Members of an archaeological dig in New Mexico are stunned when nearby construction unearths the remains of a girl dating several millennia before the earliest known inhabitants of North America. Evidence indicates she died under mysterious circumstances. The discovery profoundly affects two of the party: Will Stanton, a withdrawn specialist in stone tools who is deeply attracted to the prehistoric cultures he studies, and Emily Franklin, a spirited undergraduate new to archaeology. Narrated from three points of view – Will’s, Emily’s, and finally that of the prehistoric girl whose mummified remains are discovered – the novel gradually unravels the mystery surrounding the death of this “first American.” Steeped in the setting of the Chihuahuan Desert, A Dark Music evokes the power and enigma of the human connection with the land. Praise for the First Edition “A fascinating read that’s hard to put down, A DARK MUSIC succeeds brilliantly on two levels. First, there’s Froese’s suspenseful story set in the brooding desert atmosphere of the American Southwest. Throw in sudden storms, a potential rapist, and a prowling mountain lion, and you have a page-turner from start to finish.” – Maine Sunday Telegram “. . . in this arresting novel, something big is unearthed, a mummy from perhaps 23,000 years ago, maybe the archaeological find of the century.” – Bangor Daily News “Written in a haunting, minor key, with a grave, compassionate bass note--the dark music of Froese's prose evokes a dimension that in the moment seems not only real, but absolute.” – Downeast Coastal Press “It’s about reaching through into the meganatural realm. Froese’s words breathe and pull the reader into that somewhere. All of his books are like this, intellect and feeling whisked together so that every line causes you to lose a heartbeat and gain a little magnificent disorientation, while a solid story unfolds like a perfectly natural flower . . . all this, yes, in every line.” – Carolyn Chute, author of “The Beans of Egypt, Maine”