A trio of well-written mysteries will keep readers up for nights

"Blood Lure"

By Nevada Barr. G.P. Putnam's Sons, $24.95

Nevada Barr can take the most improbable plot and turn it into a fascinating foray into the human psyche, then dress it up with eloquent description of the great outdoors she so obviously adores.

In her new book "Blood Lure," ranger/sleuth Anna Pigeon is on loan from her home base on the Natchez Trace of Mississippi to a DNA research project in Glacier National Park.

Not long after she arrives, she's the victim of a rare and terrifying grizzly-bear attack. She survives, but not with her normal courage intact.

The same night she is mauled, the body of a woman is found in the forest, part of her face carved away. But this is the work of a human predator.

Surprisingly to the fictional characters, but not surprisingly to the well-honed mystery reader, these two events are linked.

Barr manages to give every character both a motive (or at least a mysterious element) and a reprieve (which may be real or fabricated). Her characters are never quite what they seem, but Barr fans have come to know that and look for subtle clues in the subtext. As with many talented mystery writers, nothing is ever mentioned without reason.

Barr's detailed descriptions of the life of a ranger come from personal experience and are fascinating. She took us underwater in "A Superior Death," underground in "Blind Descent" and through a forest fire in "Firestorm."

She's also one of the more eloquent mystery writers around, having the ability to make you feel the chill of the night, smell the smoke of a campfire, experience the isolation of the wilderness.

She's worth reading for that alone.

"Cold Water Burning"

By John Straley. Bantam, $23.95

John Straley's detective, Cecil Younger, is a rather unremarkable character who isn't always very good at his job.

"It could be argued that being a private investigator in a small Alaska town is one of the worse career decisions a person with a high- school diploma can make," says the protagonist on the first page.

He won't get much of an argument there.

Yet, Younger manages to get jobs from time to time.

His last case involved the investigation of a multiple murder and arson on a boat, and the only person seen leaving the boat by witnesses was an employee. Because Younger managed to discount most of the circumstantial evidence in the crime, the suspected murderer got off.

Now, the former suspect is missing. Soon, his wife is dead and the two kids who survived the original massacre are involved in violence up to their earlobes.

Straley tells a heckuva good story, but the real pleasure in reading him is his prose. Like Nevada Barr, he creates such a vivid sense of place, readers almost feel as if they've visited Sitka.

"I walked out into the street and smelled the storm sulking off the coast," he writes.

He uses the looming storm to help underline the impending doom of the surviving boys - and others, as it turns out.

This is Straley's sixth book and, mystery fan that I am, I have not read his previous five. But you can be sure I'll be looking for them.

"Red Mesa"

By Aimee and David Thurlo. Tom Doherty Associates, $24.95

The Thurlos, like James D. Doss and other New Mexico writers, are filling the gap left by an aging and less-prolific Tony Hillerman.

In "Red Mesa," their series protagonist, Navajo tribal cop Ella Clah, now has a 1-year-old daughter, whom her mother watches when Ella's working.

As a single working mom with a demanding job, Ella has to balance motherhood with career in an especially sensitive situation: Many of her kinsmen don't trust her, because she once lived off the reservation and has returned as an authority figure.

Ella's biggest supporter and right-hand woman, her young cousin Justine, has begun acting hostile toward her, and Ella can't figure it out. Then Justine's burned body turns up, not long after she and Ella have an argument, and Ella herself becomes a suspect in her cousin's murder.

Once again, the Thurlos have penned an intense, fast-paced mystery that will have fans reading into the wee hours.

The authors' grasp of Navajo culture seems authentic, and feeds the interest started by the legendary Hillerman.

Even more important than the glimpses of this culture and the tightly constructed plots, however, are the continued growth of the main characters. Without that, the stories would flag and fans would lose interest. It won't happen with this book, though.

Copyright 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.