Shaky ground

From BOOKLIST:Bubba Mabry, an underemployed Albuquerque private eye, hates flying. But when Amber Fields, a paying client, wants to find her missing husband, biology professor Harry, Mabry takes a gut-wrenching helicopter ride over remote desert, where he finds the professors body. He then signs on with Amber to find the killer, who may have some connection with a reclusive real-estate developer--part Howard Hughes, part Don Corleone--also under investigation by reporter Felicia Quattlebaum, Bubbas fiancee. In a clever variation on the sleuthing-couple theme, Bubba and Felicia go Nick and Nora Charles one better by each solving the case--through different means. Bubba interviews the principals and tangles with mobsters, while Felicia analyzes real-estate deals. Brewers characters are appealing and amusing, and he vividly captures the feel of Albuquerques neighborhoods and the desert. His book also has unsettling insights about development, corruption, and environmental politics. A promising series.