Iraq war veteran Harper Jennings is back with another thriller! This time, Zina Salim, her staunchest rival at Cornell's archeology department, turns up on Harper's doorstep late one night, babbling about a Pre-Columbian shape-shifter. Harper doesn't know what to think, but she agrees to accompany Zina to the lonely mansion where she sighted the shape-shifter while cataloging a collection of Pre-Columbian artifacts.
When Harper arrives at the mansion, Harper finds more than fascinating artifacts: Zina is dead. Suddenly, Harper's life turns upside down. Her post-traumatic stress disorder returns with terrifying intensity. Her husband, who seemed to be recovering from his life-threatening fall from the roof, becomes withdrawn and depressed. Members of her old army team start to die suspiciously.
The closer Harper gets to the relics, the more danger she faces. Harper knows there are no shape-shifters, and that the relics can't really be cursed. Can they?
Excerpt
"What happened, Zina?"
Zina looked away, stared at the fire. Harper, Hank and Vicki stared at Zina. Moments passed. Finally, Zina turned to Harper.
"Harper," her eyes were doubtful. "Do you believe in the Nahual?"
"The Nahual." Harper repeated.
"No, I know it sounds crazy. That's why I said it was nothing--" She attempted a laugh, failed. Started to stand.
"Uh uh," Harper grabbed her arm, pulled her back to the sofa. "You're not leaving until you explain what the hell you're talking about."
"Tell us." Hank took a seat by the fire, waiting.
"You'll think I'm making it up."
"Just tell us."
She drew a breath. Let it out. Drew another. And began. "It was...I was working at Langston's house. Cataloguing." Zina pushed hair off her face, playing with her bracelet. "But when the sun went down, the air--all of a sudden, it shifted. It actually moved.I felt someone there. Behind--or maybe in front of me. I heard owls hooting. Dogs barking. And I smelled something--like incense. Smoky and musky...And then wings were flapping--"
"Wings?"
"I swear. Like the wings of a bat." Zina nodded, her face ghostlike, flickering orange. "And boards--the floor was creaking. Someone was there. I looked but couldn't see anyone. And then, real low, I heard growling--soft and threatening, like a large cat about to pounce." She stopped, checking their faces as if afraid they'd laugh at her.
Three faces watched her in firelight, not laughing.
Professional Reviews
BOOKLIST-2/15/2012
Archeology graduate student Harper Jennings takes over the job of cataloging a valuable collection of pre-Columbian artifacts when the previous graduate student responsible for the job, Zina Salim, is murdered. Harper finds Zina with her heart cut ouf the day after she insisted to Harper that she had been chased by a Nahual, a pre-Columbian shape-shifter. Believing that Zina was spooked by the creepy old house in which the collection is housed and that her murder was an honor killing, Harper goes to work against the wished of her husband, Hank, who is disabled since a fall from the roof of their house. Harper, an Iraq War veteran who suffers from PTSD, is also being stalked as a result of an incident that occurred during her tour of duty in Iraq. Harper is a strong, sympathetic character, who investigates multiple mysteries while dealing with marital issues related to her husband's aphasia and her need for independence. A fast-paced story, full of details about pre-Columbian art and times.
All Carson Reno Mystery Series Books are standalone novels. It is not necessary to read them in any particular order.
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