A construction crew found the first body. The cops found three more―on both sides of the border of the Navajo Reservation. Because some of the bodies were buried outside the rez, Navajo Police Special Investigator Ella Clah and her team must work a delicate joint investigation with the New Mexico police. Identifying the dead isn't easy―some had been buried for years―and the cases are stone cold. Then one of the bodies turns out to be that of a missing man who was believed to have embezzled funds from his construction firm...and suspicions focus on the man's partner. With no obvious links between any of the corpses and the anniversary of their deaths fast approaching, Ella feels frustrated. Unless she and her team can find what connects these victims, someone else may soon be killed. Ella's ability to concentrate is battered by worries about her teenage daughter, who has been skipping school, and her mother, who is cooking up a storm, a sure sign that trouble is brewing in the household. Black Thunder , an Ella Clah novel, is a police procedural mystery that should appeal to all readers but especially fans of Tony Hillerman and J. A. Jance. “The book mixes straightforward police procedural with Tony Hillerman–style exploration of the culture of the Navajo. Ella Clah continues to be a compelling character and the story here, which involves a possible serial killer (or maybe something a lot less complicated), should keep readers on their toes until the final pages.” ― Booklist on Black Thunder “Clah is always good company, on and off the reservation.” ― The New York Times Book Review on Earthway “An unusually tense mystery.” ― Kirkus Reviews on Earthway “Ella is compelling as a highly skilled officer of the law dealing with modern vs. traditionalist issues on the reservation.” ― RT Book Reviews on Earthway Aimée Thurlo is co-author of the Ella Clah series, the Lee Nez series of Navajo vampire mysteries, and the Sister Agatha novels. Her other works, co-written with her husband, David , include Plant Them Deep , a novel featuring Rose Destea, the mother of Ella Clah, and The Spirit Line , a young adult novel. Aimée, a native of Cuba, lived in the US for many years. She died in 2014. David Thurlo , is co-author of the Ella Clah series, the Lee Nez series of Navajo vampire mysteries, and the Sister Agatha novels. His other works, co-written with his wife Aimée, include Plant Them Deep , a novel featuring Rose Destea, the mother of Ella Clah, and The Spirit Line , a young adult novel. David was raised on the Navajo Reservation and taught school there until his recent retirement. He lives in Corrales, New Mexico, and often makes appearances at area bookstores. Black Thunder By Aime Thurlo Forge Books Copyright © 2012 Aime Thurlo All right reserved. ISBN: 9780765324542 ONE   Tribal Police Investigator Ella Clah stood next to her department’s cruiser, a dusty, white SUV that had more miles on it than a Two Grey Hills sheepdog. As she stood beneath the shade of the Quick Mart station’s island, watching the dollar amount shoot past fifty as the pump fed regular into the tank, her second cousin and partner, Justine Goodluck, was busy cleaning the windshield. “It’s been so quiet lately,” Justine said. “I hate slow days. I’d rather be up to my ears in an investigation than catching up with paperwork. It’s nine in the morning and it already feels like we’ve been on duty all day.” “I hear you,” Ella answered. “At least we’re not behind a desk.” Justine stopped working on the windshield and looked directly at Ella. Although among Traditionalists that would have been considered extremely rude, tribal cops had learned to walk the line between the old and the new, adapting to a reservation in transition. “What’s eating you, partner?” Justine asked. Seeing Ella shrug, Justine added, “Don’t try to tell me it’s nothing. We’ve known each other too long.” There were many advantages to working with a close partner but the ability to second-guess each other was often a two-edged sword. With some partnerships, familiarity bred contempt, as the old saying warned. Yet Justine and she had found a middle ground. Though they weren’t what Ella’s daughter would have termed BFFs, they’d become attuned to each other in a way that gave them a distinct advantage out in the field. Ella was still thinking of how to answer that when a call came over their radio. “S.I. Unit One, see the clerk at the First United Bank on Highway 64, east of the bridge. He reports a man posing as Chester Kelewood is trying to cash a two-hundred-dollar check. The clerk will try to stall the subject until you arrive.” Ella hung the gas nozzle back onto the pump and reached inside the open window to pick up the mike. “Unit One responding,” Ella said as Justine paid the bill. “We’re less than a mile from there,” Justine said, slipping behind the wheel. “How do you want to handle this?” Ella began accessing information on the MDT, Mo