In the summer of 1938, as war clouds loom overseas, auto racers from around the world gather at the Bonneville Salt Flats west of Salt Lake City, intent on breaking the land-speed record. But when Clive Underhill, a wealthy English motorist, mysteriously disappears and his younger brother, Nigel, is found dead, Art Oveson of the Salt Lake City Missing Persons Bureau is called to investigate.
Suddenly, Art’s best friend and former partner, Roscoe Lund, becomes the number-one suspect in Nigel’s murder, prompting Art to follow a murky trail involving homegrown fascists, bigoted ex-cops, a string of homicides, and a German auto racer with a mysterious past. And, through it all, FBI Agent Frank Oveson tries to prevent his “kid brother” Art from discovering dark truths that may threaten his life.
Tony Hillerman Prize–winning author and historian Andrew Hunt transports us to 1930s Salt Lake City in Desolation Flats,this engrossing, detailed mystery that shows what goes on behind the scenes in the supposedly clean-cut Mormon capital.

Andrew Hunt's profile page

ANDREW HUNT is a professor of history in Waterloo, Ontario. His areas of study include post-1945 U.S. History, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the American West. He has written reviews forThe Globe and Mail andThe National Post,authored works of nonfiction,The Turning andDavid Dellinger, and is coauthor ofThe 1980s. His first novel in the Art Oveson series,City of Saints,was the winner of the Tony Hillerman Prize, and was followed by its sequel,A Killing in Zion. He grew up in Salt Lake City and lives in Canada.

Praise forDesolation Flats
"Set in 1938, Hunt’s outstanding third mystery featuring Mormon policeman Art Oveson combines a moving portrayal of a man attempting to deal with his wife’s depression with a clever whodunit story line. . . .The richness of the characters, including secondary ones, and the imaginative plot make this the best yet in the series." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This knockout of a novel finds Mormon police detective Art Oveson where we left him at the end of last year's fineA Killing in Zion - in 1930s Salt Lake City. But this novel is so powerful it can be taken as a stand-alone." —Booklist (starred review)
"Hunt's characters are full of surprises....Desolation Flatsis a well-written murder mystery." —The Deseret News
Praise forCity of Saints
“Mixing in a terrifically paced plot and a memorable policeman hero . . .City of Saints is full of juicy twists that go deep into Mormon doctrine and travel as far as Hollywood.”
—National Post (Canada)
“Hunt’s first-person narrative in this gritty mystery is spot-on and conjures up a disturbing portrait of Salt Lake City’s criminal underbelly in the midst of the Great Depression.”
—Deseret News
Praise forA Killing in Zion
“Hunt’s excellent second mystery featuring Art Oveson lives up to the promise of his Hillerman Prize–winning debut,City of Saints. . . . Readers will cheer a hero who is not only a fine policeman but also a family man with a strong moral compass.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Some authors excel at crafting compelling historical fiction, others at building, brick-by-brick, gripping mystery/police procedural plots. Andrew Hunt is crackerjack at both."
—BookBrowse