The Legacy of the Crimson Warrior
A Jamie Blackwood Mystery
Some secrets are buried for centuries. Some are worth killing for.
In the rugged hills of West Virginia's Kanawha State Forest, the discovery of a mummified body in a hidden cave should have been just another archaeological find for Professor Jamie Blackwood. But when the six-and-a-half-foot-tall remains are found surrounded by both medieval European armor and Native American burial items, Jamie knows he's stumbled onto something unprecedented-a mystery eight centuries in the making.
As a former Army Ranger still battling PTSD, Jamie was seeking peace in these ancient hills. Instead, he finds violence when one of his students is attacked and left in a coma. When local detective Sandra Elkfoot is assigned to the case, their investigation uncovers a trail of blood leading back through generations of local history.
The mummified warrior-a red-haired giant wearing Norse armor-challenges everything historians thought they knew about pre-Columbian contact. But for someone in the present, the discovery isn't just historically significant-it's worth committing murder to keep hidden.
Racing against a killer who will stop at nothing to claim what he believes is his birthright, Jamie and Sandra must decipher ancient clues while navigating their growing attraction to each other. As the body count rises, they realize that the truth about the "Crimson Warrior" could rewrite history-if they live long enough to reveal it.
In the shadows of Appalachia, the past isn't just preserved.
It's alive. And deadly.