The Northwest Murders

To recover from a long bout with chronic fatigue syndrome, environmentally conscious, politically correct PI Maggie Elliott leaves San Francisco (where she was introduced in The Cable Car Murders ) for a cabin her partner recently inherited near the California-Oregon border. She arrives two days after a young hiker was murdered and mutilated, and his girlfriend raped and nearly killed as well. The young woman is the daughter of a San Francisco friend, so Maggie agrees to investigate the crimes; then Jim Pepper, the Karuk Indian cousin of her partner, Pat O'Reagan, asks her to clear the name of a tribe member accused of the crimes. Maggie becomes temporary guardian of the one eyewitness, a little girl, and gets romantically involved with Jim; nine more people die before the mystery is solved. Regional rituals and history, including 50-year-old-diaries and a legend of lost gold nuggets, flavor this entertaining escapade. (Sept.)