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Picnic in the ruins : a novel  Cover Image Book Book

Picnic in the ruins : a novel / Todd Robert Petersen.

Summary:

"Anthropologist Sophia Shepard is researching the impact of tourism on cultural sites in a remote national monument on the Utah-Arizona border when she crosses paths with two small-time criminals. The Ashdown brothers were hired to steal maps from a “collector” of Native American artifacts, but their ineptitude has alerted the local sheriff to their presence. Their employer, a former lobbyist seeking lucrative monument land that may soon be open to energy exploration, sends a fixer to clean up their mess. Suddenly, Sophia must put her theories to the test in the real world, and the stakes are higher than she could have ever imagined. What begins as a madcap caper across the RV-strewn vacation lands of southern Utah becomes a meditation on mythology, authenticity, the ethics of preservation, and one nagging question: Who owns the past?"-- Publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781640093225 (paperback)
  • Physical Description: 328 pages ; 23 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: Berkeley, California : Counterpoint, 2021.
Subject: Women anthropologists > Fiction.
National monuments > Utah > Fiction.
Utah > Fiction.
Genre: Mystery fiction.
Suspense fiction.
Black humor.

Available copies

  • 3 of 3 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Terrace Public Library.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 3 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Holdable? Status Due Date
Terrace Public Library PET (Text) 35151001115088 Adult Fiction Volume hold Available -

  • Baker & Taylor
    "Anthropologist Sophia Shepard is researching the impact of tourism on cultural sites in a remote national monument on the Utah-Arizona border when she unexpectedly crosses paths with two small-time criminals. The Ashdown brothers were hired to steal maps from a collector of Native American artifacts, but instead of delivering as promised, the brothers are out to strike it rich. But their ineptitude has alerted the local sheriff to their presence--and forced their employer, a former lobbyist seeking lucrative monument land that may soon be open to energy exploration, to send a fixer to clean up their mess before it upsets her machinations. Sheriff Dalton, following the Ashdowns' trail, soon discovers he's not dealing with a simple burglary--and any hope the sheriff had for peace and quiet is long gone."--Provided by publisher.
  • Baker & Taylor
    When she crosses paths with two small-time criminals, who have been hired to steal maps from a “collector” of Native American artifacts, anthropologist Sophia Shepard embarks on a madcap caper across the RV-strewn vacation lands of southern Utah to put her theories to the test. Original.
  • Random House, Inc.
    Named Best Mystery Thriller in the 2021 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards
     
    "Part mystery; part quirky, darkly funny, mayhem-filled thriller; and part meditation on what it means to 'own' land, artifacts, and the narrative of history in the West . . . A fast-paced, highly entertaining hybrid of Tony Hillerman and Edward Abbey." --Kirkus Reviews

    Anthropologist Sophia Shepard is researching the impact of tourism on cultural sites in a remote national monument on the Utah-Arizona border when she crosses paths with two small-time criminals. The Ashdown brothers were hired to steal maps from a "collector" of Native American artifacts, but their ineptitude has alerted the local sheriff to their presence. Their employer, a former lobbyist seeking lucrative monument land that may soon be open to energy exploration, sends a fixer to clean up their mess. Suddenly, Sophia must put her theories to the test in the real world, and the stakes are higher than she could have ever imagined.

    What begins as a madcap caper across the RV-strewn vacation lands of southern Utah becomes a meditation on mythology, authenticity, the ethics of preservation, and one nagging question: Who owns the past?

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