cover image The Devil's Hawk

The Devil's Hawk

Ray Sipherd. Thomas Dunne Books, $23.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-312-24428-6

The multitalented Ray Sipherd (the creator of WNETs All Things Considered, hes won three Emmys for TV writing) serves up his third Jonathan Wilder mystery, in which the handsome birder, whos doing fieldwork in Arizona, uncovers a tale of ornithological superstition and human smuggling in The Devils Hawk. Mexicans believe the titular bird is a harbinger of death, but a different Hawk""the leader of a ruthless gang of smugglers who leave their illegal immigrant charges in the desert to die""is much more dangerous; Jon, aided by pretty border patrol agent Max Montoya, decides to smuggle himself over the border to trap the mysterious El HalcUn.