TROUBLE AT THE RED PUEBLO
By Liz Adair
(A Continuation of her highly acclaimed Spider Latham
series.)
Liz Adair is a bankable, award-winning author known for delivering must-turn-the-next-page–novels, and creating endearing, compelling characters. Trouble at the Red Pueblo continues that tradition.
Spider
Latham is an old “friend” of Adair’s creation, whose previous adventures are
played out in three earlier novels, The
Lodger, After Goliath, and Snakewater
Affair. After writing several award-winning novels set in other locales,
Adair returned to writing books set in her beloved southwest, spinning a new
adventure for her desert cowboy, Spider Latham—a Matt Dillon, or a Walter
Longmire-type. Spider is honest to a fault, faithful as a Labrador, tough as
nails, and ready to put his own neck on the line for what he believes.
The
novel begins with a simple private detective assignment for cowboy/lawman
Spider Latham and his sidekick/wife Laurie. But the simple task of unearthing
the reason behind lawsuits crippling a small privately-owned Anasazi museum
soon escalates into a mystery with a dozen motives and high-powered suspects. When
the twists and turns lead to murder, some fingers point too close to home,
threatening people the Lathams love, causing a rift between Spider and his only
love—Laurie.
In Trouble at the Red Pueblo, Spider
believes there is a connection between the arrival of two wealthy, attractive museum
visitors and the events threatening to destroy the museum director, his family,
and his life’s work. The more Spider digs, the more uncomfortable his findings
become, and as sure as his gut instincts are, he is out of his jurisdiction,
and somewhat hogtied to help.
But as
in every good western, the cavalry is nearby. In this case, that heroic help
arrives in the form of some most unlikely international acquaintances—Karam
Monsour, a Palestinian professor of American history collecting American
idioms, whose auto breakdown lands him in Kanab, Utah during Spider’s
investigation. This storyline adds terrific comic relief and makes a great read
all by itself, but throw in some cowboy-loving Chinese tourists, a three-legged
dog, and some pulse-raising romantic scenes, and it becomes clear that Adair
has packed this delicious mystery to appeal to a wide swath of readers.
Trouble at the Red Pueblo is a refreshing pleasure. At
352 pages, it breezes along with clever twists and one-liners that sneak up and
grab you in, well, in the the saddle region, while the suspense keeps you flipping pages. Spider Latham and Laurie have chemistry that knots your heart up and gets you invested at page one. Whether you love modern westerns, stories
about loyalty, or a cozy mystery, Trouble
at the Red Pueblo delivers a read that satisfies. As soon as you
turn the last page, you’ll want to read the others. It’s that good.
Trouble at the Red Pueblo is available in softcover and in a variety of e-reader formats. Visit Liz' Adair's web site to view all her books. You'll find purchase links there for her entire collection of outstanding reads.
