Three Daggers Dripping by Keith Donnelly is the sixth book in the “Donald Youngblood” mystery series. Publisher: John F. Blair, January 2016

Eight years ago, Sheila Buckworth’s ten-year-old son, Michael, disappeared with another young boy. The authorities classified them as runaways—no ransom note, no reason to believe they were abducted. Now, Sheila thinks she knows what happened to Michael and wants Donald Youngblood to prove it.

The case soon intersects with an FBI terrorist investigation when Youngblood and sheriff’s deputy Billy Two-Feathers find themselves in the desert of southwest Arizona on the Tohono O’Odham Indian Reservation uncovering a sinister plot to inflict damage on the U.S. government. Racing against time to discover the lair of the terrorist group known as the Midnight Riders, Youngblood and the FBI must thwart the plan before the group can execute its “big event.”

Meanwhile, Youngblood’s adopted daughter, Lacy, asks him to investigate the death of a classmate. Clay Carr, a local all-state football player, has crashed his car and killed his girlfriend. As Clay remains in a coma, Youngblood learns the crash was no accident. Working with his police-detective wife, Mary, he travels through a maze of dead ends trying to find the person responsible.

Juggling two cases is nothing new for Donald Youngblood, who once again proves he is up to the task.

Like fine wine, this series gets better and better as it ages and does not let up from the first sentence until that last word has been read in this fast-paced and action-packed drama. The Youngbloods all played a role in this intriguing mystery that had me quickly turning the pages as I had to know what happens next. The author did a very good job in presenting the narrative with great aplomb and I enjoyed watching Don and the team traversed through a myriad of clues as this drama powered on to an ending befitting the crime. With a wonderful cast of characters and engaging dialogue, this book is one of the best in the series thus far and I look forward to more exciting adventures with Don and his friend in the next book in this terrific series.