Queen Of The Night by J.A. Jance

The Indian people around Tucson have an annual tradition where they get together one night to celebrate the annual flowering of the Queen of the Night flower which only blooms for twelve hours, always at night.  Most go to the local cultural center, where there is a festival celebrating the night and the traditional way of life. 

But this year, as an anniversary surprise, Jack Tennent has planned a surprise picnic for his wife, Abigail.  He has set up a meal near a towering Queen of the Night plant out in the country, a symbolic celebration to mark their love.  They are disappointed when a local couple calls and says they are planning to drop by.  The next thing is a fusillade of bullets, and all four people are killed.

There are several investigators that work on the case.  Brandon Walker is a retired homicide detective, who now works on cold cases.  His wife, novelist Diana Ladd and he are drawn to the case.  Brain Fellows is the current investigator working the case, and there is also Dan Pardee, a war hero who now works in the Shadow Wolves, a border patrol unit.  All of these men work the case, determining who were the main targets and what in their pasts have led to this event. 

J.A. Jance has written a suspense novel that will have readers on the edge of their chairs.  She skillfully intertwines this case with one from forty years ago that Brandon is also working.  The reader learns of family relationships and much about the traditions of the Tohono O'odham people.  Jance has written 41 other suspense novels and is at the height of her craft.  In addition to this series, the Walker Famly Mysteries, she has series named Joanna Brady Mysteries, J.P. Beaumont Mysteries and Ali Reynolds mysteries.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.