From the award-winning and #1 bestselling author of Sufferance and Indians on Vacation

When relics of the mysterious Obsidian murders resurface in Chinook, Thumps DreadfulWater is determined to close this case once and for all.

Thumps DreadfulWater’s world is turned upside down when Nina Maslow, the producer of a true-crime reality-TV show, turns up dead after working on a cold case that Thumps has spent years trying to forget. What’s more, someone seems set on taunting Thumps, leaving reminders of the Obsidian murder case around town. Is it possible that the elusive serial killer who murdered his girlfriend and her daughter all those years ago has resurfaced in Chinook? Or is this the work of a copycat looking to mess with Thumps by stirring up memories from his past?

Dragged back into a case that has haunted him for years, Thumps DreadfulWater is determined to solve the mystery of the Obsidian murders. But as he works the case, he begins to realize just how dangerous the person he is dealing with is—and that he might be the next target.

Thumps DreadfulWater, the sly, wry, reluctant investigator of Cold Skies and A Matter of Malice, returns in another irresistible mystery that only Thomas King could create.

Thomas King, who is of Cherokee and Greek descent, is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, scriptwriter, and photographer. His first novel, Medicine River, won several awards, including the PEN/Josephine Miles Award and the Writers Guild of Alberta Award, and was shortlisted for the 1991 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. It was also made into a CBC television movie. Green Grass, Running Water, his second novel, was shortlisted for the 1993 Governor General's Award and won the 1994 Canadian Authors Award for fiction. His highly praised short story collection, One Good Story, That One, was a Canadian bestseller, and his collection of Massey Lectures, The Truth About Stories, won the 2003 Trillium Book Award. He has also written three acclaimed children's books: A Coyote Columbus Story, Coyote Sings to the Moon, and Coyote's New Suit. Thomas King lives in Guelph, Ontario, and is an Associate Professor of English (teaching Native literature and creative writing) at the University of Guelph.

Thomas King's profile page

• Globe & Mail 100: Our Favourite Books of 2020
• Bony Blithe Bloody Words Light Mystery Award
• Crime Writers of Canada Awards: Best Crime Novel

“Thankfully, unlike most writers, King actually is funny when he intends to be.” — Globe and Mail (Toronto)

“King’s Thumps Dreadfulwater is a marvelous character . . . any of King’s Dreadfulwater novels will take you right out of your reading chair and into the action.” — Globe and Mail (Toronto)

“King’s books are filled with mischief and sly humour, but his words always manage to reveal some hidden truth about life which makes you look at the world in a slightly different way than you did prior to reading his work. Even his mystery stories are more than what they look like on the surface and Obsidian is no exception.” — Blogcritics.org