The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard

Okay! Do not be thrown off by this pathetic title. This is actually an excellent murder mystery by Nancy Pickard. Though I wasn't  thrilled with her previous work, I have to admit I was pretty impressed with this one. The story starts in 1987 during a blizzard. While rounding up newborn calves , the sheriff of Small Plains and his teenage sons, Rex and Patrick, discover the naked frozen body of a beautiful teenage girl. Recognizing the dead girl and fearing that the killer is someone they know and need to "protect", they bash the girl's face with the help of the town's doctor and leave her in the snow to be later "discovered" by someone.


Unfortunately there was a witness. Fast forward to modern times. The dead girl earns world renown as the "virgin of the plains" who supposedly granted miracles to anyone who visits her grave. Then some unusual things start to happen and the truth about the dead girl starts to unravel. 


The author has successfully tied up the unanswered questions of the past with the next set of events in the present time in a thrilling but gradual manner . In the end the poor "virgin" is eventually redeemed with the whole story finally breaking open to the reader.