The Taos News reviews my novel!
“A Lapidary Murder Mystery,” by Amy Boaz, The Taos News, in Tiempo, Feb. 24, 2022. Excerpts:
Turquoise functions like gold in this contemporary mystery set in the fictitious Tulona Pueblo in northern New Mexico. As Hernán Cortés is quoted as replying to Moctezuma’s question why the Spanish came to Tenochtitlan in 1519: “We Spanish have sickness of the heart and its only cure is gold.”
…The body of a man is found on the edge of Tulona Pueblo, punctured at the gut, yet having been moved from the original place where he bled to death. Called the Red Feather man by his boots and red bandana, the dead man seems to have been deliberately positioned to face the home of medicine man Santiago Majerus — rumored to be a sorcerer, a “Sleep Maker.”
…The bad guys in this novel try to exploit the ancient rivalries over turquoise mining in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, such as the long-exhausted King’s Manassa and Cerrillos mines. In this story, the elusive gemlike stones originate in the Blue Lady mine — containing another tantalizing legend that seduces greedy men.
…The strength of the novel lies in its layers of authentic detail — from tribal rituals and sense of ceremony, clan relations and grievances that reach back decades but are never forgotten, to the enchanting setting of the high desert, villages and local speech and customs. Author Matthews emphasizes in his preface (as well as in extensive endnotes) that he “respects boundaries” in his depictions, such as of Tulona Feast Day, and has abided by “standards of Article 31, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007.”
Many Thanks!
Thanks, Amy and The Taos News for reviewing my book. I knew if I could pass a critical reading of my book among Taosenos, I would be okay. For the full review, click the following link, https://www.taosnews.com/tempo/books/a-lapidary-murder-mystery/article_54f4409f-37d8-5d0f-9631-6452023a0318.html.
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Jack Matthews, PhD ~ Author 