Lou and her husband Paul built a home on 240 acres in the high desert outside of Arivaca, Arizona. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and just a few miles from the Mexican border, the couple decided it was a great place to retire. Their home was well fortified in case of emergency, but they felt free to enjoy the land around their home.

One day a black SUV came out of nowhere and threatened their peaceful existence. They found out from their close friend Sheriff Jack Connors that a distant neighbor in the area also had been bothered by someone in a black SUV who had been hanging around their home.

When someone tried to break into Lou and Paul’s house one night a couple of weeks later, they started searching for a reason they or their home would be a target. Shortly after that situation, Lou found an odd blue football-shaped object in the desert.

Intrigued, the couple continued to investigate the mostly night-time activities going on around them until they realized smugglers were using their land to transport illegal aliens across the border from Mexico. The couple’s decision to do whatever they could to stop the illegal human trafficking put them in the crosshairs of a greedy group of men willing to go to any lengths to get what they wanted.

Desert Shadow was written by Eileen Harris, author of the intriguing Alicia Trent Mystery series including Antique Magic and Antique Forgery. The topic of human trafficking in the area along the Mexican-American border has been a subject of much debate for decades. Harris has successfully used the theme to highlight how far smugglers will go to bring illegal aliens into the country and how far others will go to protect those who are being misused.

The author’s strong sense of place brings the desert alive. Readers will feel the beauty and experience the danger inherent in such wide open landscape. Harris is able to describe the sounds and hushed movement taking place in the middle of the night in the high desert region to such a degree that readers are likely to feel shivers down their spine. The author is well acquainted with the area and it shows throughout the story line.

Desert Shadow is a captivating page-turner as well as a fairly quick read. I haven’t heard whether this is the first in a new series or not, but more stories from this area of the United States and this author would be welcomed.

A special thank you goes to Eileen Harris and Wings Press, Inc. for providing a complimentary copy of this book for our review. If you are interested in purchasing any of her books, they are available at Desert Shadow.