When workmen uncover skeletal remains behind a retaining wall in Thornton's well-crafted fifth mystery to feature Cochise County, Ariz., victim advocate Chloe Newcombe (after 2004's Dead for the Winter
), the body turns out to be that of Wynn Wykoff, a member of the band Point of No Return, who disappeared 17 years earlier. The news of this macabre find prompts Rachel Macabee, the daughter of the band's singer, Annie Glenn, to hire Chloe's private detective friend, Brian Flynn, to look into her mother's unsolved murder, which occurred around the same time at the same location. Aided by Chloe, Flynn interviews the people originally questioned about Anna's murder, including former band members and their hangers-on. After Chloe discovers a link between Annie's and Wynn's homicides, additional lives are suddenly at risk. Appealing, nuanced characters, a simmering Southwest backdrop and an artfully unpredictable conclusion make this one a winner. (Oct.)
