Skeleton Canyon (Joanna Brady Mysteries)

Once again, relationships between mothers and daughters shape and give humanity to an exciting mystery in J.A. Jance's excellent series about Joanna Brady, the sheriff of Bisbee, Arizona. Bree O'Brien, high school valedictorian and cheerleader, has upset her wealthy parents by taking up with Ignacio Ybarra, a hardworking Hispanic football star. The last words found in Bree's journal after she is discovered murdered in Skeleton Canyon while waiting for Ignacio are "My Mother is a liar." Sheriff Brady, torn between the temporary loss of her own daughter (to camp) and strange behavior by her demanding mother, looks for a link between Bree's death and suspicious activities at the O'Brien home near the Mexican border. As always, the desert environment--in this case, the dangers of fast floods--plays a major part in the story. Other Brady books include Desert Heat,Tombstone Courage,Shoot Don't Shoot, and Dead to Rights.