Move over Walt Longmire. Make room for Franz Kafka, aka 'K.' Expertly
plotted, beautifully written, eloquent, colloquial, wry, insightful . .
. Medhat demonstrates a keen sense of place and Navajo culture and
history, with superior attention to language; smart, witty, often
humorous and always precise analogies, metaphors, and similes. A sharp
eye for detail and sprachgefühl for putting observations into words.
Style, grace, a confident, compelling, and controlled narrative voice.
The sophisticated narration dances from omniscient to close-third
without any false steps or trips. A very smooth operator, this writer.
The characters glide off the page. This book is a high-wire act, and the
author shines a bright, steady beam on the dark stage where clashing
cultures meet.--Sara Pritchard, author of Crackpots
Quixotic cop Franz Kafka's small-town routine is disrupted by a
mysterious death at Chimney Rock. Navajo cop Robbie Begay joins the
murder investigation, which leads the mismatched duo across the
reservation into the victim's fraught past, to associates living under
the shadow of heinous crimes, cunningly camouflaged meth-merchants, and
sweet-natured squash-growers. The killer, it turns out, is much closer
to home.
Katayoun Medhat was raised in Iran and Germany and studied
anthropology in Berlin and London. Before training as an intercultural
therapist, she worked in an adolescent psychiatric unit, which taught
her much about human resilience. For her PhD in medical anthropology,
she researched mental health and alcohol rehab services on the Navajo
Nation, and along the way learned to appreciate the healing power of
humor as life force.
