4 stars. Another winner from Hillerman. In this one, the plot starts out slowly with Bernie investigating the deaths of several sheep by feral dogs. At the same time, Leaphorn is helping an adopted woman find her possible Navajo family with only a photograph to go by. During his investigation, there is an explosion and wham bam we are into a well-told story that ebbs and flows from police procedural to character development and back again. The reader is treated to our three favorite cops doing what they do best and tracing clues until they wind all the different plots together into a solid ending. I liked the way their families were worked into the story and how they deal with their situations and take care of each other. Parts of the story worked out exactly as I expected but there were some good plot twists that surprised me. As always, the entire series is an “Otter” read. I was given a copy-this is my own opinion.