A lonesome place for murder

Chase's engrossing second outing for Ethan Brand (after A Lonesome Place for Dying) entangles the Blaine, Wash., police chief in a cold case with a disturbing personal connection. Hoping to buy a horse for his sons, Ethan drags his colleague, Brenda Lee Page, to the home of horse trader Mac Steranko. When they arrive, they find Mac injured after a horse he was riding stepped into a small hole. As Ethan and Brenda are poking around the scene, a larger hole opens up and Brenda falls into a tunnel, where she discovers a decaying male corpse. To Ethan's shock, the dead man's wallet identifies him as Tyler Rash, whom Ethan's father had taken in as a wayward teen decades earlier. Given the tunnel's proximity to the Canadian border, Ethan and Brenda suspect it could be the work of an international smuggling operation. As Ethan pursues that hunch, someone sends a bomb to his house, confirming he's on to something but making him question whether justice for Tyler is worth risking his family's lives. Chase makes Ethan's inner conflict deeply relatable, and peppers the investigation with a handful of welcome surprises. This series continues to impress. Agent: Chris Casuccio, Westwood Creative Artists. (Aug.)

The discovery of an unidentified corpse leads to a complex investigation and a slew of painful memories for a solitary lawman. In the little border town of Blaine, Washington, police Chief Ethan Brand and his most senior officer, Brenda Lee Page, are out looking for a missing chestnut horse when they come upon a body in a tunnel. An old photo found in the victim's pocket features Tyler Rash and Ethan's disreputable father, Jack. Many people jump to the conclusion that the victim is Rash, but Ethan's not so sure. In balanced prose as straightforward as its protagonist, Ethan's second case unfolds as a detailed police procedural with a large cast of supporting characters, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and state border patrol agents as well as Ethan's own small team of officers. The investigation proceeds step by measured step as Ethan and Brenda Lee question many in Rash's orbit, putting together a picture of a troubled past. If he's not the dead man, it's very possible that he's the killer. An interview with Rash's mother, Emily Heller, who bitterly blames Jack Brand for most of her son's troubles, complicates the case further. Flashbacks paint an increasingly vivid picture of Ethan's scarring past with Jack. The investigation answers baffling questions about both Rash and Jack as it subtly builds to an explosive climax. Chase's nuanced portrait of a small, intricately interwoven community draws the reader into both the lives of its inhabitants and the solution to the puzzle. A masterfully muted crime yarn with a compelling protagonist. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.