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Escalante’s Dream: On the Trail of the Spanish Discovery of the Southwest

Filed Under: Books Read

Escalante’s Dream: On the Trail of the Spanish Discovery of the Southwest

Escalante's Dream: On the Trail of the Spanish Discovery of the Southwest by David Roberts
on July 16, 2019
Pages: 360
Format: hardback
Genres: Native American, Nonfiction, People's history, United States
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Synopsis

Famed adventure writer David Roberts re-creates the extraordinary 1,700-mile journey of the eighteenth-century Domínguez-Escalante scouting expedition.
In late July 1776, fathers Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Francisco Vélez de Escalante set out from Santa Fe to chart a route to the new Spanish missions in California. The Fransiscans planned to scout the country for mineral wealth and locate the Ute and Navajo tribes for conversion. In present- day Utah, however, the dangers of starvation and hypothermia forced them to turn back. By November the friars were reduced to survival mode: stymied by the raging Colorado River, they had to kill their horses for food. At last they succeeded in fording the river at a place later known as “Crossing of the Fathers.”
In this adventure- history, David Roberts travels the Spaniards’ forgotten route, using Escalante’s first- person report as his guide. Blending personal and historical narrative, he relives the glories, catastrophes, and courage of this desperate journey.

Spider Woman’s Daughter

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Spider Woman’s Daughter

Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman
Published by Harper on October 1, 2013
Series: Leaphorn & Chee #19
Pages: 301
Format: hardback
Genres: Mystery, Native American
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Synopsis

Legendary tribal sleuths Leaphorn and Chee are back! The supremely talented daughter of New York Times bestselling mystery author Tony Hillerman continues the popular series with this fresh new Navajo Country mystery-her debut novel-filled with captivating lore, startling suspense, bold new characters, vivid color, and rich atmosphere

It happened in an instant: After a breakfast with colleagues, Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette Manualito saw a truck squeal into the parking lot and heard a crack of gunfire. When the dust cleared, someone very close to her was lying on the asphalt in a pool of blood.

With the victim in the hospital fighting for his life, every officer in the squad and the local FBI office are hellbent to catch the gunman. Bernie, too, wants in on the investigation, despite regulations strictly forbidding eyewitness involvement. Her superior may have ordered her to take some leave, but that doesn't mean she's going to sit idly by, especially when her husband, Sergeant Jim Chee, is put in charge of finding the shooter.

Pooling their skills, Bernie and Chee discover that a cold case involving his former boss and partner, retired Inspector Joe Leaphorn, may hold the key to the shooting. Digging into the old investigation with fresh eyes and a new urgency, husband and wife find themselves inching closer to the truth with every clue . . . and closer to a killer who will do anything to prevent justice from taking its course.

The Second Deadly Sin

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The Second Deadly Sin

The Second Deadly Sin by Åsa Larsson
Published by MacLehose Press on June 2, 2015
Series: Rebecka Martinsson,
Pages: 352
Format: hardback
Genres: Mystery, Scandinavian and Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers
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Synopsis

Rebecka Martinsson's courage to the test once more in her most twisted and unpredictable case yet.After successfully tracking down and killing a rogue bear in the wilderness of northern Sweden, a group of hunters is shaken by a grisly discovery when they dress the bear carcass: human remains in the stomach. Far away in the remote village of Kurravaara, an elderly woman is found murdered with frenzied brutality, crude abuse scrawled above her bloodied bed. Her young grandson, known to live with her, is nowhere to be found.Only Kiruna prosecutor Rebecka Martinsson sees a connection between the two events, but thanks to the machinations of a jealous rival, she is dropped from the case. Continuing to pursue answers in an unofficial capacity, and with the reluctant assistance of her friend and police inspector Anna-Maria Mella, Rebecka stands alone against a ruthless killer. At the root of it all is a horrifying, century-old crime, the tendrils of which continue to hold the small community in their grip.