As she defies her police captain’s direction and digs into the mystery behind the murders, Nicky uncovers strange leads in the case that may even implicate those to whom she is close. Although not a Native American herself, Detective Matthews has gained the trust of the Fire-Sky pueblo, and has made good friends within the community, including Savannah Analla, a public safety assistant, and Ryan Bernal, another Fire-Sky officer. Behind her, the landscape started its rugged upward climb to the summit of Scalding Peak.” Nicky Matthews, the female protagonist and chief detective investigating targeted murders in the Fire-Sky Native American community, evokes the reader’s sympathy with her personal and professional quandaries. The colored rays of the sunset made the weedy trailers and junked cars stark and picturesque instead of tired and sad. A small village – Chirio-ce – stood on the flattened top of a broad hill, just visible to the south. This evening the sun had painted the brush and trees orange and stretched their gray-brown shadows eastward behind them. Potenza describes the stunning backdrop of her story, a Native American pueblo community in New Mexico, in gorgeous detail: “ The panoramic view of distant mesas and the sloping plateau below, dotted to the horizon with scrubby pinon and juniper, made her heart swell. Although I don’t typically read mysteries, I was completely enthralled by this gripping whodunit story, made all the more compelling by Potenza’s excellent writing. Over to Jill… Carol Potenza’s brilliantly-plotted debut mystery, Hearts of the Missing, won the 2017 Tony Hillerman Prize and was published in December 2018. Hearts of the Missing, her debut novel, is the winner of the 2017 Tony Hillerman Prize. She and her husband live in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Carol is an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at New Mexico State University. Something a little different today as I welcome Jill Caugherty with her review of Hearts of the Missing by Carol Potenza.

Hearts of the missing by carol potenza