Angels in the Wind: A Mile High Noir

At the start of Ramos’s enjoyable if rambling fourth Mile High Noir (after 2018’s The Golden Havana Night), Denver PI and former felon Gus Corral, who’s still recovering from the beating he suffered during a previous case, decides to drive his ancient pickup truck to dried-out little Melton, Colo., where he can heal physically and emotionally while helping his distant cousins locate 17-year-old Mat Montoya, who ran away a month earlier. Gus appreciates how the teen could have wanted to escape the small town’s oppressive closeness and racism, and he’s not convinced by reassuring text messages allegedly from Mat saying he’s safe and will be returning soon. Though Gus discovers that Mat may have run afoul of some murderous human traffickers in Pueblo, Colo., bad vibes that prove to be justified suggest home was the most dangerous place for the youth. The picaresque plot lurches a bit, but that’s appropriate to Gus’s uncertain but determined efforts to do right by his family while earning fresh confidence in himself. Fans of contemporary regional mysteries will look forward to Gus’s further adventures. (Apr.)