Julie Collins is stuck in a dead-end secretarial job with the Bear Butte County Sheriff’s office, and still grieving over the unsolved murder of her Lakota half-brother. Lack of public interest in finding his murderer, or the killer of several other transient Native American men, has left Julie with a bone-deep cynicism she counters with tequila, cigarettes, and dangerous men. The one bright spot in her mundane life is the time she spends working part-time as a PI with her childhood friend, Kevin Wells. When the body of a sixteen-year old white girl is discovered in nearby Rapid Creek, Julie believes this victim will receive the attention others were denied.
Grisly murders are rocking the small county of Bear Butte where Julie Collins has spent the last few months learning the PI biz without the guidance of her best friend and business partner, Kevin Wells. Enter dangerous, charismatic entrepreneur Tony Martinez, who convinces Julie to take a case involving a missing five-year-old Native American girl, the innocent pawn in her parents’ child custody dispute. Although skeptical about Martinez’ motives in hiring her, and confused by her strange attraction to him, Julie nevertheless sees the opportunity to hone her investigative skills outside her office. But something about the case doesn’t ring true.
Surveillance on an insurance fraud case in Bear Butte County unfolds tragically for PI Julie Collins when the reappearance of a mysterious hole—the cause of a fatal accident—brings about the landowner’s unsettling confession. Bones were recently uncovered on the remote ridge but, fearing repercussions from their illegal off-season hunting, the hunters reburied the remains and kept quiet. Now the hole is back, but the bones have vanished. Julie is left to wonder Were the bones part of an ancient Indian burial ground or perhaps connected to the unsolved disappearance of a Native American woman?
The frigid winter months are mighty slow in the PI biz for Julie Collins and her partner, Kevin Wells—until the duo is hired by a young woman to investigate problems at her grandfather’s assisted living facility, where they encounter lax security, unqualified healthcare personnel, and a shady senior volunteer organization.
Cleaving - A Story of Marriage, Meat and Obsession
Julie Powell thought cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the craziest thing she'd ever do--until she embarked on the voyage recounted in her new memoir, CLEAVING. Her marriage challenged by an insane, irresistible love affair, Julie decides to leave town and immerse herself in a new obsession: butchery. She finds her way to Fleischer's, a butcher shop where she buries herself in the details of food. She learns how to break down a side of beef and French a rack of ribs--tough, physical work that only sometimes distracts her from thoughts of afternoon trysts.
