Death of a Myth Maker

Allana Martin's books are written with passion for harsh but beautiful land on Texas-Mexico border.Her characters are quirky but real people, without frills, in love with a desolate desert country.They cherish their privacy but depend on each other in trying to survive on thrifty,dry land.And that is the best part of these mysteries,the smell and the silence.The puzzle is resonably interesting. Three and a half stars

The borderlands, which lie between Mexico and the United States, are a different world with unique politics, concerns, and interests. No one understands this as well as Pavlo, Texas residents Texana (owner of the trading post) and her spouse Clay (a veterinarian). They have friends on both sides of the border. They are also aware of the drug problems crippling both countries.When a Mexican is killed in front of the trading post with a finger stuffed in his mouth, Texana knows that drug lords murdered the victim as a snitch. The sheriff thinks the locale matters as he tries to link the Martins to the drug trafficking. Julian Row, a houseguest of the prominent Spivey sisters, is murdered next. Clay happens to be nearby attending to his cattle, which the authorities believe place him under even deeper suspicion as the killer. Deciding that the sheriff will interpret things to fit his belief that she and Clay are guilty, Texana begins her own investigation even though that places her in danger.Thanks to the critical eye of Allana Martin and her incredible talent for translating images into words, readers get a first-hand realistic view of life on the Tex-Mex border. The intermingling of the two cultures has produced a hybrid that is different from much of the country. DEATH OF A MYTHMAKER is as much a plea for social reform as it is a spellbinding mystery all wrapped inside a pleasant novel.Harriet Klausner