At Ease With the Dead Book

A few years back, I stumbled across a mystery, Miss Lizzie, in which Satterthwait made Lizzie Borden one half of a detective duo. I loved the story, and I loved Satterthwait's poetic writing style. I went looking for more written by him and came across his first Joshua Croft mystery, Wall of Glass. Since the series is set in Santa Fe and I'd fallen in love with the place after a visit, I read it and knew I'd be back for more. I really enjoy Satterthwait's descriptions of the New Mexican landscape, how he develops his characters, and his stories.

Croft works for (and loves) wheelchair-bound Rita Mondragon, an intelligent, beautiful, and stubborn woman who states, "I'll leave this house when I can walk out of it." Croft feels she's making a mistake, but he's willing to accept Rita on her own terms.

The mystery in At Ease With the Dead (the title taken from a quote by Geronimo) is filled with danger, archaeology, oil prospecting, and humor. It's a "buddy movie" in which Croft often finds himself paired with the elderly Navajo, Daniel Begay. The old man has so many tricks up his sleeve that one day Croft looks at him and asks, "Are you really Batman?" This pairing provides much-needed levity in what could have been a very dark story.

Croft has a smart-alecky wit that I really appreciate. Satterthwait has developed a strong cast of characters, and he certainly knows how to construct a mystery that keeps readers guessing as well as bringing his setting to life. He also has the knack of including sentences that can make you stop and think. "Guilt is sometimes a secret sort of self-esteem" or "If you see the world as an organism, a single entity, which of course it is, then you can't help but see the human race as a kind of virus on its surface, actively engaged in killing off the host."

Story, setting, language, characters, Satterthwait's Joshua Croft is an often thought-provoking mystery series that I will certainly be returning to.