BLOOD MEMORY

An investigative reporter’s knowledge may make her an assassin's target.

Walking her dog late one night, Catherine McLeod senses that she’s being followed by a rapist. She dashes home to call Maury Beekner, her divorce lawyer and friend, and the police, who arrive just in time to chase off the man who’s shot Maury. Catherine keeps working as Maury fights for his life. She thinks the shooting was a random act of violence, but the police disagree. Her recently divorced husband, scion of one of Denver’s first families, offers her a refuge at the well-guarded family ranch while she continues the work her Native American background got her hooked on. Her biggest story, on an Arapaho and Cheyenne land claim based on the genocidal Sand Creek Massacre, sends her hunting down historical documents and digging into the political battle between the long-entrenched Colorado senator and the new governor. Leaving the ranch, she narrowly escapes death when the killer strikes again. Going on the run, Catherine cuts and dyes her hair and changes hotels, trying to stay ahead of the ruthless assassin while sending in copy on a story that’s become front-page news. She fights to discover the truth about the land deal and her unknown ancestors before the assassin kills her.

Coel’s departure from her Wind River Reservation series (The Girl with the Braided Hair, 2007, etc.) is a fine combination of historical detail, mystery and pulse-pounding terror.