cover image Dynamite Pass

Dynamite Pass

J. F. Trainor, J. F. Trainer. Zebra, $3.99 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-8217-4227-3

Trainor's ( Target for Murder ) second Angela Biwaban mystery returns the shallow and vain Native American princess to her family's Utah home, where greedy loggers have placed more than trees at risk. Angie's cousin Billy, a forest ranger and Ute tribal council candidate, is waging a legal battle to transfer federal forest acreage into tribal hands in order to save the land from clearcutting. While Billy is a friend to the land, he has many enemies--a fact that soon proves fatal. Naturally, there are many suspects in Billy's slaying, including good ol' boy millionaire Cue Broward; stuffy Mormon patriarch Truman Sager; dim-witted, sadistic lawman Ty Braddock; local bad seed Jack Sunawavi; and a host of other Utah Saints and sinners. So it's up to Angie, a self-described clothes horse who fancies herself a combination of all three of Charlie's Angels, to go undercover to reveal the identity of her cousin's killer. Still, the tale is enriched by Trainor's keen eye for the story's desert southwest setting, and understanding of the interplay between the Latter-Day Saint and ``Gentile'' communities. (July)