An Arizona Borderlands Mystery (Book One) 2016
In 1540 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led an expeditionary force out of Old Mexico into what is now the American Southwest. His journey provides the historical backdrop for this contemporary mystery novel. Deputy Sheriff Calvin Creede mostly works alone in a one corner of Arizona’s smallest county. His job has been a relatively simple one until the day that a flash flood exposes the rusted remains of an old pickup. A body in the truck turns out to be that of the long-lost son of a prominent ranching family, and forensic evidence shows it was murder. Deputy Creede faces a twenty year old cold case with too many suspects, from an ex-girlfriend and jealous family members, to drug lords and looters of archaeological sites. The story unfolds amidst two social and environmental issues affecting modern day southeastern Arizona: the loss of native rangeland to exurban development, and tensions along the border between Mexico and the United States. Resolution of the case leaves both of these problems vexingly in place, but sheds dramatic, albeit fictional, new light on a southwestern mystery that predates these more recent problems by nearly five centuries.
Reviews
“The basic whodunit of the crime . . . and the twisting trail of clues that leads to the murderer and ultimate justice mark Coronado’s Trail as clever crime fiction. Carl and Jane Bock have written a mystery that satisfies on many different levels. The clincher for fans of mysteries, especially those set in the West, is that this impressive book is loaded with the Bocks’ deep knowledge of the Arizona borderlands and their obvious admiration for the people who live in that untamed, sun-drenched country.”
- Manuel Ramos, award-winning author of My Bad: a Mile High Noir.
“A tantalizing, well-crafted mystery. The vast and mysterious Arizona borderlands, a cast of characters who move in rhythm with the landscape, and an old murder casting a shadow over the present. All here, and more. Jane and Carl Bock know the borderlands well, and their love for the history, culture and people shines through every page.”
- Margaret Coel, New York Times bestselling author of Winter’s Child.