Though he’s best known as the author of the wonderfully charming Charlie Moon mysteries, the first James D. Doss book, believe it or not, was a highly technical engineer’s guide on superconductivity. As an engineer at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, he was uniquely suited to the subject, but fortunately for us, he next decided to pursue fiction, and though his initial attempts were bumpy, it wasn’t long before his mystery novels struck a chord with detective fiction fans everywhere.

Interestingly enough, the first book in the Charlie Moon mysteries was initially just supposed to be centered on small-town chief of police Scott Parris, but as Doss did more research on the Southern Colorado territory, he became more and more interested in the Ute tribe, and tribal investigator Charlie Moon and his irrepressible Aunt Daisy were born. Now, informed by an intense respect for the culture, myths, mysticism and sly humor of the Utes, James D. Doss books have become favorites not just among fans of mystery novels, but by readers of all stripes—and some, including The Shaman Sings, have been awarded best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. With plots touching on everything from the intersection of high tech and mysticism, the theft of a sacred artifact, an insidiously clever murder at a Sun Dance and more, the Charlie Moon mysteries are detective fiction at its most clever and entertaining. We eagerly await more James D. Doss books!