Invisible Path

by Jean Henry Mead

Marilyn Meredith’s engrossing new mystery, Invisible Path, interrupts Deputy Crabtree’s Christmas preparations when a popular young Indian man is found shot to death near the reservation. His former friend, Jesus Running Bear, is thought to be the killer, and is threatened by other friends of the deceased. Running Bear’s girlfriend is the murdered man’s cousin and, because he’s the prime suspect, her parents won’t allow them to marry.

To complicate matters, a pseudo-military group has set up headquarters in the nearby forest and Crabtree learns that the murder victim had been spying on them as well as attempting to locate the infamous Hairy Man of Indian legend, reportedly living in the area. She then wonders why the victim was so popular when she uncovers the truth about his true relationships with his friends. The discovery leads to a number of suspects who had reason to kill him.

Meredith skillfully weaves her knowledge of Indian customs and law enforcement into an intriguing plot as various suspects are investigated as well as the murder scene. Deputy Crabtree stubbornly follows leads that place her own life, and that of Running Bear, in danger as all the mysterious elements come together in a surprising conclusion.

Readers who have been following the series are sure to want this book and recommend it to others. I'm certainly looking forward to the next one.

Meredith lives in the Sierra foothills of central California, the area where she places her Deputy Crabtree mysteries. She also writes the Rocky Bluff PD series as F.M. Meredith. The mother of five, grandmother of 18 and great-grandmother of 11 once lived in a beach community that she says resembles Rocky Bluff.

How she finds time to travel extensively to actively promote her books is a mystery unto itself.