Crossroad

Soon after Melisende Dulac, the narrator of this engrossing mystery from Cameron (the Skin Kadash series, as Bill Cameron), moves from Massachusetts to a small Oregon town to become an apprentice mortician, she’s first on the scene of a fatal car accident. She immediately spots the bodies of two men and a teenage boy, and later, at a long distance from the wreck, the body of a newborn. Things gets stranger after the bodies, stored in the mortuary, disappear, and scattered ashes are found in the crematorium, along with a skull from an unknown corpse. Since Melisende was the last person to see the bodies, the police suspect she stole them. When the person who represents the teenage boy’s family discovers a bullet casing at the scene and concludes the crash was no accident, Melisende begins to investigate. The stakes rise as she delves into an uncertain situation not knowing whom to turn to for help. Cameron keeps the surprises coming. This pulse-pounding tale begs to be read in one sitting. Agent: Janet Reid, New Leaf Literary. (Dec.)