Strange events which took place in 1938 lead to the present-day cold-blooded killing of a ranch hand in the remote canyon country near Moab, Utah. The only clue besides a 9-mm bullet in the victim’s head is an ancient-Indian potsherd stuck into his chest.Deputy Sheriff Manny Rivera is assigned the case and judges it’s related to a drug deal gone bad. But he’s actually up against an intelligent … intelligent and cunning adversary driven by greed who’s discovered a long-forgotten cave containing a collection of rare museum-quality Indian artifacts.
Local politicians and merchants are exerting strong pressure on the sheriff for a quick resolution to the case as the killing is threatening to disrupt the upcoming tourist season, Moab’s sole source of economic activity. After all, who would want to explore the backcountry with a killer on the loose out there?
In the end, Rivera faces an ethical dilemma: Should he enforce the letter of the law or serve the cause of justice? And a woman learns the answer to a question that’s been haunting her for seventy years.
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Loved this book! I felt like I was walking right next to the sherriff looking over his shoulder. Characters were likeable and well developed. I can’t wait to read more from this author!
Held my attention. Enjoyed the story
Remind me some of Tony Hillerman. Interesting topic.
I have been a fan of Tony Hillerman and now am also a fan of his daughter, Anne. Artifacts of Death is similar to the stories of Tony and Anne. It was a good quick read with a lot of plot twists. All the story lines blended togeher to leave no questions unanswered and a feeling of satisfaction for me, the reader. Have A Happy Day:-)
Well written procedural novel with a good plot
Will hold your interest as the main character works his way thru the mystery.
I am it
Promising introduction of characters I want to know more about. Plot was interesting enough to keep me reading… like characters… promising
Really enjoyed this book. Very well written. Would read some more if this authors books!!!
I enjoyed the book…especially since it didn’t have sexual content or bad language.
Thoroughly enjoyed this procedural. The plot was very interesting, and the characters well developed.
A good summertime read. I enjoyed the location because I have hiked and biked
the areas in which the story is set.
Artifacts of death rich curtin 4
This didn’t feel like a cohesive story from the start. Did I really care that some ranch hand got bitten by a snake? The separate characters seemed to have separate story lines like separate short stories. Throughout the book, it felt like there were enough casual murders that people were in a carnival line to be the next one to shoot somebody. I think that if I was enamored with the initial scene and premise, I wouldn’t feel the disentanglement.
That said, after a slow start, things moved pretty well and kept my interest. Some lucky things here and there, and I question the final status of the art dealer since the art came from a legal private collection.
Still a decently fun quick read.
Good story with interesting characters with twists and turns that make this page Turner
Not really sure I like “Manny” so that makes me bias. It was an okay read, but not really something I would recommend to anyone.
Unique and unpredictable story. Lots of unexpected twists. Well crafted murder mystery. Definitely worth reading.
A few too many coincidences for my tastes!
I stopped reading it when the main character, who was stealing Native American artifacts from a ranch ruthlessly killed a ranch hand who confronted him for his stealing. I had to stop there because of the character’s rationalization of the senseless murder. I couldn’t empathize or like the lead character.
This was about antiquities smuggling in the southwest. The ending was a bit of a surprise because the ranch foreman was actually the owner. The original owner died and the foreman did not report the death to authorities.
Just slow and plodding , did not finish book.