Black Thunder is the latest book in Aimee and David Thurlo's Ella Clah mystery series. Even though this is the first book I've read in the series, the Thurlos did a great job of easing in enough information that I never got lost or felt lost. 
 Ella Clah is a Special Investigator for the Navajo Police. After finding bodies buried on the Navaho Reservation, she and her team, along with a partner from the New Mexico State Police, set out to find a serial killer. 
 Ella Clah has a lot to deal with, beyond the case. Her daughter is the age when most kids begin to rebel, her mother doesn't seem to be her usual self, and Clah's longtime companion has stronger feelings for her than she does for him. Plus, there's taking a bullet to keep a little boy from being shot in the head. 
 I have to say that I guessed the serial killer before the reveal, but that did not hurt my enjoyment of reading the book. I may have guessed the killer, but I didn't guess the killer's motivation. Besides, figuring out who dunnit meant much less to me than reading about the Native American culture and people. That, to me, was fascinating. Over the course of the book you learn a lot about the Navajo culture and way of life. The Thurlos wove it into the storyline and ended up making me wish I could go to New Mexico and sit down with Officer Clah, her mother, Detective Nez and Dr. Roanhorse. Or, better yet, be invisible and follow them around. 
 Characters and setting in a book don't often come alive for me. They did in Black Thunder. 
 I give Black Thunder a rating of Hel-of-a-Cast