Judith Van Gieson Books in Order

Albuquerque lawyer Neil Hamel travels to Mexico to investigate a favor connected with an old relationship, only to discover a murdered attorney. Back home, she follows the tangled case across the border, encountering threats from people determined to conceal the truth.

A journey to Montana to see a rare falcon draws Neil Hamel into a murder investigation after a man falls from a cliff. Protecting a naturalist accused of the crime exposes her to poachers, environmental conflicts, and dangerous human predators.

An old friend's death near Santa Fe is dismissed as suicide, but Neil Hamel doubts the official explanation. Her investigation uncovers disputes over a controversial development and possible corruption, testing the loyalties of people connected to her friend's past.

Neil Hamel assists an environmentalist campaigning to restore wolves near the border. When his wolf disappears and a federal official is killed, she must defend her client while tracing a dangerous desert trail toward the secrets behind the murder.

Neil Hamel takes the case of an elderly woman accused of killing the person responsible for her son's accidental death. Her investigation across the Southwest probes the histories of both victim and defendant, uncovering dangerous truths behind the apparent revenge.

A wealthy client hires Neil Hamel after his estranged wife and a valuable macaw disappear. A suspected parrot smuggler and a risky ransom exchange draw her into a case where the client's priorities and motives are far from reassuring.

Parents grieving a firefighter's death ask Neil Hamel to pursue a negligence case against the Forest Service. Investigating the fatal blaze leads her into disputes among survivors and officials, then a fresh fire turns her inquiry toward possible arson.

Neil Hamel's thirteen-year-old neighbor confesses to killing a teenager, although prosecutors favor a rival gang member as the suspect. Representing the girl forces Neil to investigate family troubles, gang pressures, and whether a willingness to accept punishment actually signals guilt.

Archivist Claire Reynier collects a valuable book donation from an old friend's remote ranch, then learns he has died. His newly discovered daughter claims she helped him end his life, while a subsequent book theft suggests a more complicated mystery.

Claire Reynier offers shelter to a struggling college friend, then discovers identity theft and missing valuables. When the friend is murdered and evidence implicates Claire, she uses her research skills and rare-book contacts to disentangle several women's stolen identities.

A missing writer's journal resurfaces more than thirty years after he vanished in Utah's canyon country. Asked to authenticate it, Claire Reynier investigates the unresolved disappearance while danger gathers around those trying to uncover what the notebook reveals.

Claire Reynier examines an old document discovered beneath a family's adobe home, possibly connected to a mystic condemned by the Mexican Inquisition. Before she can authenticate it, the letter vanishes and a contemporary tragedy turns historical research into a dangerous investigation.

A young woman is found dead beneath the university library with an illustration from a valuable astronomy book. Claire Reynier follows clues through Albuquerque's homeless community and a secretive Taos commune, searching for the victim's history despite threats against her inquiry.