8. Dead Dry

Dead Dry, by Sarah Andrews (2005)

My friend Mary Ann lent me a couple of mysteries set in the Mountain West. I've been meaning to start reading more stuff set here, so this was a good start. The protagonist of the Em Hansen series was born in Wyoming, educated as a geologist in Colorado, and works as a forensic geologist in Salt Lake City. So, we've got the MW pretty well covered.

I generally don't have a lot to say about mysteries, but I enjoyed this one. There was a lot of discussion of the unique land formations in this area, which was cool. The discussion of the impending drought really freaks me out, though, because it's so real. Before moving here, I never considered that people would actually live on land on which they couldn't drill a well. I know a few people who haul their own water, which seems insane to me. Then again, I now live on an unpaved road and I never thought that would happen, either.

The Em character is appealing, and so were her friends and colleagues. I'll probably try to read more from this series, especially if any of the books spend time in Wyoming.