Blinded by the Light-Morgan Hunt

Blinded by the Light
Morgan Hunt
Alyson, Books, Aug 2008, $14.95
ISBN: 1593500858

After battling cancer, nothing bothers Tess Camillo because she realizes the only thing that matters is the cliché of living life to the fullest. Of course she would like a job since the firm she worked for downsized her. When her friend Beth Butler offers her work refining software for her company in New Mexico Tess grabs it.

After Tess is through working at the Bryce Corporation she and Beth decide to visit the Lightning Field; conceptual art that at dawn and dusk turns into a masterpiece and during a storm is incredibly beautiful. They stay at a cabin shared with four other people; they begin to bond after witnessing the Lightning Field at night. However, the next morning Tess sees a body of one of the other guests in the field. The medical examiner decides it is a homicide from an electrical gadget like a taser of cattle prod. Beth has a taser and her fingerprints are the only ones on it. When Beth is arrested, Tess investigates because she knows her friend is innocent.

Morgan Hunt has written an excellent amateur sleuth tale filled with plenty of red herrings and surprising plausible twists. A subplot involving a bit of romance eases some of the tension, but the methodical investigation by Tess is what the tale is all about; in fact the kind hearted woman should consider going professional as she does a great job seeking the real culprit. Ms. Hunt is a great mystery writer

Harriet Klausner