Winner of the Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize 2016
Quixotic cop Franz Kafka’s small-town routine is disrupted by a mysterious death at Chimney Rock. Navajo cop Robbie Begay joins the murder investigation, which leads the mismatched duo across the reservation into the victim’s fraught past, to associates living under the shadow of heinous crimes, cunningly camouflaged meth-merchants, and sweet-natured squash-growers. The killer, it turns out, is much closer to home.
 
“Tony Hillerman fans will welcome Medhat’s excellent debut and series launch, a refreshing take on Navajo country’s crime, culture, and history. After the discovery of a man’s body carefully laid out near Chimney Rock, white policeman Franz Kafka (aka K), who has settled in fictional Milagro, San Matteo County (“one of the few places left in the Western hemisphere—and possibly the Eastern too—where his name rings no bells”), teams with Robbie Begay, a tracker with the Redwater Navajo Tribal Police. At the crime scene, Begay makes a number of impressive deductions from shoe and tire marks. Dental records identify the victim as 28-year-old Noah George, a member of a Navajo family known for its bad luck. As they investigate Noah’s troubled past, Begay and K swap stories, insights, and insults that brilliantly illuminate the daily obstacles that Native Americans encounter. Medhat, who holds a Ph.D. in medical anthropology, uses pathos and humor, tragedy and comedy, to spin an entertaining and original mystery. (Sept.) – Publishers Weekly starred review
 
"For readers who don’t know much about the Navajo, Medhat provides insight into their culture, past and present…. Like the rearview mirror on the cover reflecting a dark horizon, Medhat offers readers a chance to reflect on actions, inactions, and the lack of understanding and trust between the smaller cultural groups and the majority population…. More books featuring this winning character would be welcome.”  – Rain Taxi Review of Books