A customs agent must track down a killer on a train barreling across the Texas border into Mexico . . . When a train leaves Laredo en route to Mexico City, the trip turns terrifying as one passenger after another falls victim to murder. Will anyone make it to their destination alive? Fortunately, Hugh Rennert—US Customs agent and amateur detective—is on board, and his investigation will proceed full steam ahead . . . “You won’t go wrong in giving Todd Downing a try.” —Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

Turkey vultures, the most widely distributed and abundant scavenging birds of prey on the planet, are found from central Canada to the southern tip of Argentina, and nearly everywhere in between. In the United States we sometimes call them buzzards; in parts of Mexico the name is aura cabecirroja, in Uruguay jote cabeza colorada, and in Ecuador gallinazo aura. A huge bird, the turkey vulture is a familiar sight from culture to culture, in both hemispheres. But despite being ubiquitous and recognizable, the turkey vulture has never had a book of literary nonfiction devoted to it - until Vulture. Floating on six-foot wings, turkey vultures use their keen senses of smell and sight to locate carrion. Unlike their cousin the black vulture, turkey vultures do not kill weak or dying animals; instead, they cleanse, purify, and renew the environment by clearing it of decaying carcasses, thus slowing the spread of such dangerous pathogens as anthrax, rabies, and botulism. The beauty, grace, and important role of these birds in the ecosystem notwithstanding, turkey vultures are maligned and underappreciated; they have been accused of spreading disease and killing livestock, neither of which has ever been substantiated. Although turkey vultures are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes harming them a federal offense, the birds still face persecution. They've been killed because of their looks, their odor, and their presence in proximity to humans. Even the federal government occasionally sanctions "roost dispersals," which involve the harassment and sometimes the murder of communally roosting vultures during the cold winter months. Vulture follows a year in the life of a typical North American turkey vulture. By incorporating information from scientific papers and articles, as well as interviews with world-renowned raptor and vulture experts, author Katie Fallon examines all aspects of the bird's natural history: breeding, incubating eggs, raising chicks, migrating, and roosting. After reading this book you will never look at a vulture in the same way again.

Learn to Work with the Magick of the Dark Moon Shadow magick occupies a critical but often misunderstood role in the rich history of witchcraft. This book explores topics such as the ethical use of animal parts and bones, blood magick, dark moon energy, and other rarely discussed aspects of witchcraft. With a focus on ethically sourcing materials and suggestions for plant-based substitutions, author Kate Freuler provides much-needed information and hands-on techniques to help you strengthen your witchcraft practice, connect to nature, protect yourself (and your kith and kin), and know yourself in a deep way. Within these pages, you will also discover methods for hexing, scrying, sex magick, and working with dark deities in addition to the magickal use of graveyard dirt and performing spells to assist the crossing of a dying loved one. The shadow work explored in Of Blood and Bones reminds us that not everything is love and light, and that facing the dark side supports the quest to achieve spiritual wholeness.

Presents facts about disgusting things, organized into such categories as animals, food, and the human body.

Hugh Rennert investigates a strange series of suicides in near-rural Mexico.