49. Serpent Gate - Michael McGarrity

Kevin Kerney #3
Audio read by George Guidall
Recorded Books
Unabridged 6 cassettes/8.5 hrs.
314 pgs.
1998
Rating: 4

Two entirely different stories wrap themselves around each other and Kevin Kerney, who has been given the rank of Deputy Chief of the State Police, is clever enough to solve them both. His old nemesis, Mexican Enrique deLeon, whom he butted heads with in the first book, has masterminded a huge art theft from the governor's office. And Kerney is back and forth between Santa Fe and Mountainair, where he has solved the murder of a police officer. During that investigation he met mentally disabled Robert Cordova, and both stories "end" during a blizzard at Serpent Gate. We know there's more to come, too, because before the book closes we get a glimpse of deLeon on his yacht plotting revenge.....and of Kerney waiting for the outcome of a trial to find out if the woman he arrested in Mountainair will be acquitted. - thus allowed to enter his personal life.

I'm so glad I went to Santa Fe last Thanksgiving, because I have foggy pictures in my brain about the setting. Now I want to go back. And this time, I want to take a closer look at Truth or Consequences and Socorro, with side trips to some of the places mentioned so far in these three great novels. Looking forward to the fourth.

9. Mexican Hat - Michael McGarrity

For: Adults
Published: 1997
300 pgs.
Rating: 4
Finished: Feb. 6, 2009

This is the second in Michael McGarrity's series about Kevin Kerney, and unemployed inquisitive ex-cop in rural New Mexico. This story has a different setting than Tulerosa, it takes place in southern New Mexico, in the Silver City area, with one foray into Green Valley, just south of Tucson (which is always fun).

This time Kerney's taken a seasonal job as a forest ranger. He stumbles across some mysterious animal shootings, which look like possible smuggling jobs, and then a murder. Teaming up with game warden Jim Stiles and cat-and-mousing with the new assistant DA Karen Cox, they all work together to solve what turns out to be two sets of inter-realted crimes. Karen's elderly father, Edgar, and his twin brother, Eugene have not spoken in 60 years - and this, of course, is the center of the mystery. It was a good one, but some parts were slow and the introduction of the local militia needed more foreshadowing.

I'm looking forward to the next installment, Serpent Gate, to see where it takes place and what new characters it introduces.

4. Tularosa - Michael McGarrity

For: Adults
Published: 1996
1st in a series
304 pgs.
Rating: 4/5
Finished: Jan. 8, 2009

I don't know why I didn't say this book was a 5 - I really enjoyed the plot and setting, I couldn't wait to read more, it didn't leave any questions or holes, and I totally look forward to the next installment. It was that good. But I can't quite do it...
I think part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was that I traveled through New Mexico during Thanksgiving break, and could visualize the setting very well. I can also take a weekend trip to check out some of the places - I've always wanted to go to White Sands National Monument, which is where half the story takes place.

Kevin Kerney used to be a cop - a good one, a smart one, but was almost killed, and his injuries were major and long lasting. He retired as chief of detectives of the Santa Fe police department and became somewhat of a hermit, taking care of a ranch out in the boonies surrounding Santa Fe. When his ex-partner and ex-friend comes to him and asks him to find his missing son, he does - the young man is his godson. Sammy Yazzi is in the army, stationed and working at the White Sands area, and has been missing for six weeks. The story unfolds, clue by clue. Kerney has made many law enforcemenet contacts through the years, which comes in handy. He ends up spending time on the army post, working with Captain Sara Brannon, smart, clever - and still in the picture at the end of the book. The story includes army artifacts from the 19th century, stolen and hidden by Apaches, and trips in and out of Juarez, Mexico through El Paso (I was in El Paso this summer, so I can picture this, too!)

Lots of descriptions of the high desert. A really good read.