Some days later, a maintenance man at the library discovers the body of a young woman in a locked basement storage room. She is assumed to be a homeless person who has overdosed on heroin, though the authorities are not completely comfortable with that scenario. Since the death occurred in her building, Claire takes a special interest in the case.

Claire realizes that, while she does not know the young victim's name, she was the young woman present at the poetry reading, and that she had, in fact, talked to her after the presentation. She learns that the woman was homeless and that her street name was Maia. Knowing a smattering of mythology she realizes that the name has a mythological relevance.

According to Greek legend, Maia was one of seven women who fled to the sky to escape persecution by an abuser. Enigmatically, a valuable illustration torn from a valuable library book is found near the victim's body. The illustration refers to an astronomically important site in Colorado, which Claire deems to be significant.

Claire's determination to understand Maia's life and death, perhaps enhanced by flashbacks to circumstances in her own life, forces her to use what scant information she has to follow a trail that leads to Taos where Maia grew up and to the aforementioned site in Colorado. She is not sure she really wants to find the answers, yet she believes she owes it to Maia and her younger self to achieve some semblance of peace.

Although there is a mystery to be solved regarding Maia's strange death, the major thrust of this novel is a diatribe on the physical abuse of women by callous members of the opposite sex. Claire's primary reason for getting involved in this case is to atone for her silence when she was physically abused as a child. Although she still believes her reasoning for not speaking out was just, in this way she is championing the cause of women rights. Clearly the subject is an important one in today's society, but the mystery suffers because of the attention focused on this problem.

A mini lesson in Greek mythology, especially the origin of the constellation Pleiades lends some heft and interest to the story. The author also relates similar legends that were developed independently by the Kiowa people regarding the same stars. Another educational side trip within the story is a discussion of an area in Colorado known as the Spiral Rocks and how this site relates to the concept of the Maximum Moon. Both ideas should enhance the knowledge of those readers with limited exposure to astronomy.

The fact that the main protagonist in this series is a librarian (as opposed to the more PC term Media Specialist) holds great appeal for me. Unfortunately, Claire's profession has only limited importance in this adventure. Obviously her research skills make it possible for her to understand what Maia chose the name she did, as well as the significance of a single page torn from a valuable library book, but the subject of this book is centered more on Claire's emotional health than her talents in her professional capacity.

Descriptive passages about the geographical features of the American Southwest add a bright note to a rather average mystery. I have nothing against mysteries where the emphasis is on character development or interrelationships between individuals, if the quality of the writing is of high caliber. This novel spends too many pages discussing a problem that, albeit a legitimate one, has gotten more than its share of attention of late.

--Andy Plonka