The Blue Flower Case

A detective, western, sci-fi story concerning Chandleresque homicide detective Phillip Lambert who solves cosmic questions on assignment in northwestern Montana. Fresno homicide detective Phillip Lambert is breaking down. Haunted by memories of his ex-wife, a painter who committed suicide, and of his policeman father, killed by an assassin when Phillip was a boy, Lambert hears voices as he drifts toward his own psychic death. The ghost of melancholy poet Weldon Kees becomes a constant companion, until suddenly Lambert and his partner, Sergeant Glad, head for Montana on a federal exchange program. There they work with Sheriff Jack Blair to investigate a string of cattle mutilations under the Big Sky. Military secrets, flying saucers, a modern-day Trojan horse, and a new love help Lambert solve the Blue Flower Case.