Mary Manhein is best known for founding LSU’s Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Lab, which is famous for its forensic facial reconstructions that help identify human remains. Since retiring from LSU 10 years ago, Manhein has authored several nonfiction books about her career in forensic anthropology, co-authored a book about Louisiana’s endangered cemeteries and written several whodunits, including a mystery series for young readers.

Manhein’s many years as a forensic scientist connected her with deep loss, a subject that shapes her writing but doesn’t define it. Her ultimate concern is resilience, our power to answer a broken world with tenderness and ingenuity.

That theme rests at the heart of “A Call to Rowan,” Manhein’s new novella that follows 13-year-old Marle

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