FFB Review: El Camino Del Rio: A Novel by Jim Sanderson

Orbiting buzzards in the desert country often indicate that a person is dead out there somewhere. Those circling buzzards did in this case as U.S. Border Patrol Officer Dolph Martinez had seen them and headed their way while pursuing a group of undocumented workers that had crossed the border and were heading through the surrounding desert. Dolph Martinez had first seen the blood on a cactus and then found the body. While it is not immediately clear whether or not the deceased person was part of that group under custody nearby, it is clear is that the deceased probably died by way of having his head opened up via gunshot and not the perils of the desert. The deceased is also wearing distinctive boots and is not the first person wearing those particular style of boots to be found dead in the surrounding desert in recent days.

 

Based out of the hardship duty station in Presidio, Texas, Patrol Officer Dolph Martinez, wants to investigate the case. Especially because the deceased was found clutching a vial of blue metallic liquid. One of those reasons he wants to investigate is that Sister Quinn is known to pass these vials out now and then as some sort of talisman. In a region known for eccentrics, she stands out as she is part nun and part witch doctor. Some believe she is a saint in human form while other locals claim she transforms into an owl at night, just like the souls of the dead, and flies around to perch on tombstones. She is complicated and a sign that everything is going to get very complicated fast.

 

Investigating a murder has little to do with his job description, so his boss shuts down that idea. Instead, the mission of the Border Patrol is to round up the folks they were tracking, process them, and send them back across the border knowing full well they are going to see them again.

 

But, officer Dolph Martinez can’t leave it alone and is soon talking to the nun and many other folks while running afoul of his boss, an officious DEA agent, and a number of other folks who wish he would accept life as it is in the Border county where a river does nothing to stem the flow of people and goods. The investigation may kill him, body and soul, before he is through as things are going to get complicated and weird.

 

El Camino Del Rio: A Novel by Jim Sanderson was the 1997 Frank Waters Southwest Writing Contest winner and was published in 1998. As such, it depicts the Southwest Texas border country that I grew up with and existed before 9/11 changed everything. Because it was published over twenty years ago, it reflects language that may offend some readers today as it repeatedly refers to “wets” which is slang for “wetbacks” or illegals. It also contains some language that does not reflect women in the best way of description along with some graphic scenes of intimate sexuality. It is a book in today’s world that, at times, some would classify as “edgy” and others would call misogynistic.

 

Regardless of all that, there is a complicated and quite intense bordering on the surreal read at work here. El Camino Del Rio: A Novel does not fit easily into any labeling box. I enjoyed it while conceding that the last forty pages or so delves into the surreal and issues far too complicated to be easily explained. I also concede the fact that part of my appreciation was no doubt fueled by my love for the Big Bend area that dates back to my earliest childhood memories. This is not a read for everyone, but it is a very good read. 

El Camino Del Rio: A Novel

Jim Sanderson

https://www.jimsanderson-writer.com/

University of New Mexico Press

August 1998

ISBN# 0-8263-1990-4

227 Pages

 

 

My reading copy came from the Downtown Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021

Review: "Firebreak" by Tricia Fields

Weather in Texas often is one of two extremes--- flood or fire. It has been a couple years since the floods came to Southwest Texas. Now it has been 9 months since rain fell in the desert area and now wildfire is the threat to Artemis and the surrounding area. The threat comes from the north and south with Artemis trapped in the middle. Evacuations are ordered for parts of Arroyo County, but not everyone will agree to leave. This area of southwest Texas where folks are used to hard times, desert conditions, and relying on themselves and their ingenuity to survive, makes for a people to don’t turn away from a fight.

In the aftermath of the fires that spare the home of Artemis Police Chief Josie Gray, a body is found in the remains of the badly damaged home of Billy and Brenda Nix. If his wife and manager, Brenda, is to be believed Billy is about to make it big with a Nashville music contract. Billy is old school country and sings while playing guitar. Both he and his wife evacuated, according to some of the locals, but neither one is answering their cell phone. They may be up in Austin lining up future events or somewhere else. In the chaos of the evacuation they were seen at least once, but nobody really knows where they are or why they would not be answering their cell phones.

The location of the Nixes, the identity of the body, and figuring out what happened should be Police Chief Josie Gray’s priority and focus. A focus that isn’t easy to maintain, as thanks to the events in Wrecked, her longtime boyfriend has packed up and left. Getting kidnapped by a drug cartel can kind of put a damper on the whole romance thing. Four months later and normalcy is a foreign concept for both her and Dillion.

Firebreak is the fourth in a series that began with the award winning The Territory. This latest mystery features once again the deep characters and desert beauty present in the earlier books as well as the complicated cases Police Chief Josie Gray and her team must solve. This is a series best read in order as there are references to earlier events in each novel. The books are very good and so is Firebreak. If this series is new to you, it will be another year before Tricia Fields has another so get to work as you have some very good books to read. 

Firebreak

Tricia Fields

http://www.triciafields.com

Minotaur Books (A Thomas Dunne Book)

http://www.minotaurbooks.com

March 2015

ISBN# 978-1-250-05505-7

Hardback (available in e-book)

288 Pages

$25.99

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Senior News Newspaper Book Review Column---June 2014

For my monthly newspaper book review column in the Senior News Newspaper, I try to make sure to choose one fiction and one nonfiction book in the hopes of interesting more readers. Cookbooks are very popular so I included one as well as the latest mystery in a very good series. Included below are the relevant book covers for my June 2014 column…

Stuffed: The Ultimate Comfort Food Book-- Taking Your Favorite Foods And Stuffing Them To Make New, Different And Delicious Meals

Dan Whalen

ISBN# 978-1-62414-011-2

Paperback

208 Pages

Have you ever thought about combining two different foods into one super food? Like putting a cheeseburger inside a ravioli? “Cheeseburger Ravioli Burger” looks really good and the recipe is here on pages 84-85. Or, maybe you have a craving for something like “Lobster Stuffed Fried Mac and Cheese Balls” (pages 94-95) or a “Mac and Cheese Stuffed Burger” (pages 100-101). The culinary possibilities are intriguing and quite varied in Stuffed: The Ultimate Comfort Food Book by Dan Whalen.

After a brief and interesting introduction the book is broken into six chapters featuring lots of possibilities. Each recipe has an ingredient list and directions, the number of portions it makes, a heat scale as to flavor, and a “Pig-Out” scale as how gluttonous you feel. There are not any specifics regarding fats, salts, etc., as the ratings are more of an unspecified personal scale. Some recipes have pictures, but most do not. This same format continues throughout the book and features recipes that are designed for those who do not have dietary restrictions and are open to experimentation.

Wrecked

Tricia Fields

Minotaur Books (Thomas Dunne Book)

ISBN# 978-1-250-02137-3

Hardback (also available in e-book and audio)

320 Pages

The series that began with the award winning, The Territory, and continued in Scratchgravel Road, continues in the recently released Wrecked. While this novel could be read as a standalone, because of the numerous and often spoiler references to the two prior books scattered throughout this novel, readers who have not read this series would be prudent to start at the beginning.

Deep in southwest Texas in the Big Bend region sits the small town of Artemis, Texas. A small border town where folks struggle to survive despite the economy of the region as well as the violence that occasionally spills across the border into Texas. Chief of Police Josie Gray knows firsthand about the violence that comes across the border and is about to again as her boyfriend, Dillon Reese, will be taken.

While the previous books were more police procedural oriented, this one is considerably more psychological suspense as it shifts through the various character viewpoints. The primary focus is on what Dillon’s disappearance does to Chief Gray and others as well as what being kidnapped does to Dillon. Despite the occasionally travelogue feel to the series, the reads are complex and feature realistic characters and multiple interesting storylines. As noted, this is one of those series best read in order from the beginning.

Kevin R Tipple ©2014

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Review: "Wrecked: by Tricia Fields

The series that began with the award winning, The Territory, and continued in Scratchgravel Road, continues in the recently released Wrecked. While this novel could be read as a standalone, because of the numerous references to the two prior books scattered throughout this novel, readers who have read the earlier works will appreciate this one more. Some of those references are clear spoilers for the prior books.

Deep in southwest Texas in the Big Bend region lays the small town of Artemis, Texas. A small border town where folks struggle to survive despite the economy of the region as well as the violence that occasionally spills across the border into Texas. Chief of Police Josie Gray knows firsthand about the violence that comes across the border and might prefer that to local politics.

The idea that Mayor Steve Moss would show up at her door one morning at 6:30 am is something she has never had to contemplate before. This spring morning he has arrived unannounced and she is less than thrilled to see him no matter what he wants. She has been Chief of Police for six years now and their mutual distrust has steadily grown. According to the Mayor, a local woman by the name of Roxanne Spar, went to one of the officer the night before and filed some sort of harassment/stalking charge on Moss. Not only does Chief Gray know nothing about the case or the charge, Moss thinks she should destroy all the paperwork on the case because he said to do it. That won't happen under Gray's watch and the Mayor should have known that.

Of course, Moss should not have put himself in to a position that a woman could accuse him of wrong doing. If he wasn’t smart enough to know that as Mayor, he should have known that as a married man. For Chief Gray Moss’s problems at home and politically are going to become nearly meaningless as in a few hours her boyfriend, Dillon Reese, will disappear.

The next seven days are a nightmare for Chief Gray as she has to take a backseat in the investigation and search for Dillon. Haunted by her actions in the early hours when she wasn't aware he was missing, she can't do much of anything as the days pass and Dillon remains in the clutches of the kidnappers. Having to step aside and let others run things their way is a role guaranteed to drive her crazy if her own emotions about the events don't make her snap first.

The latest in the series from author Tricia Fields is a good read. While the previous books were more police procedural oriented, this one is considerably more psychological suspense as it shifts through the various character viewpoints. Of course the police work is still present, but the primary focus is on what Dillon’s disappearance does to Chief Gray and others as well as what being kidnapped does to Dillon. Guilt, rage, and angst are the main components for all in differing amounts as the case drags on day after day with no easy answers. Despite the occasionally travelogue feel to the series, the reads are complex and feature realistic characters and multiple interesting storylines. As noted, this is one of those series best read in order from the beginning with The Territory and Scratchgravel Road.
  

Wrecked

Tricia Fields

http://www.triciafields.com

Minotaur Books (Thomas Dunne Book)

http://www.minotaurbooks.com

2014

ISBN# 978-1-250-02137-3

Hardback (also available in e-book and audio)

320 Pages

$29.99

Material supplied the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014