Badlands / Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The #1 New York Times bestselling authors Preston & Child return with a thrilling tale of "hair-raising fun" (Kirkus) in which archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Corrie Swanson, while investigating bizarre deaths in the desert, awaken an ancient evil more terrifying than anything they've faced before.



In the New Mexico badlands, the skeleton of a woman is found--and the case is assigned to FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. The victim walked into the desert, shedding clothes as she went, and died in agony of heatstroke and thirst. Two rare artifacts are found clutched in her bony hands--lightning stones used by the ancient Chaco people to summon the gods.



Is it suicide or... sacrifice?



Agent Swanson brings in archaeologist Nora Kelly to investigate. When a second body is found--exactly like the other--the two realize the case runs deeper than they imagined. As Corrie and Nora pursue their investigation into remote canyons, haunted ruins, and long-lost rituals, they find themselves confronting a dark power that, disturbed from its long slumber, threatens to exact an unspeakable price.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Preston and Child's fifth adventure featuring Nora Kelly and Corrie Swanson (following Dead Mountain) tackles a terrific story while highlighting the continued growth of two stellar characters. Though she has not become a full FBI agent yet, Corrie Swanson lands a baffling case. In the New Mexico badlands, a film crew's drone spots the remains of a woman. Swanson recruits her friend, archaeologist Nora Kelly, to inspect the bones. Found clutched in the skeleton's hands are some extremely rare stones. When a second body is found with the same stones, the women learn that both victims were students of a professor known for his aggressive manner with women and his fascination with the ancient Chaco people of the region. Will their investigation lead them to a terrifying truth, and is there an entity that lives in the canyon that demands human sacrifice? VERDICT Preston and Child were brilliant to team up Kelly and Swanson in their own series, bringing the legends and geography of the New Mexico badlands to life. This installment would be a great launching point for readers who haven't read one of their books.--Jeff Ayers

Publishers Weekly Review

Why would two women, years apart, disrobe and burn themselves to death in the same New Mexican desert? That's the question Preston and Child pose for forensic anthropologist Nora Kelly in the crackling sequel to Dead Mountain. After the skeletal remains of high school science teacher Molly Vine are spotted by a drone, FBI agent Corrie Swanson is assigned to investigate. He finds that Vine apparently died five years earlier, after venturing into an area that the Navajo believed to be the home of skinwalkers. A spearpoint found under Vine's bones leads him to consult Kelly. The FBI canvasses the area and discovers the corpse of geological consultant Mandy Driver, leading Swanson and Kelly to theorize that the deaths might be connected to the Gallinas, an Indigenous tribe who were wiped out in the 13th century. Preston and Child once again use real history as the starting point for their hair-raising plot, which makes a series of tantalizing turns before culminating in an encounter with the supernatural. This is on a par with the best of the authors' Pendergast series. Agent: Eric Simonoff, WME. (June)

Kirkus Book Review

Two strange deaths in the desert pose tough questions in this fifth Nora Kelly adventure. In a remote section of New Mexico, a woman walks alone into the blistering desert heat. In a trance, she ignores her horrific thirst and discards her clothing, piece by piece, until she lies down and dies. Five years later, a video crew with a drone discovers her skeletal remains, which they promptly report. Agent Corrie Swanson is part of an FBI team that heads out into the bleak badlands to investigate. She shares a photo with anthropologist Nora Kelly, who is especially intrigued by the pair of rare green lightning stones found under the skeleton. The woman died with perfect health, yet no one had reported her missing. DNA confirms the 40-ish woman was Molly Vine, an apparently vibrant person who "wouldn't just throw her life away." Then the FBI finds another body, another woman, same trail of clothing and pair of green lightning stones, but her death is much more recent. And that's just the beginning of a tale that gets curiouser and curiouser with discoveries of ancient mass murders and modern mind control. Corrie and Nora are a perfect pair: smart and professional, and with bravery they will need in abundance. At one point, they compare approaches: As an anthropologist, Nora is trained not to judge; as an FBI agent, Corrie is trainedto judge. As they delve into the investigation, Nora's younger brother, Skip, and his billionaire buddy, Edison Nash, complicate matters immensely. They decide to go camping and investigate on their own, and Skip reminds Nash that taking ancient artifacts like an obsidian arrowhead is a felony. But as strange shadows lurk around their faded campfire at night, they learn that getting in trouble with the law is the least of their worries. The landscape imbues a special flavor to this engrossing yarn--the adobe kivas with signs of thousand-year-old murders, the slot canyons, the changing terrain as desert yields to ponderosa pine--and the sandstorms that can abort a rescue. In this setting, an unknown enemy causes cringeworthy violence that the heroes may have to face alone. But as Corrie tells Nora, "We've got a gun. We've got a knife. Now we need a plan." Hair-raising fun! Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.