Walter Satterthwait: At Ease with the Dead (USA 2012)

From the Publisher:
Croft combs New Mexico for a Navajo who's been dead since 1866
On a fishing trip in the mountains outside of Santa Fe, private detective Joshua Croft hears pistol fire. He finds an elderly Navajo encircled by a trio of trigger-happy yokels, demanding the old man dance for them. Croft disarms them, sends them packing, and returns to Santa Fe a few days later. He has nearly forgotten about the incident by the time the Navajo turns up in his office to ask him to find a body.

Missing since the 1920s, it is the corpse of a long-dead victim of an American campaign against the Navajo. For years nightmares have plagued one of his descendants, who wants the body found so that the dead man's soul can rest. As Croft searches for the remains, he learns that there are still those who will kill to keep New Mexico's bloody past buried.

Walter Satterthwait: At Ease with the Dead. A Joshua Croft Mystery. mysteriouspress.com, ISBN: 9781453251287 (April, 2012), 396 KB, ca. 248 p., $.9.99.

Walter Satterthwait: At Ease with the Dead (USA 2002)

From the Publisher:
When Daniel Begay hires Santa Fe private investigator Joshua Croft, it's an unusual missing persons case. The silver-haired, distinguished, and more than slightly mysterious Indian wants Joshua to return the lost remains of a Navajo leader, dead nearly a hundred years, to their proper burial site. Soon Croft is hurtling his trusty Subaru across the Southwest, from Santa Fe to El Paso to remote parts of the Navajo Reservation, unearthing long-buried hostilities and reviving the mystery of an unsolved, unforgotten murder.

Walter Satterthwait resides in Santa Fe, loves to ride his motorcyle, and writes mysteries that have an international audience. In addition to the Joshua Croft series, he has written the historical mysteries Wilde West and Masquerade.

Walter Satterthwait: At Ease with the Dead. A Joshua Croft Mystery. University of New Mexico Press, ISBN: 0826329705 (September, 2002), 256 p., $13.95.

Walter Satterthwait: At Ease with the Dead (USA 1993)

From the Publisher:
JOSHUA CROFT'S "MISSING PERSON" HAD BEEN DEAD SINCE THE DAYS OF KIT CARSON...
Santa Fe private investigator Joshua Croft is hired to find the lost remains of a Navajo leader and return them to their proper burial site. The bones disappeared over sixty years ago under bizarre circumstances, which, in turn, led to a murder that remains very much on somebody's mind.

Croft hits pay dirt when he talks to El Paso's local historian -- and revives a sinister mystery complete with greed, adultery and ruthless ambition. A cold trail is turning warm. Then some goons in stocking masks attempt to discourage Croft from any more digging.

But Croft, a graduate of the school of hard knocks, gives as good as he gets. After a second murder, then a third, a dead man's trail becomes bloodred hot -- and Croft stands to be the next one to burn.

"Joshua Croft is a welcome addition to the P.I. roster." -- Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating, surprising mystery." -- Publishers Weekly
"Walter Satterthwait breathes life into his characters." -- Florida Times-Union

Walter Satterthwait: At Ease with the Dead. A Joshua Croft Mystery. Worldwide, ISBN: 0373832664 (December, 1993), 253 p., $3.99.

Walter Satterthwait: At Ease with the Dead (USA 1991)

From the Publisher:
JOSHUA CROFT'S "MISSING PERSON" HAD BEEN DEAD SINCE THE DAYS OF KIT CARSON...
Santa Fe private investigator Joshua Croft is hired to find the lost remains of a Navajo leader and return them to their proper burial site. The bones disappeared over sixty years ago under bizarre circumstances, which, in turn, led to a murder that remains very much on somebody's mind.

Croft hits pay dirt when he talks to El Paso's local historian -- and revives a sinister mystery complete with greed, adultery and ruthless ambition. A cold trail is turning warm. Then some goons in stocking masks attempt to discourage Croft from any more digging.

But Croft, a graduate of the school of hard knocks, gives as good as he gets. After a second murder, then a third, a dead man's trail becomes bloodred hot -- and Croft stands to be the next one to burn.

"Joshua Croft is a welcome addition to the P.I. roster." -- Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating, surprising mystery." -- Publishers Weekly
"Walter Satterthwait breathes life into his characters." -- Florida Times-Union

Walter Satterthwait: At Ease with the Dead. A Joshua Croft Mystery. Worldwide, ISBN: 0373260725 (May, 1991), 221 p., $3.50.

Walter Satterthwait: At Ease with the Dead (USA 1990)

From the Publisher:
When Daniel Begay hires Joshua Croft to find someone, it's not a standard missing-persons case. The silver-haired, distinguished, and more than slightly mysterious Indian wants Joshua to return the lost remains of a Navajo leader, dead nearly one hundred years, to their proper burial site.

Soon Croft is hurtling his trusty Subaru across the Southwest, from Santa Fe to El Paso to remote corners of a Navajo reservation, unearthing long-buried hostilities and reviving the mystery of an unsolved, unforgotten murder.

Relying on his unique blend of low-key humor, hard-won street smarts, and a familiarity with barroom etiquette, Croft digs through layers of deception to discover a sinister history, complete with the requisite elements of greed, adultery, ambition, and treachery.

At Ease with the Dead is a worthy sequel to the acclaimed Wall of Glass and establishes Walter Satterthwait as a mystery writer of the first rank.

WALTER SATTERTHWAIT lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is the author of Miss Lizzie (SMP, 1989) and the first Joshua Croft mystery, Wall of Glass (SMP, 1988).

Jacket painting by Bob Newman

Walter Satterthwait: At Ease with the Dead. A Mystery. St. Martin's Press / A Thomas Dunne Book, ISBN: 0312042604 (April, 1990), 237 p., $16.95.