The heat of the day and the agony of each victim is felt in J.A. Jance's Day of the Dead. Rich with characterization and plot, Jance's suspenseful story is about the "why" of a girl's murder thirty years before. 

An Arizona Indian reservation is a perfect setting for tribal lore as Jance paints a colorful scene of tension for Brandon Walker, lost without his Sheriff's badge and yearning to solve the mystery of the troubled girl's death. Walker's investigation leads him to prominent citizens, which costs him re-election. Gruesome details of a recent murder convince Brandon a serial killer has been on the loose. The fast paced story keeps you on edge. 

Can Brandon prevent another girl's murder? Will an innocent man die before the truth is revealed? Jance spills the details in a flurry and compels the reader to fast-forward to ascertain whether another death will be prevented. But at times the reader is lost in too many characters with a myriad of conflict and tribal nuances. Jance puts her foot on the brake and lets the reader down with an unsatisfying conclusion. The deceitful perpetrators who killed for pleasure die in a swift shootout. Months of public humiliation, deprived of accustomed luxury, would have served them well before a legal death at the hands of the executioner. 

But Jance's story cannot be touted as just a damn good mystery with a somewhat flawed ending. It is full of contemporary crime-solving and Native American mysticism. Action packed, it begs to be finished in one read.