Mexico Books

Very well written romance/detective mystery. Has a
great and interesting plot - flows well. Really
exciting and hard to put down. Can't wait to read her
next book.

The publisher would like to market Schaeffer Brown as a private investigator with a penchant for literary allusion, but this is a book that succeeds on many levels. Candace Katz offers a vivid portrait of metropolitan Washington, D.C. (from the White House mess to Madeira School to Heidelberg Bakery!), and then moves effortlessly to Oaxaca, Mexico, with its distinctive mix of vibrant cultures, ancient and modern. It's impossible not to care about the characters in this book. Best of all, there is a surprise (and very exciting) ending, one that will make every reader wonder about how Katz will develop her appealing but slightly ditsy protagonist in the sequel that is sure to come.

Schaeffer Brown, who lives in a staid suburb of Washington DC --is a petite blonde, an easygoing but nervy dame with innocence reinforced with insouciance, guts, grit, and a fine sense of panic shored up by an iron will. Not someone you'd usually meet on your commute to work....or maybe she is!

To pull herself out of a blue-funk brought on by a smarmy divorce, she becomes, of all things (surprising even herself) a PI!!

Candace Katz brings to life a delightful, albeit dizzy character who mixes guffaws with gumption, gutsiness with gore, a dainty woman with gallows humor and a steel trap of a mind behind all that coyness and cuteness.

Involved in an ever widening net of intrigue, murder and mayhem in Mexico, our heroine has her legs pecked by angry turkeys on second class Mexican buses, picks her way thru tombs in the dry hot dusty outskirts, packs away more than a few blue martinis in out of the way tourist traps -- all the while zeroing in on her prey while trying to rescue a damsel in distress and decipher a cryptic note while time runs out and nefarious characters close in on her.

Drawn into these adventures like someone who tags along breathlesssly in the background, I could not put this book down.

The book's colorful cover is a portent of things to come -- it brings to mind the sinister beauty encountered by PI Brown as she gets drawn into this ever widening net of intrigue, while she gets to know the impoverished denizens of these run down towns, who maintain a sense of dignity, friendship and loyalty even while they eke out a hardscrabble existence.

And just as you are about to breathe a huge sigh of relief (and Brown, you wield a MEAN tear gas canister!!!), there is M-O-R-E. The mix of "savory" and unsavory, chills, thrills and dry wit will keep you, dear reader on your toes.

Is this Candace Katz' first book? Bravo!!!! May there be MANY more like it!!

The delightful cover of Candace Katz's new book caught my eye, but it was the engrossing story that held my interest. I like a story that transports me to another world, and this book did just that. I loved the picture of Oaxaca, Mexico that Ms. Katz painted; she made me feel as if I were there. Private Investigator Shaeffer Brown is a smart, adventurous, and very human character. I like that she worries about making mistakes but carries on with her job anyway. I hope her next case is as interesting as her first.

I highly recommend this book. I prefer mysteries written by women and I now have a new writer to add to my list of favorites. The book is well written, engrossing, and full of interesting characters, including and especially Schaeffer Brown herself. The author has a distinctive voice and a wonderful eye for detail. I hope that this is the first of a long line of Schaeffer Brown mysteries.

JH (Washington, DC)

This tome covers corn "ear" to toe. I love the sassy tone and contrarian viewpoints.

I must admit, I am actually a beet person (well, root vegetables generally) and bought this book to get ammo to goof on my corn enthusiast friends. But how the worm has turned! Corn and human history are inextricably linked, a bonding of nurture and social evolution. This book lays down the facts.

I guess in retrospect my "hubris" about beets was misguided and wrong. I now think the lesson I learned, whether it pertains to vegetables, politics, music or whatever, is that YOU SHOULD NEVER UNDERESTIMATE DIFFERENT OPINIONS. It's too easy to do, and is an easy way to miss out on fundamental truths.

In that sense, this book transcends it's core audience of corn folk (cornies?) and teaches a much deeper lesson if you are not really interested in corn - that well disciplined research into unfamiliar topics can instruct and delight the receptive reader.

Read it, enjoy and reflect.

Food historian Betty Fussell's survey of corn history blends folklore, anthropology, botany and social and art history to provide a lively blend of anecdotes and facts about world corn, from its influence on war and ritual uses in the Inca and Aztec worlds to its use as a key ingredient in different cultures' cuisines. The Story Of Corn isn't a cookbook; it's a specialized food history which will appeal across many different lines, from students of anthropology and sociology to culinary enthusiasts and history buffs.

Everything you want to know about corn is found in this book. And I mean everything. We see corn growing in fields everyday but do we actually stop and think about it? Do we pull over to the side of the road and LOOK at it? It's amazing how corn has been around longer than anyone will know. This book covers an overwhelming amount of detail. If you don't find it interesting you're just not a corn person. In fact, the only thing it doesn't answer is why I threw up over a bad cob one time. I don't throw up.

I love corn. Whether it's cobbed, creamed, breaded, or popped. This book is non-stop corn!

As a native of New Mexico I found this book wonderful. I live with a Navajo who was raised very traditionally and he found the book wonderful also. Douglas Preston is the best.

It's a pleasure to enjoy the author's background studies (dry) and then his reality (with large hail stones) on a search that leads to more respect... for everything.
Reading this book caused me to yearn for some concrete search of my own, and that is the dream this book passes along. It was given to me as someone else's favorite book. I can see why. Thanks.

It helps immensely to have travelled to the Navajo Nation when reading this story. I found that I had minor interest in the developing family story, compared to the lore and myth of the SW Native Americans. If you've travelled to the SW and are familiar with horses, you'll love this book.

A wonderful read, both encouraging and disheartening, with some real family values thrown in. A graphic, first-hand description of the way things were and are, and might be. Mr. Preston provides many enduring messages about the sanctity of life and living that the Bilagaana have nearly completely lost in our rush of subservience to the technology god.

This book and its predecessor, Cities of Gold, chronicle the amazing, arduous, foolhardy, inspired journeys of a "yankee" in search of the traces of cultures his own people have nearly annihilated. Unlike many memoirists, Preston doesn't shrink from chronicling his own failures and misjudgments, and that's what makes him so accessible to the people he meets along the way, and to the reader him or herself. Most of us will probably never have the guts to make these journeys or get to know all these people - that's what makes this book such a radical act of anti-tourism. Above all it's a poignant homage to "the people." (They know who they are!) If you're a horse person, a traveler to the southwest, or if you're just interested in the question "what is American?" you have to read these books now. And don't miss the great story about the skinwalkers - it's enough to keep you cold in July.

Thompson's book goes where few others have gone before; inside the lives of undocumented workers from New York to Mexico. It's a human story of family, survival, and love. This book should give pause to anyone who tries to argue that undocumented workers do not bring value to our country. Thompson writes clearly and allows those he meets to speak for themselves, something that is too rare in our public debate about immigration.

This is a well-written narrative that doesn't go far enough. In particular, there's a very untold story about Hispanics in the suburbs that one documentary (Farmingville) brought to light at its worst -- and that was only touched upon in this book...the clash of race and class is being played out in the suburbs and Jose's brief stint in Porchester felt like an aside. That said, this book is moving, well-written, and compassionate, particularly the road trip to Mexico...a terrific story in itself. CBock

Thompson writes a fact filled account of the life of his friend Enrique, a Mexican immigrant living in Brooklyn, and the people around him. The author meets Enrique as a tenant struggling with housing issues. Later in the book Thompson travels to Mexico with Enrique and members of his family. The many experiences are described with conversations and impressions but little editorializing by the author. And that is not needed because the stories speak for themselves. This book fills an incredible gap.

The truth about Mexican immigration

Gabriel Thompson hits the heart of immigration problem. People tend to oppose to migration blindly without analyzing the factors that propel all these poor people to work outside of their homeland, being humiliated, underpaid, and overworked for a few dollars. Also all these "Minuteman" and other racists would not do the work that a Mexican does; yet they want to throw out the people who give this country their work so that those racists could live in the land of plenty. People that oppose this migration are also the descendants of other immigrants that came to this country for the same reasons as these new migrants. Mexican migrants and all migrants in general are the backbone of our industry and our economy, we should be thankful that there are people like these poor Mexicans and migrants from other countries that do so much work in exchange of very little. I'm grateful that amid this sea of racism and ignorance there are a few people like Gabriel Thompson that expose the truth as it is.

The best work of non-fiction narrative I have read in years. It reminds me of Jimmy Breslin's down-to-earth journalistic style. Sorry Lou Dobbs, there is no political spin here; you can get this book for your racist uncle or for your socialist aunt because this book speaks to the heart and helps you realize that Enrique could have been either an Irish, Norwegian, or German immigrant in a different time and a different place. Still, Enrique's journey is fascinating and knowing that people of his stature still come to our shores makes me feel optimistic about the future of this country.

I'm not much into westerns, but I sure liked this one!

This is rapid-paced action. With each event, Trimble paints the stage thoroughly, but he knows you are anxious for the story and so gets through it quickly. There is violence and brutality, necessary for the plot, but he doesn't dwell on it. It's presented, you know about it, and then he quickly moves on. I appreciated that.

I got so involved with the characters, I couldn't resist a peek at the last couple of pages very early on. Breathing a sigh of relief at the outcome, I could go back and finish the book leisurely. Not really "leisurely" though, because it was so hard to put down.

Richard Trimble's Trail of the Wolf is a good read with an important message between the covers.

The book is set in the old Southwest, with a set of very believable characters, good, bad, and all varieties in between. The author has clearly done his homework on the geography, customs, and language.

I won't give too much away, but the substance of the book is an exploration of a what if: What if a town in the New Mexico Territory had fallen for one of the great public policy delusions of contemporary America? The consequences are disaster. Trimble's working out of the ramifications are exciting, well-hewn, and illuminating.

I hope the author has more books like this one in him.

Westerns have never been my thing - I can take them or leave them. This one was hard to put down. I became involved with the characters and stayed on the trail with Blackie. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read!!!! I can't wait for another book by this author.

If you like westerns, "Trail of the Wolf" is a refreshing new look at what the west was really like. It is written in a style that does not follow the same old worn-out western formula. In fact, it is more than a western. Action, adventure, human nature, are all in this book. The author paints such a realistic picture of the late 1870's west; it's like he was an eyewitness to the events portrayed in the book.

The story is set in the New Mexico Territory in 1878, in the quite little town of Gold Creek. There is a cause and effect to all our actions. What happens when the residents get complacent about their lives brings to light what can happen in any age, not just "the Wild West".

This is a story that is as fresh as this morning's newspaper. I couldn't put it down until I finished. There are very few books today that I can say that about. If you want a book that will hold your interest, entertain, and give you an insight into human nature, this is a book you should not pass up. A great read.

This is the first western novel that I have ever read, but if Dick writes another one, I will surely read it. ... and this was a real treat. The characters become so real, and the suspense is dynamic. I am very familiar with the territory described in the book, and again, it is very realistic.

Over the last year I have visited Western New Mexico on numerous occasions, including many of the settings of Trinity Fields and its sequel, Ariel's Crossing. Morrow's description of the New Mexican countryside and its people is exquisite, allowing me to see that beautiful State with a fresh appreciation of its natural, historical, and spiritual beauty.

Morrow's treatise on the human affinity for and in the end the banality of war-particularly Vietnam-is worthy of another Pulitzer. The metaphorical power of the friendship of Kip and Brice is best understood as complementary alter egos, forces and instincts that exist side by side within many of us.

I read Ariel's Crossing prior to reading Trinity Fields. While I also loved the sequel, I recommend reading Trinity first, since Ariel builds on the characterizaions so carefully wrought in Trinity. Read them both for a great literary experience.

Philip argues with Victor about his love for Chloe as Victor claims he's too young to know what love really is. When their argument heats up, Victor grounds him for having low grades and being distracted by Chloe. Stefano overhears Brandon pleading with Lexie to give Isaac to Hope where he belongs. Stefano first offers him money to keep quiet and then threatens him but Brandon isn't frightened which worries Lexie. When Stefano complains to Rolf about this trouble, Rolf decides to kill Brandon. Belle and Chloe look for Bo and Hope to tell them about what Belle saw at the river. Hearing the fire department found nothing after dragging the river again, Bo decides Hope's right that J.T. is still alive. This, folks, is the wonderful world of "Trinity Fields." Read it and learn the meaning of the word "enthralled." Here's how many tiny yet flamingly intense white dwarfs I give it: ****************************************************************************. Wow!

1968, by Joe Haldeman, and Trinity Fields, by Bradford Morrow

1968 will surprise readers who think of Joe Haldeman exclusively as a science fiction writer. Its stunning realism and cynical outlook are harrowing. Haldeman's main character is Spider, a soldier in Vietnam. Haldeman never compromises his grim vision of this pivotal year in American history--just when you think it can't get worse for poor Spider, it does. The writing is razor sharp--I was especially enamored of the sections relating Spider's evolving description of his wounding and near death in an ambush. The story changes with time and with Spider's experiences and mental state. At story's end, Haldeman turns the tables and tells the story from another participant's point of view. In doing so, he manages to give the entire book an ironic spin.

The focus in Trinity Fields is on Brice McCarthy, who's sedate existence is interrupted by a letter from a friend he thought long dead. The letter causes Brice to reflect on his life, and, more importantly, on the influence that his boyhood friend, Kip Calder, has had on him. As sons of scientists working on the Manhattan Project, the duo literally grew up in the shadow of the atomic bomb. As children, the two were inseparable, but as they grew older their paths diverged. Their deteriorating friendship finally collapses over their philosophical differences regarding the Vietnam War and their love for the same woman. Ultimately, Brice joins the radical Left and Kip flies secret missions over Laos. Morrow's description of their meeting some twenty five years later, and the poignant favor Kip asks of Brice provide an emotional and satisfying climax.

Taken together, 1968 and Trinity Fields provide plenty of food for thought. Morrow's book, cerebral and reflective, is the perfect complement to the more visceral and gruelling 1968. In both, the horror stems from the Vietnam war, and the physical and mental damage it inflicted. Individually, either book is worthy of your attention, but I recommend that you read them together for greater impact.

Brad Morrow has a way with words ... He crafts them into exquisite sentences, paragraphs and mental pictures that are wonderfully refreshing. The story is compelling ... His Characters believable. I loved it! Great job, Brad!

As a member of the so called X-generation, I have a better understanding of what my parents must have gone through regarding Vietnam. Morrow's writing style puts you right in the scene. As I was reading it I was convinced this must be his life story. It was so real. However, the acknowledgments at the end point out that this is not his life, but his incredible imagination. I will be reading more Bradford Morrow.

One Mexican American family decides to cross the border, leaving behind friends and family in the search for a better life: their experiences are told through the eyes of teen Clara, who has never met her father's parents and doesn't know much about her Mexican heritage. An invitation to visit them introduces her to a new world - and new decisions - in this story of the aftermath of a journey.

This is one of those rare books that shows how remarkable and exciting the world we live in is. It has all the intrigue, magic, and adventure of the best fantasy books, yet it's real. Or rather, it happens in a real place, with real cultures and history presented in an enchanting way. I was swept up by the story, the characters, the beautiful writing, and the extremely well-depicted settings.

I highly recommend this book to teachers who want to expose their students to the richness of other cultures, to adults who want to recapture a sense of youthful adventure, and to teens who are looking for something to read that they won't be able to put down. But more than just a good read, this is an important, timely book that explores the issue of immigration from an unusual perspective --that of an American born girl who travels to southern Mexico to discover her heritage. It's a book that reveals the hidden magic in life while depicting the sparkling essence of humanity and the fine threads that connect us all. Reading it will remind you of all that's wonderful in the world.

This is a fantastic book. The literature says it is for 10 and above, but as an adult I had no problem reading it. The language is beautiful - almost lyrical. This book is a great jumping off point to get kids talking about pride and heritage. I'm sure this book is going to find its way into classrooms very quickly.

Buy it, buy it, buy it!

I was lucky enough to meet Laura Resau when she came and gave a talk in my Children's Literature class in Maryland. I have to say that there isn't a thing in this book that wasn't derived from her life experiences. When she talks about the "limpia," the ritual steam baths, and lifestyles of the people in Mexico, she was there, she saw them, she experienced them. This is what makes this novel so compelling; from the beginning, the characters feel like real people and it's because they were based on real people!

Don't be detered by the seemingly young adult cover, this is a book for all ages! More than anything, this book is about a girl named Clara trying to find herself, and does so when she visits her grandparents in a small village in Mexico. The characters in this book are so real and they are so natural that you can't help but be drawn into their lives.

Clara is a typical teenage girl who needs her tv and her computer, but she finds that these things aren't nearly as important when she begins to live in Mexico. By reading this book, you not only learn more about a culture that is rarely or if ever talked about, but you may find that you learn a little about yourself and what your true passion is. If anything, you'll come away with a new appreciation for an area of the world that you know little about.

Overall, this is an unputdownable book and deserves the attention of everyone! If you are lucky enough to have Laura Resau coming to your area, go see her and listen to her talk about her experiences and where she gets her inspiration from! It will definitly inspire you.

Resau's writing has the feel of someone who has spent years perfecting her art so that now she can tell a compelling story with richness and color and depth, writing that speaks on many levels and conveys a whole culture, another way of life. The writing is taut, without excess, but at the same time full and sensuous, erecting edifices with a flick of a word or two. Her sentences themselves are like questing vines, with curlicues in their interior!

I like how Resau brings out the wider reverberations of events as they rumble by. For instance, right at the beginning, Clara sneaks out of her house at night and submerges herself under the water in the nearby stream. It's a baptism into the other world, a world far from her suburban upbringing, an intimation of the spirit world she'll enter more fully later in the story. It's so powerful, the type of iconic image that keeps returning to one's mind after reading passages like this.

As the chapters progress the tension and drama grows. It got my heart pounding, totally worried about what was going to happen. I didn't want to stop reading and it kept getting better as I saw more and more of the connections between the stories of the grandmother and grandchild.

I really like how Resau weaves multiple occurrences of events/actions/people through the novel and then joins them so that the different pieces all slide smoothly one into another. She's created a page-turner, but one where you savor the individual pages with their evocative and vivid experiences.

And it feels like Resau is honoring some of the people she's met on her travels, transferring some essence of them into the characters in the book, spreading their determination and way of being out to others in the world.

On one level, this story is about a girl becoming aware of her ancestry and powers, and her acceptance of these. On another level, it's about getting all of us to listen to the messages sent by the natural and spiritual world. But, most simply, it's a wonderful read, a satisfying story for readers of all ages.

It was a used book but was in good shape.
the book was send really fast.

Read this book before you read "Rain of Gold". "Wild Steps of Heaven" is a short read and actually the paternal part of the family story. I wish Villasenor had included the info in Wild Steps of Heaven" in "Rain of Gold". Both books are a wonderful patchwork of history,and genuine family integrity. Excellent summer read!

In times of hardship heroes are needed and none moreso than in Mexico as revolution rages. The Villasenor family patriarch, an exiled red-haired Spaniard, has married an Indian woman. The first ten years of the marriage are a time of great love and passion, and the children born first are fair and favor Don Juan Villasenor. Later children are dark like their mother. One of the dark ones, Jose, from age 12 must live in the barn because he defied his father and gentled a stallion to rescue his baby brother holding onto the leg rather than shoot the horse. In his exile and solitude a hero begins his training with Grandfather Don Pio Castro who knows Jose understands the power of love and gentleness. This will be the son who defends la familia during the revolution from the soldiers who time and again attach the village. The colonel commanding the troops more particularly desires Jose's true love Mariposa and destroys her. Ultimately, the younger brother Juan (author Villasenor's father) begins to show heroic tendencies himself and will be the one to defend his mother and the remaining family against the colonel. Villasenor moves the tale along with a powerful, songlike cadence. Notable characters are the giant cousins, Basilio and Agustin, who strip naked and race the lightning and then Halley's comet on January 17, 1910, a night of magic and love, the day before el colonel begins shooting up the home village, el paraiso de Los Altos de Jalisco. Each chapter begins with epigrams featuring "Great Father Sun" that provide a sense of power from above, as in "the heavens smile . . . as all around him the gods and serpents did battle." When the final epigram tells us "and out of these children of the earth and of the stars would now come a glorious new gente in all their wonder and fire," we realize that while we have been traveling through an exciting story with more twists and turns than fiction, we also have been participating in something approximating a creation myth. Highly recommended is Villasenor's first tale of the family Villasenor, Rain of Gold.

I first read "Wild Steps of Heaven" while I was in college. I have never been one who was able to finish a full book, but I couldn't get enough of this one. And once I was through with it I had to go out and find more books by Victor Villaseñor. He makes everything seem magical but at the same time believeable. It is like the ultimate adult fairy tale. Each character has so much life. The story is one that you just want to follow, you want it to keep going. Even the sad and painful stories shine with beauty as Villaseñor tells them. This is my absolute favorite book and I highly recommend it. You won't understand until you read it.

This is a wonderful book. This book is about a family living during the Mexican Revolution.His writing just takes into this magical world and even though you know that he has made a little piece of history into this great big piece of fiction, he does it so as a matter-of -fact that you just can't believe that it's not true.

great book with a story that keep you on your toes and will finish before you put it down

I am definitely a fan of Aimee Thurlo and Davide Thurlo's Ella Clah mysteries. Yes, they have supplanted Tony Hillerman for me. At last, an intelligent female Indian officer who is embroiled in this book with the closing of the uranium mines in New Mexico. For those who have the eyes to comprehend, she deftly brings in the illnesses the Indians experience because of the mining. Few people are aware of how the mining on Indian reservations contributes to their health, but also their poverty.

This book brings out the subtle effects of a near-death experience, the superstition and fanaticism of people who cannot understand that there is something beyong death. The authors weave a realistic tale of conflict between the traditionalists and the modernists that is intense and holds the reader's attention. Bettye Johnson, award-winning author of Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls.

I have been a Tony Hillerman fan, then I got onto the Thurlo's also like the Coel Book that I chose. Am going to order more Thurlo's because our local library does not handle. Thank you so much for your (Amazon) speedy shipping and thd books were in perfect condition.

I liked this book in spite of myself. It is a prime example of the "detective-as-target" school of mystery writing. Ella Clah not only has to cope with assorted bad guys trying to kill or maim her, she must also deal with being shunned by many of the traditionalist Navajos. Shades of Patricia Cornwell's persecuted heroine, Kate Scarpetta.

What redeemed the book in my eyes was that the Thurlos successfully mix Clah's police activities with details of the traditionalist practices of her mother and brother. The only homicide in the story is solved early. The remaining complications arise from factional conflict on the reservation. A couple of Ella's antagonists from previous books get their comeuppance. A pretty slight plot, but an enjoyable read.

Aimee and David Thurlo have added a ninth installment to their Ella Clah series. These novels take place on a Four Corners, New Mexico reservation where Clah is a special investigator for the Navajo Tribal Police. Her family is "traditionalist" and her brother Clifford is a respected hataalli, or medicine man, who at the start of the book is singing hatals. "These songs of blessing compelled the Navajo gods to bring good luck to the land the yellow dust had corrupted and give it new life. Navajo prayers were not petitions. If recited just right, it was believed that the gods couldn't fail to comply."

The rituals are part of a ceremony to kick off the demolition of warrens of abandoned uranium mines that are a danger to the population. Their demise fills the hopes of the tribe, which are vested in "NEED, which stood for Navajo Electrical Energy Development ? the Navajo Nation's first step toward a more prosperous future." The abject poverty on the Rez is palpable and the "lack of funds still took a heavy toll on the tribe's ability to provide and maintain emergency services. Police equipment was badly outdated and salaries hadn't been improved in years. Even the hospital was understaffed."

Ella follows her nephew and his friend when they wander away from the crowd. She sensed the danger they were in as they played "somewhere behind a cluster of boulders several yards away." After a quiet "lecture" about learning patience and warning them about the sick land, her nephew falls off a plank and was pulled into an ever-widening hole. "He dangled helplessly over the edge, staring at her with terrified eyes. 'I'm going to fall!' " Finally, she manages to lift him up to safely. As she tried to save herself, "a wall of sand came sliding down and before she could cry out, Ella felt herself plummeting down a narrow tunnel." When she is found and rescued everyone thinks she is dead. The EMTs are no longer working on her and have covered her with a sheet. At first even her brother considered her to be dead. But after an out-of-body experience, "Ella pushes [the sheet] aside and sits up. No need for CPR ? it worked." Ella is back. But for a Navajo just "coming back" is not that easy.

Various and sundry legends, stories, myths and rituals comprise the traditional and modern Navajo belief systems. Some of these are contradictory and put Clah in the strange position of having to prove she has not been "touched" or "contaminated" or "taken over" by evil spirits. She had an experience the year before that convinced her that "she'd discovered ? skinwalkers --- Navajo witches known for their practices and rituals associated with the dead --- [who] were using [the] old mines for their own purposes." But on this happy day she was convinced that "skinwalkers had apparently stopped using this site after authorities had destroyed a few of the larger shafts."

Clifford says, "Her wind spirit has drifted. We, as Navajos, are taught that life begins when wind enters the body at birth and that death happens when it leaves through the fingertips. I've tried to convince the [traditionalists] that once the wind spirit leaves ? it never returns to the person it left behind. It waits for another to be born. So you couldn't have been dead."

To clear her path and remove the shadow of death that has now shrouded her, Ella must assuage the fears of some of her people. She must be the focus of an obscure ceremony or "Sing" that is required in the circumstances. Clifford tells her, "Only one hataalii knows the Sing you need --- hastiin sdni which means 'old man'; [so aged he] was to be in his nineties. [Unfortunately] the Singer [she needs] has gone off on a spiritual journey. He's visiting the shrines of his clan and could be nearly anywhere." Clah knows she has no choice but to go looking for this person, and the sooner she gets started the sooner the Sing can be performed.

At first she has no luck in tracking the old man down. But in the interim she's called out on a vandalism call and then an arson/murder. Both are connected to the activism of the victims who are fighting for handgun registration on the reservation. The woman who died in the fire had been in a wheelchair for years as a result of a gunshot wound. She and her husband were at the vanguard of the new legislation and obvious targets of the rednecks who saw them as enemies.

As events unfold Ella is caught up in maintaining her dignity and keeping the respect of the people to whom she feels responsible. WIND SPIRIT is a craftily written novel that is rich in Navajo history and life on the reservation. Both the lead and supporting characters are deftly fleshed out, which adds verisimilitude to the different issues that confront them throughout the novel. Tension is high when the vandals keep at their ugly mission, a hostage crisis becomes full blown, and dead bodies mount as gunshots ring out in deafening finality.

By the end of the book Clifford speaks to his sister: "I heard from the hataalii we've all been searching for. He's finished his other business and will be here today. The Sing can begin this afternoon." When he left her and she took stock of her situation she found "it was clear that she'd have her work cut out for her during the coming months [despite the cleansing of the Sing] but for now she'd restore her own inner balance and harmony by joining her family. It was time to walk in beauty."

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

See my review for The Woman Who Found Grace - the first book finished and I immediately wanted to read the next two. Now all we need is the fourth and it's a box set I know lots of people would enjoy. Maybe Christmas next year!

A note I sent to the Authoress:

Bett,
I meant to tell you a few weeks ago that I had completed "Woman Who Knew Too Much." I have "Moon" on order now.

I'm not qualified to write a book review but just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed this book. One of the few I've read from cover to cover. I am familiar with the Pecos river down here in our part of the country and your description fit so perfectly. I could see, hear and smell it vividly in my mind as I read. I really enjoyed the charactors. Loved Kit, and naturally, Cord. Sheriff Juan (Sam Elliott) was great, as well as, Metz and Marguerite. I could just visualize how sorry Jaz was and why no one could really miss him. The cats flying in all directions when startled brought a verbal laugh. My wife just looked over at me and wondered "what in the world........". I felt like I was on the back of the horse with you when we went to Jaz's shack. I saw and smelled all that stuff too. I was sad about Jones. (Old Yeller?)

My norm is getting up between 3:30 and 4 am each morning, pouring a cup of coffee and go to the computer to tend to emails. Well when I got the book, I would have the coffee, read about an hour or so, then go to the computer. Toward the end, I couldn't wait to get the computer stuff done and go back to the book. It would make a great movie.

Looking forward to "Moon".

Kenn

The author has a real talent for creating place--you feel the storms, sweat in the heat, and choke on the dust of the southwest. Plus she has created some unique characters with original motivations and insights and her plot, though complicated, is entirely believable. Whoever said the heroine doesn't appear until well into the book obviously didn't read it very carefully--and the revelation of who the heroine is is part of the fun of the book--a thinking person's mystery novel--

I read The Woman Who Rode to the Moon last week, and am about 1/2-way through the sequel. I'm enjoying the characters, but the writing and story are a bit uneven. The author keeps shifting voices, detailing the story as observed from different points of view. This works better at some points than at others.

I'm not averse to the style. In fact, one of my all-time favorite books, Patience and Sarah (Isabel Miller) does the same thing. But I don't feel it's especially well handled here. The voice shifts are abrupt and the story, when told from Cord's point of view, often becomes confusing.

It also seems like the book can't decide if it wants to be a heterosexual feminist story or a lesbian story. There are allusions to lesbian attraction, but all of the overt sexuality in the book is straight. It seems like it's trying to attract a lesbian audience, but afraid of offending the heterosexual buying public.

Mixed feelings from me. I enjoyed it very much in parts, and was put off a bit in others. Overall, a positive 4 star review, and I felt it was worth reading the sequel. But it never quite felt like it delivered on the promise I initially felt.

Great Mystery! Lots of fun. One step beyond the traditional woman sleuth; mystery novel. A new great character and a unique storyline. I enjoyed the mystery of the woman working behind the scene; lurking in the shadowds. And a woman who knows and enjoys all her electronic toys and gadgets. Do not miss"THE WOMAN WHO RODE TO THE MOON" A thinking woman book. Enjoy