Bo Bradley works for Child Protective Services in San Diego, she also is manic-depressive and with medication and psychotherapy she is able to lead an almost normal life. A Mayan baby is poisoned and he becomes one of Bo’s cases. She searches for the mother and hopes to reunite them, but before she can the mother is murdered.

Interesting characters all well-defined and interconnected each contributing to solving the overall mystery. Enjoyable and informative read. ( )

Bo Bradley, a San Diego social worker employed as an investigator for the Children’s Protective Services Department, is assigned a case regarding a Mayan child who has been poisoned while being cared for by a Latino couple while his mother pursues her singing career. The child is called Acito, Little Turtle. The poison is very rare, must be carefully cultivated and stored, and is usually fatal.
Relying on her acute instincts, brought about by her manic/depressive condition, Bo travels not only to find the person who poisoned Acito but also to figure out why, to find his mother, and to find a home for him.
While learning about the Mayan culture, Bo finds out that among the Mayan, deformities were considered gifts by the ancient Maya. “A cleft palate or club foot, an extra finger or crossed eyes–any departure from the physical norm was evidence of the god’s favor.... Often a baby’s head was wrapped to flatten its forehead so the child would become godlike.”
TURTLE BABY has many twists and turns and maintained my interest. The writing is crisp, the characters believable and likable, and the answer to the poisoning question totally unexpected. My only criticism is that some of the situations are a bit too contrived: The person just happened to be in the right remote location at the exactly correct moment.
This is the third of the series and all of them are good reads. ( )