LOOKING TO GET IN TOUCH with northern New Mexico culture? Dive into the second book in Alisa Lynn Valdés’s bestselling thriller series starring state game warden Jodi Luna. In Blood Mountain (Thomas & Mercer), the fictional Rio Truchas County comes alive with familiar characters and scenery: small farmers, land-hungry billionaires, predatory oil-and-gas frackers, bears, elk, and breathtakingly beautiful landscapes. Amid this backdrop, Luna investigates a missing person tied to the county’s wealthiest ranch owners, a mostly dysfunctional band of outsiders whose internal drama rivals that of Yellowstone’s Dutton family. When a blizzard hits their fishing lodge, snowing Luna in along with the rest, she must ferret out a killer.    

Read more: In her new crime series, the Albuquerque author introduces an impressive wildlife protector.