DEATH WHERE THE BAD ROCKS LIVE by C.M. Wendelboe delves
into the past, exposing the lingering impact the choices of
our ancestors can have on our present.
During World War II, the Army Air Corp used the harsh
desert of the Badlands as a bombing range. Sixty-five years
later, many unexploded ordnances litter the desert that is
now Badlands National Park. In their effort to defuse any
remaining explosives, three bodies are discovered in a
rusted out car. Two apparently died during a bombing run in
the Forties, the other not until the late Sixties. All
three certainly fit the requirement for a cold case. Now
FBI agent Manny Tanno must find the link between these
murders that span more than decades; if there is one.
Like a geologist on the hunt for rare minerals, C. M.
Wendelboe carefully removes each layer of the crime,
exposing only glimpses of the motivation beneath. Each
layer offers clues as they sift through the debris of time,
drawing connections between events years apart that still
affect those today. It's this careful exposure, the sifting
and sorting through the dirt to find the real treasures,
which pulls the reader deeper into the story and the lives
of the characters.
Manny Tanno is not your typical hero. He's a horrible
driver, doesn't like to rush into a gunfight, suffers from
diabetes, isn't the stud in the barn he used to be, and
doesn't have all the answers. I can't tell you how
refreshing this is. He's an imperfectly perfect hero. Manny
is compassionate, intuitive, knowledgeable, humorous, and
above all a seeker. He doesn't just see the details of the
world around him. He seeks out the cause and then he wants
to restore the balance; in his cases, his faith, his
relationships, and with his people.
The characters are surprisingly funny. I laughed out loud
at a few turns of phrases that completely took me by
surprise. It's the familiar kind of joking that comes with
people who know and are comfortable with each other. Those
connections build the characters, but also reflect the plot
in the best way. This is a story very much about the
relationships we build and how they can trickle down in
unknown ways to create events that far surpass our plans.
DEATH WHERE THE BAD ROCK LIVES isn't simply about murder
but about reconnecting with the past, with ourselves, and
protecting what is ours. Perfectly paced, intricately
woven, and fascinating are just three phases that come to
mind for the second book in the Spirit Road Mystery series.
Truly worth reading.
When Lakota FBI Agent Manny Tanno wrapped up his last case,
all he wanted to do was put an end to his reluctant
homecoming and get away from the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation—So why did he decide to give up his cake job as
an academy instructor back in Washington, D. C., and take a
permanent assignment to the Rapid City, South Dakota, field
office?
It might have been his hot new girlfriend: But she’s giving
him the cold shoulder. It might have been his promising new
protégé: But he’s burning out before Manny’s eyes.
Manny almost finds himself going through the motions in his
latest case, as the investigation uncovers one, then two,
then three old skeletons in a derelict car on a defunct
World War II bombing range in the Badlands. He certainly
can’t count on any cooperation from his childhood rival
heading the tribal police department, stonewalling him from
all sides. And the local media is making him a laughing-stock.
An emerging prime suspect turns out to be a popular and
respected local judge. Being the first American Indian
nominated for appointment as a U. S. Supreme Court Justice,
everyone figures he’s in—as long as his people can make sure
some nuisance FBI agent doesn’t ferret out the skeletons in
his closet.
To top it off, skeletons in Manny’s own closet threaten to
end his career—if not his life. Now his estranged brother,
the convict-turned-holy-man, might be Manny’s only salvation
from the increasingly terrifying visions. In the most
desolate corner of the nation’s most destitute reservation,
Manny Tanno might just find himself offered up as the next
dead body in the forsaken Badlands, where the bad
rocks live. . .
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