THE CURIOUS EAT THEMSELVES

Everybody wants to hire underemployed Alaska investigator Cecil Younger (The Woman Who Married a Bear, 1992)—even including his autistic roommate Toddy, who insists that Cecil track down Nelson, his missing Labrador retriever. First, though, Otter Creek gold-mine cook Louise Root gives him a retainer to expose the Global Resource coverup after she was raped at the mine; then Cecil's ex-girlfriend Hannah Elder demands that he investigate Louise's murder. Global thugs Lee Altman and Charlie Potts bully Cecil into taking $15,000 of company money to dig dirt on environmentalist Steven Mathews, Louise's old mentor, while insisting that their request has nothing to do with the assault and murder of Louise. And when local drifter Phil Dominic confesses to killing Louise, his dissatisfied lawyer hires Cecil to prove him innocent. As in Cecil's first outing, though, the strongest presence here is the Alaskan wilderness, dotted by memorably quirky towns that the sleuth keeps crisscrossing in other people's planes. Straley's skill in weaving his background into the story makes his regional series one of the strongest since Tony Hillerman set up shop. (First printing of 25,000)