Ghost Dust

Indian Health Services psychologist Ben Pecos and his eleven-year-old son are enjoying a summer vacation to Ben's New Mexico pueblo ancestral home when Ben is called back to duty, this time on the Navajo reservation. It's the year of the global pandemic and the Navajo Nation is under particular threat, especially when supplies ordered by the tribe are being stolen before they ever reach the reservation. Trucks have been hijacked and one driver killed.On their way, Ben and Zac are caught in a huge sandstorm, known to the Native people as ghost dust. Ben slows their vehicle and Zac has an almost supernatural experience. A pronghorn antelope appears beside his window, meeting his gaze and keeping pace with the pickup truck in the gritty, driving sand. Then it vanishes.As Ben works to coordinate relief efforts for the tribe and find out what has happened to their missing medical supplies, Zac meets a new friend, a boy who tells him about Skinwalkers. These humans who can take animal form and make evil things happen represent the darker side of tribal culture. Zac remembers the antelope-did it have kindly intentions, as he imagined, or was it a Skinwalker?As the days pass, the virus isn't the only danger in the Navajo community-a delivery driver is beaten, and an unexplained murder hits the family of Zac's new friend. Ben's wife Julie joins in the effort, only to have her own life threatened as well. Ben has his hands full on all sides, and the twists don't let up until the final pages of this heart-pounding thriller.Praise for Susan Slater and the Ben Pecos series:"This is a wonderful book with loveable heroes." – Library Journal, (on The Pumpkin Seed Massacre)"Susan Slater's Thunderbird is a witty, absorbing tale." -Publishers Weekly"Slater effectively combines an appealing mix of new and existing characters … dry humor; crackling suspense; and a surprise ending." -Booklist"… a gripping novel. We mystery lovers hope it's the first of many." – Tony Hillerman"A solid, suspenseful narrative and colorful glimpses of Native American life strongly recommend this …" – Library Journal (on Thunderbird)"… Ben Pecos-raised far from New Mexico's Tewa Pueblo-could become as lasting a fictional presence as Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee." – Chicago Tribune Kansas native Susan Slater lived in New Mexico for thirty-nine years and uses this enchanting Southwest setting for most of her mystery novels. Her Ben Pecos series reflects her extensive knowledge of the area and Native American tribal ways. As an educator, she directed the Six Sandoval Teacher Education Program for the All Indian Pueblo Council through the University of New Mexico. She taught creative writing for UNM and the University of Phoenix.The first in this highly acclaimed series, The Pumpkin Seed Massacre, reached Germany's bestseller list shortly after its initial publication as a German translation. Original print versions of the first three titles were outstandingly reviewed in nationwide major media.In July, 2009, Susan made her first foray into women's fiction with 0 to 60, a zany, all too true-to-life story of a woman dumped, and the book was immediately optioned by Hollywood.Late 2017 and 2018 brings a new era to Susan's storytelling. Secret Staircase Books is releasing newly edited versions of her entire Ben Pecos series in paperback, and brings the series to a whole new set of readers for the first time in all e-book formats.Now residing in Florida with her menagerie of dogs and canaries, Susan writes full time and stays busy in community theatre and other volunteer projects. Contact her by email: susan@susansslater.com Native American psychologist Ben Pecos lives and works in New Mexico.Traveling between the northern pueblos and reservations, he becomes embroiled in a new mystery in every location.