24. Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson, 306 pages, Mystery, 2010 (Walt Longmire Series, Book 6). Sheriff Walt Longmire tries to calm a feud between a developer and the family running the local junkyard during a brutal Wyoming winter. But a clandestine romance leads to murder – or is it whatever’s in the basement that people are dying to keep secret? This is another wonderful addition to the series, with even the little asides figuring into the plot by the end.
25. Survivor In Death by J.D. Robb (a.k.a. Nora Roberts), 376 pages, Mystery, 2005 (In Death, Book 20). Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds a survivor when an entire family is murdered, a 9-year-old girl who now views Dallas as her only safety. Eve takes the little girl into her own home, one of the most secure places on the planet. Dallas needs to close the case quickly, before the murderers kill again, but also to make it safe for that little girl to live any place other than her home. It was fun to read the desperate scrambling of Dallas and Roarke as they deal with a child in their home, and the case was interesting.
26. Origin In Death by J.D. Robb (a.k.a. Nora Roberts), 339 pages, Mystery, 2005 (In Death, Book 21). A highly respected surgeon is killed with a scalpel to the heart. But the good doctor isn’t quite what he seems, and cryptic lab notes found in his home uncovers illegal medical experiments on generations of children. And one of those kids is all grown up and taking down every person involved in turn. It’s a lovely amount of chaos with Thanksgiving approaching, and the moral dilemma discussions are very interesting.
