Treasure State: A Cassie Dewell Novel

Edgar winner Box’s excellent fifth Cassie Dewell novel (after 2019’s The Bitterroots) sets the former police officer, now a PI in Bozeman, Mont., on the trail of a con man who bilked wealthy widow Candyce Fly out of $5 million and vanished. Fly earlier employed another PI—the marvelously noxious J.D. Spengler—to track the man down, but both Spengler and his quarry disappeared into the old mining town of Anaconda, Mont. Cassie travels there to investigate, and soon realizes that she has stumbled on a lethal conspiracy that goes far beyond the victimization of her client. A second case involving a buried treasure adds to the intrigue. Box has rarely been better in his plotting, with shifting timelines revealing the scope of the crimes. The criminal conspirators are both inventively corrupt and chilling, and the cleverly constructed mystery is leavened with generous doses of Montana history, along with the welcome appearances of characters from earlier Cassie novels. The story culminates with one of Box’s most satisfying payoffs. Hopefully, fans won’t have to wait another three years for the intrepid Cassie’s next adventure. Agent: Ann Rittenberg, Ann Rittenberg Literary. (Sept.)