A Cry from the Dust

June 23, 2014
Gwen Marcey is a forensic artist, single mother, and cancer survivor. When she accepts an assignment to reconstruct the remains of recently unearthed victims of the Mountain Meadows Massacre—an incident in 1857 in which more than 100 men and women were killed by Mormon settlers in Utah—she gets entangled in a present-day murder mystery. One of the visitors to the historic site is killed, and a security guard also turns up dead. Positive that her own life is in danger, Gwen sets out to help the police and the FBI track down the killers. A good friend, her ex-husband, and her unruly teenage daughter all play their parts in Gwen’s quest for answers. Parks, in her debut novel, has clearly done her research and never disappoints when it comes to crisp dialogue, characterization, or surprising twists and turns. Contemporary Mormon fundamentalism, a clever alternative theory about the martyrdom of Mormon founder Joseph Smith, and a determined search for the truth are blended artfully in this fast-paced, exciting novel.