A Time of Change

December 2, 2013
The Thurlos (Black Thunder) are unlikely to please either romance or suspense readers with this pedestrian endeavor. Josephine "Jo" Buck, an apprentice Navajo medicine woman in Farmington, N.Mex., values her relationship with her employer and father figure, Tom Stuart. When Tom is murdered in his home, Jo mourns him while trying protect herself and the other Outpost staff from the resulting dangers: anonymous threats, armed men and robbery, and loss of business and revenue. Meanwhile, Tom's son, Sgt. Ben Stuart, returns on military emergency leave to deal with his father's death and the estateâbut he and Jo have an uncomfortable history, especially since Tom willed the Outpost to Jo. Some insights into the Dine culture and interesting supporting characters among the Outpost staff fail to enrich the book beyond its by-the-numbers romance and cardboard villains.

March 30, 2015
The Thurlos (Black Thunder) are unlikely to please either romance or suspense readers with this pedestrian endeavor. Josephine âJo" Buck, an apprentice medicine woman in the Diné (Navajo) community of Farmington, N.M., values her relationship with her employer and father figure, Tom Stuart. When Tom is murdered in his home, Jo mourns him while trying to protect herself and the other Outpost staff from anonymous threats, armed men and robbery, and loss of business and revenue. Tom's son, Sgt. Ben Stuart, returns on military emergency leave to sort out the estate. This is further complicated by his past relationship with Jo, especially since Tom willed the Outpost to her. Some insights into the Diné culture and interesting supporting characters fail to enrich the book beyond its by-the-numbers romance and cardboard villains.

March 1, 2013
A Navajo and an Anglo join forces to solve a murder. Even though he's an Anglo, Tom Stuart, who owns The Outpost, has always been like a father to his Navajo employee Josephine Buck. When Tom is found shot to death, Jo must put aside the lessons that will train her to become a healer. Tom's son Ben, returning home on compassionate leave from the Army, is shocked to learn that Tom has left the trading post to Jo, although Tom inherits everything else. Ben and his father had long butted heads, and Jo, who was Ben's high school girlfriend, had dumped him over his bad behavior. Trying to rise above Ben's skepticism over how she influenced his father, Jo vows to keep The Outpost in business and care for the staff, who all badly need their jobs. Despite Tom's doubts, sexual sparks still fly when the pair get together. Once the sheriff's department gets stuck, Ben and Jo set out to find the killer. Jo receives phone threats for her troubles, and the trading post and house are broken into and searched, clearly by someone desperate to recover something Tom hid. Ben, who served as both a sniper and a medic, is still dealing with issues from his overseas service. But when someone starts shooting at him and Jo and hijacks their van on the way home from a Mexican buying trip, he only becomes more determined to find his father's killer. The latest from the Thurlos, who've spent a great deal of time on the rez (Black Thunder, 2011, etc.), offers the usual insights into Navajo life but is much more romance than mystery.

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