The Third Hand

2013 Quarter-Finalist - Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards (ABNA)

Mystery and international intrigue weren’t part of the deal when teens Fred Rolson and Kary Bowman agreed to deliver a car full of much needed satellite and medical equipment to Fred’s missionary brother in Mexico.

Crossing the Navajo Nation in Arizona, their car is stolen, a man is kidnaped and the boys are stranded in the middle of the desert. With their new friend, Susie Shepherd, the teens investigate only to find themselves held prisoner deep inside the black heart of Shuddering Mountain, still with unanswered questions:

• Who is the mysterious stranger who warned the boys to stay out of Mexico?
• Who is friend and who is foe?
• What’s so important about a small piece of turquoise the kidnaped man was wearing?
• And—most of all—who is the terrifying Coyote?

A flashflood, an encounter with a wild puma, and a visit to a Navajo Sing are just part of this spellbinding adventure for readers young and old.

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"In The Third Hand, Jim Cook crafts a suspenseful page-turner that engaged me from the first page. Before you start reading, set aside enough time to finish; the story is so gripping that you won't want to put it down." - Virginia Smith, author of Dangerous Impostor and Bullseye

Jim Cook attended the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, retired from Utah State Government where he spent most of his working time in the Utah Department of Corrections, has been a mentor of FIRST Robotics team 3230 since it was formed in 2010 and is a long-time member of the Utah Christian Writers Fellowship. He writes in several genres.