Synopsis
As a people, the Navajo seek to walk in beauty and find a balance between modern and traditional culture. As a mother, a daughter, and a member of the Navajo Nation, Ella Clah finds her own way to walk—but as a police officer, she seeks both justice and truth.
When Never-ending-snake begins, Ella is returning from a trip to Washington, DC, where she has been presented with a lucrative offer of employment with a private security firm. The catch? She would have to leave the Reservation. And while Ella has lived off the Rez before, it would be a life-altering experience for her daughter, Dawn.
Before Ella has a chance to even begin making up her mind, gunfire sends her and her companions diving for cover. Who is the target? War hero and alternative fuel lobbyist Adam Lonewolf, politician and tribal attorney Kevin Tolino, or Ella herself? As a Navajo Police Special Investigator, Ella has made more than one enemy.
Publishers Weekly
At the start of the Thurlos' engaging 16th Ella Clah mystery (after 2009's Earthway), two gun men ambush Ella, a special investigator for the Navajo Tribal Police; attorney Kevin Tolino, Ella's ex-boyfriend and father of her 11-year-old daughter; and Afghanistan war hero Adam Longwolf, now a Navajo lobbyist, at the landing strip outside Shiprock, N. Mex., shortly after their return from a trip to Washington, D.C. Ella and Kevin escape serious injury, but not Adam, who it turns out was carrying ,000 in a Monopoly game though he's in no condition to explain why. Since Kevin had been building a case against casino manager Alan Grady for suspicious practices, Ella and Chief Big Ed Atcitty wonder if Alan was behind the attack. Another possibility is someone connected to the controversial Prickly Weed Project, which is developing alternative fuel on tribal lands. As the complicated, sometimes detail-heavy investigation unfolds, Ella must juggle her feelings for Kevin and her prim love, Rev. Ford Tome. (Sept.)