Dead Silver-Neil McMahon

Dead Silver
Neil McMahon
Harper, Jun 2008, $24.95
ISBN: 0061340766

After two decades away, Renee Callister comes home to Helena, Montana to bury her disgraced father John. She is just about the only person who believes her dad did not kill his second wife Astir or her lover as assumed by just about everyone else.

While going through the estate, Renee finds photographs of Astrid posing nude, which she believes are clues to the cold case homicides. She contacts her friend former journalist Hugh Davoren asking for his help. Although he insists he is a carpenter in partnership with his friend Blackfoot Indian Madbird, he reluctantly agrees especially when he sees how beautiful Renee is; he hides from her his motive and his belief that her dad did the double homicides in a fit of rage.

DEAD SILVER is a superb investigative thriller starring strong characters including Big Sky Country. Hugh’s inquiries are fun to follow as they are cleverly designed with red herrings, dead ends, and danger, but his motive makes him human. Madbird has his woes too in a supporting role. Neil McMahon provides an engaging low key cold case investigation that will send readers seeking the previous collaboration between Davoren-Madbird (see LONE CREEK).

Harriet Klausner