Season of Evil, Season of Dreams
J. C. Weeks
Five Star, Mar 9 2011, $25.95
ISBN 9781594149
A citizen finds a human skull in a field in the Black Hills near Gold Hills; South Dakota. The citizen notifies Gold Hills Police Chief Ben Logan who takes charge of the official investigation. Logan and his deputy Jim Donne find eight more skulls nearby. Most of the skulls are small and most likely that of a child.
Logan continues his inquiry fearing that the serial killer will murder more young victims especially with two teens missing. His fears are affirmed when he finds the remains of the teenagers with their respective heads and hearts missing having been ripped away; left behind on each is a medallion that the overwhelmed Logan shows to former teacher Lorna Hollingsworth. She arranges for Logan Native American Studies Professor Morgan Patterson to see the etchings and he says they are most likely Aztec. As he struggles with the case made more difficult by official animosity, two more kids vanish on the eve of the autumnal equinox.
This powerful police procedural will hook readers from the opening harrowing scene to the final words of wisdom “Let’s go play”. Fast-paced and filled with action, the key to J. C. Weeks’ strong murder mystery is in spite of the gruesome nature of the homicides; they occur off page yet retain a disturbing vividness as no one will look at the sun the same way. With a touch of Aztec culture especially beliefs, Season of Evil, Season of Dreams is a superb South Dakota whodunit.
Harriet Klausner
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