Member Review

Solitario exists in a Valley of Shadows, where he is haunted by the ghosts of those he's lost, those whom he cared about too much, awakening the malediction plaguing the men in his family. The semi-recent loss of his wife drives him into a self-imposed solitude, wherein he waits for her to appear. He works his ranch and only periodically goes to town for supplies, but when the local sheriff and his wife and son are murdered, Solitario is summoned to look into the crime. The ritualistic murder of the mayor's wife & kidnapping of his young children seemingly stump the local mayor, who compels Solitario to return to his law-enforcement position. Solitario resists, but when his friend's family suffers a horrifying fate and his god-daughter disappears like the other children, Solitario finds himself racing against the calendar to solve the mystery and stop the killings before it's too late. He's joined in his efforts by the ghost of his friend, who cannot rest until his daughter is safe, as well as a young woman with indigenous heritage who has a kind of "sight." Throughout the story, she finds herself drawn to Solitario, and she seeks to disrupt his brooding isolation as her feelings for him grow stronger, even as his resistance to her strengthens under the weight of his fear that she will die, as well.

I really enjoyed listening to this story right up to the end, where I was left mildly dissatisfied by the resolution to one of the major plot points. I was like, "Well, what was the point of that!?" The central plot of the murder mystery definitely held my interest, and I appreciated the magical elements, even as they seemed a little too simple. I did like Solitario's character, even though his development hugs the ideal hero archetype. I was left wanting with the idea of his reentry into society.