Frank Carlson Library

What seems to be a carjacking gone wrong leads to the death of Jimmy Blacksheep, a Navajo member of the New Mexico National Guard recently returned from Iraq. When Navajo Police Special Investigator Ella Clah receives a mysterious package in the mail, she begins to suspect that Jimmy's death is part of something larger. Complicating the case is the fact that Jimmy's brother, Samuel Blacksheep, is also a cop, on the Farmington PD. Samuel is also ostensibly...

For the Navajo, to "walk in beauty"-to stay in balance with the natural world around one-is the greatest gift, and the greatest task, of one's life. For Rose Destea, to walk in beauty has meant threading a difficult path between traditionalist and modernist ways. Though she worships at the family shrine, her husband was a Christian preacher. Though her son, Clifford Destea, is a respected hataalii or medicine man, her daughter, Ella Clah, is a Special...

Ella Clah is no longer an unsure young woman recently returned to the Navajo Reservation from a stint with the FBI; she has found her place in her tribe, her clan, and her family. She has seen the Diné at their worst-and at their best-as they balance the modern era with the traditional Navajo way of life. Ervin Benally, son-in-law of the powerful Navajo businesswoman and politician Abigail Yellowhair, plans to bring satellite telephone service...

Sister Agatha is an extern nun in the cloistered order at the Our Lady of Hope Monastery near a small New Mexican desert town. As such, Sister Agatha is the link between her cloistered sisters and the outside world. Usually this means running errands in the monastery's slowly dying car (dubbed the Anti-Chrystler) or their motorcycle, with Pax, the order's German Shepard, in the sidecar. But sometimes it means something a bit more, like now when the...

Our Lady of Hope Monastery can't catch a break. Situated in rural New Mexico, the cloistered monastery squeaks by on donations and various craft and skilled jobs suited to their cloistered, contemplative life. But, when a stolen SUV crashes through their outside walls, they are faced with financial demands that far exceed their means. So, when a major donor offers a great deal of money for what seems a simple task, they are quick to accept. The very...