Death Song (2007) “Maybe his most rugged, macho outing yet.” - Santa Fe New Mexican “A terrific police procedural.” —Midwest Book Review “McGarrity gets better and better.” —Tony Hillerman McGarrity's solid eighth police procedural to feature Santa Fe County, N.Mex., police chief Kevin Kerney (after 2005's Nothing but Trouble) opens on a deceptively quiet note as Sgt. Clayton Istee of the Lincoln County sheriff's office breaks in the department's newest member, Deputy Tim Riley. A short time later, after someone blasts Riley in the face with a shotgun, Istee and Kerney must dig into Riley's past to identify possible murder suspects. The discovery of Riley's wife, Denise, with her throat slashed in a horse trailer complicates the investigation: autopsies reveal that Denise was three months pregnant and that Riley had a vasectomy. The author does a good job describing the characters and the locale, but some readers may be disappointed that a mundane if realistic piece of evidence fingers the killer. (Jan.)  Reviewer: Publishers Weekly • Lincoln County • Santa Fe INTERESTING LINKS © Michael McGarrity 2011