Shadows of Death: A Desert Sky Mystery (A Desert Sky Mystery Series) [Hardcover]

David Sundstrand (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Desert Sky Mystery Series | Publication Date: March 17, 2009

Seth Parker is considered a terrorist by the FBI and is credited with many unusual deaths in Southern California. A man who cut the beaks off of pelicans is found dead and lipless. Another man who ran a dog fighting ring is found torn apart by his own dogs. Two boys who posted a YouTube video of themselves blowing up cats are missing, and no one expects to find them in one piece.

 

When Parker kills two poachers in the Mojave Desert for shooting burros, he falls into Frank Flynn’s orbit. The problem is that Flynn sympathizes with Parker more than he should. Because of this connection and his intimate knowledge of the desert, Flynn seems able to anticipate Parker's next moves, though he is always one step behind.

 

With the opening of Sand Canyon, Flynn finds himself in the awkward position of having to protect an exclusive hunting resort. He’ll have to come to terms with this duty, if he's to stay alive.

 

David Sundstrand’s second novel gives more incredible descriptions of the desert and a riveting story.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sundstrand's absorbing second mystery to feature Bureau of Land Management agent Frank Flynn (after 2007's Shadow of the Raven) pays homage to Richard Connell's classic short story The Most Dangerous Game. The FBI suspects the shooting of two poachers who'd been killing wild burros in California's Mojave desert is the work of an extremist animal rights group whose aim, according to its leader, Seth Parker, is justice for the innocent, an eye for an eye—or a lip for a beak. The planned opening of an exclusive hunting club with imported exotic prey provides Parker with a tempting target—and the half-Irish, half-Paiute Flynn, who used to be a small arms instructor in the military, with a nearly impossible challenge. There's plenty of collateral damage as Flynn and Parker maneuver before the inevitable final confrontation. Sundstrand knows this rugged territory well and the kind of denizens it attracts, and he's adept at describing both. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) ranger Frank Flynn investigates when two poachers are found dead after slaughtering a couple of burros. Frank learns that a group, led by Seth Parker, who was in the army with Frank, is murdering those who have been cruel to animals in the same manner the offenders killed the animals. Local law-enforcement officers, the FBI, and the BLM work together to trap the killer, but he eludes them time and again. This cat-and-mouse game is personal for Frank, who feels responsible for the sniper training he gave Parker in the army. Frank must stop Parker before he carries out his biggest operation to date, and only one may survive the final confrontation between the two. The fast-paced plot, told from both Frank and Parker’s points of view; the beautifully described Southern California desert setting; Frank’s relationship issues with girlfriend Linda Reyes; and quirky secondary characters add to a series that will appeal to fans of C. J. Box’s Joe Pickett novels. --Sue O'Brien

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (March 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312537581
• ISBN-13: 978-0312537586
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,878,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars guns in the Mohave, July 29, 2009

By 

desert mouse - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadows of Death: A Desert Sky Mystery (A Desert Sky Mystery Series) (Hardcover)

I'm awed by Sunstrand's plotting skills. What kind of a devious mind comes up with all those intersecting webs and keeps all the balls in the air until the last resolution? Impressive! The Mohave desert settings are wonderful as are the characters. All the gun biz sounded authoritative and I realize that it matters, though it passed over my head, but the ramifications of shooting were fascinating, the shooting of defenseless animals, the shooting of defenseless people, the game shooting preserve (ugh - what an awful travesty of just about everything), the military shooting. the shooting in self defense... I'd not put all that together until now, but it really is a book about shooting. Well done.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great thriller, March 20, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadows of Death: A Desert Sky Mystery (A Desert Sky Mystery Series) (Hardcover)

In the Mojave Desert, Bureau of Land Management Agent Frank Flynn investigates the murder of two poachers; near their corpses are dead wild burros that give the crime scene the appearance of someone who assassinated the two men for murdering the wild animals. Frank believes a radical animal rights group MDG led by Seth Parker killed the victims to end their shooting the burros as sport. Whereas he understands the extreme of the Parker crowd, FBI Agents Ellis and Novak assume Frank is an idiotic bureaucrat as they believe those opposed to hunting for sport are anti-American "animal rights terrorists."

Flynn thinks the opening of an affluent hunting club with imported prey will prove a fetching challenge to Parker. Although he emphasizes with the radical's goal, he abhors the means. Each takes steps closer to a final conflict as Parker, dying from an illness, plans to change the exotic hunting target to "The Most Dangerous Game"; collateral damage is acceptable.

With homage to the great Richard Connell short story, readers are hooked from the first carcass to the last in one of the most exciting thrillers of the winter. The story line is action-packed and never slows down. Parker and Flynn come across as genuine individuals making the anticipated High Noon that much better; while the FBI agents are a bit stereotyped. With a strong sense of place and purpose, SHADOWS IN DEATH is a great thriller that will send newcomers seeking Flynn's previous BLM tale (see SHADOW OF THE RAVEN).

Harriet Klausner