways of knowing off against each other. An encore would be welcome.