MWSA Review
Cannibals, spirits and a protagonist with personal problems spell adventure in David Knop’s latest mystery.

Cochiti Pueblo Police Officer Peter Romero, a former Marine, tries to balance his life as a cop and his Indian heritage with his disintegrating marriage and his attraction to an FBI agent. 

Is any cop ready to tackle unknown killers that bite and disembowel their victims? Romero searches for the killers but has a difficult time explaining the mysterious help of a mountain lion he killed. As he delves deeper into the spirit world of his ancestors, he finds more questions that answers. He also finds that he has been chosen to rid the world of an evil that started generations earlier.

The author shares his knowledge of, and respect for, Native American mythology and history. This action is fast-paced and the characters believable in this third Peter Romero mystery.

by Pat Avery, MWSA Reviewer

Author's Synopsis:
A Cochiti Pueblo cop chases beastlike poachers murdering humans and seeks retribution for the spirit of a cougar in this thriller. New Mexico Game and Fish enlists Peter Romero to track and kill a mountain lion responsible for a hiker’s death and someone else injured. He succeeds, only to have Cougar, the animal’s spirit, appear later and demand vengeance against others who’ve murdered his mate and children. Pueblo governor Herbert Trujillo next sends Romero after poachers, who turn out to be hunters removing and selling specific parts from animals. The poachers take a shot at Romero once he’s on their trail, but during a subsequent confrontation, the cop sees what he describes as a creature with “serpent eyes” and “jagged dogteeth.” And there’s more than one of what he determines are cannibalistic windigos, whose murder victims likewise include humans. Romero works with FBI Special Agent Jean Reel on an investigation that takes them to Oklahoma, while the cop’s attraction to Reel complicates his goal of mending ties with estranged wife, Constancia. The fact that fellow law enforcers aren’t buying Romero’s windigo assertion doesn’t stop him from finding a way to slay the beasts. He’ll just have to prove that the men he suspects are murderous cannibals. Regardless, the protagonist fully believes what he sees, and he’s devoted to stopping the murderers, despite a fear that he’ll spend life in prison for offing reputed humans.

Author: David Knop
ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-944785-79-6
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Genre(s): Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 260