The Shaman Tree — Richard Abshire

In the sequel to Gants, Texas police officers Abshire and Clair describe the later trials of ex-homicide detective Charlie Gants, hero of the critically praised original. While recovering from the breakdown caused by the terrors of the first case, Charlie accepts an assignment from Leighton Childress, lawyer to the late Amber McKendrick. Drowned at the McKendrick ranch in Texas, Amber could be the most recent victim of an Indian curse on the McKendricks for usurping Native American burial grounds. Meeting the large family--McKendrick, his wife, children and grandchildren--Charlie senses greed and suspects humans rather than ghosts are killing each other off, reducing the number of the patriarch's inheritors. But the detective's belief is shaken when the sudden deaths continue, every one preceded by a visit from an aged Indian, visible only to Charlie.