Not Dead Enough: A Cal Claxton Oregon Mystery

Easley’s absorbing fourth Cal Caxton Oregon mystery (after 2015’s Never Look Down) opens in 1957, with Native American Nelson Queah fighting the creation of the real-life Dalles Dam on the Columbia River, which will divert salmon migration flows—and fishing livelihoods—away from his village. One night, Nelson steps outside his door and is never seen again. Fifty years later, Nelson’s biologist granddaughter, Winona Cloud, asks Portland lawyer Cal to help her discover the truth about what happened to her grandfather. Suddenly, a killer is on the loose, and anyone connected with Nelson becomes a target. Meanwhile, local politician Jason Townsend has hopes of becoming a U.S. senator, backed by his father, who was in charge of the 1950s dam construction. In addition, wealthy developer Braxton Gage has plans to build a casino in the area. Easley skillfully blends fact and fiction in this tale of cultural conflict, politics, and murder with a likable hero at its heart. (June)