Moonshadow Murder — Rich Curtin

A backcountry commune, consisting of cave-like dwellings hollowed out of an immense sandstone formation in the remote high-desert landscape west of Moab, becomes the focal point of a murder case. A nineteen year old girl named Sunshine, a member of the small community, mysteriously disappears one evening. She was last seen hiking from her residence into an oncoming September thunderstorm. Orin, the leader of the commune, organizes a small search party the next morning to look for her. They discover Sunshine about a mile from the commune, dead by strangulation. Deputy Sheriff Manny Rivera arrives at the crime scene and begins his investigation. He looks around at the vast empty terrain, wondering why anyone would kill a seemingly innocent young lady out in the middle of nowhere. The other residents of the commune, an unusual collection of drop-outs from society, are all potential suspects. Rivera's pursuit of the killer introduces the reader to the commune and its bizarre history, a strange backcountry hermit who lives in a camper-top pickup truck, and a picturesque ranch overlooking Labyrinth Canyon owned by a wealthy well-connected third-generation rancher. Rivera receives assistance in his investigation from Amy Rousseau, PhD, an attractive botanist who is quickly becoming his love interest. Rivera conducts his investigation while dealing with problems caused by his inexperienced new boss, Sheriff Denny Campbell. In the end, the deputy's own life is endangered as he gets closer to understanding the motive for Sunshine's murder.