When a couple on a hike inadvertently discover several barrels full of human remains (a woman and two children) in the Gila desert, it kicks off a mystery that will stretch on for the next thirty years. Laura, a librarian just finishing up treatment for breast cancer, dives into a trail of research that leads her closer to the truth, eventually taking her to the Gila desert. She teams up with the somewhat reluctant detective Jean, who is reassessing her own life and work now that she is at retirement age. The mystery is told from the POVs of Laura, Jean and the ghost of the dead woman, who is sorting through her own murky memories of what led to her body in a barrel. The ghost POV is a fascinating addition to this murder mystery. Her portion of this story is part dreamlike discovery of the ghost world while parenting two little girls through the afterlife, and part sorting through her own trauma. The ghosts are also able to influence the physical world, and this one finds small ways to nudge the women towards the truth (for example, causing flowers to bloom at night at the site where the bodies were found). This story is also an exploration of womanhood through this young, dead woman and her children, Laura, who may have beat cancer but who can no longer rely on her body to function dependably in the aftermath of chemo, and Jean who is about to be a grandmother but does not want to give up her work solving cold cases. This is a fresh, new literary thriller and I'm excited to read what the author comes up with next!