Tularosa, Michael McGarrity (W.W. Norton & Co., 1996)****

 

A close friend of mine and a real fan of mystery novels, had long known that I was a fan of Tony Hillerman and was always trying to get me to read some of McGarrity’s books, another New Mexico author, but it was several years before I finally got around to it.  I wish that I hadn’t waited so long.  I came across his fourth novel, Hermit’s Peak, while browsing in a local bookstore.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and  then went on to read some of his others.  I’m reviewing Tularosa here because it was his first, it won lots of awards and it’s a great introduction to this author’s novels.  (see “An Interview with Michael McGarrity” on this website)

 

Much of the story takes place near a military base at White Sands, New Mexico, where a soldier, Sammy Yazzi, is inexplicably AWOL.  It happens that Sammy is the son of a Navajo policeman and  the god-son of  Kevin Kerney, who once worked as a policeman with Sammy’s father until forced to retire from an injury--caused by Sammy’s father, Terry.  In spite of hard feelings, Kerney agrees to help Terry find his son and the story shifts from Santa Fe to the deserts of southern New Mexico.

 

During his investigation, Kerney encounters a hard-nosed but very attractive army officer who is also working on the case.  Even though her ‘by the book’ methods are not Kerney’s style, they are attracted to each other by their love of horses and raised-on-a-ranch backgrounds.  Kerney convinces her to accompany him on horseback into a restricted area where Sammy may have gone exploring because Kerney’s family ranch was once located there.  They discover a cache of old army artifacts worth millions and encounter ruthless profiteers who are selling them across the border, which eventually leads to some close escapes on both sides of the border.  Lots of suspense and excitement carry the story to a nail-biting conclusion.  When you finish it, you’ll probably want to go out and pick up some of his following novels.