Description:

Vernon Moody is a modern cop who likes to catch killers the modern way - with computers and common sense. He's not happy when his latest case revolves around the supposedly mystical properties of a lost Navaho sandpainting. Or when the painting leads him to suspect an alien presence.

From Publishers Weekly

Foster's ( Glory Lane ) talent for taking intellectual leaps into the near future is again evinced in this SF murder mystery that hinges on an understanding of ancient Navajo culture, the art of sandpainting and the secret medicine rituals known as Ways. The title alludes to the novel's central puzzle: Why was an industrialist killed, and the unusual, oddly designed sandpainting in his primitive art collection destroyed? Foster characteristically domesticates an incredible plot through the creation of commonplace heroes--in this case, an overweight police detective named Vernon Moody, whose deceptively sluggish appearance masks the determination to unravel a crime. Foster makes good use of his locales--the upper-class enclaves of Tampa, Fla., and the dry flats of Arizona's Navajo country. And although he isn't much of a stylist--the pace lags and sentences often have a stilted quality--he plays off technology and Native American tradition in a clever story.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The murder of a businessman/art collector and the destruction of a priceless Navaho sand painting involve reluctant detective Vernon Moody in a collision of cultures as computer technology and shamanistic mysticism open a path into an unfamiliar dimension. Known for his film novelizations as well as for his original sf and fantasy, Foster creates a fascinating amalgam of sf/detective fiction and Native American lore in a novel that features a pair of engagingly mismatched protagonists. This will be welcome in most sf collections.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.