Death Pans Out (2007)

In Ashna Graves' Death Pans Out, a reluctant heroine seeks refuge at the cabin of a disappeared relative, then gets embroiled in a plot that uncovers buried family secrets, an insidious conspiracy, and a corpse. It's a familiar setup, but Graves finds new gold in dem hills by setting her tale in Oregon mining country and drawing upon personal experience to create a unique protagonist: Jeneva Leopold, a journalist recovering from breast cancer. Of course, what makes the book unusual also makes it quite precious; if you don't dig prose poems about rugged hills and eccentric codgers, this ain't for you. It's also a bit too thematically tidy. Still, Graves unearths a small, strong gem of a book. B