Product Description

With his dazzling debut, Tularosa, Michael McGarrity was hailed "a born storyteller" (Denver Post) -- and introduced readers to a memorable new hero, ex-Santa Fe chief of detectives Kevin Kerney. Now, featuring his vivid feel for the southwest, McGarrity's second gripping novel hurls Kerney onto the toughest case of his life.

Taking a job as a seasonal forest ranger in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness, Kevin Kerney is looking forward to a quiet summer high in the mountains. But the murder of a Mexican tourist, and the discovery of a disoriented old man in the wild, thrust Kerney into an investigation that will carry him back in time to a sixty-year-old feud between two land-rich brothers, Edgar and Eugene Cox.

Enlisting young state game and fish officer Jim Stiles to help solve the crimes, Kerney slowly uncovers evidence connecting the ruthless Cox feud with another suspicious death -- and the radical actions of New Mexico's present-day county militia. But new assistant district attorney Karen Cox -- Edgar's alluring daughter -- is torn between hiding her father's long-buried secret and helping Kerney find the truth. Now someone wants Kerney dead -- and the deeper he investigates, the more he may be digging his own grave.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61220 in Books
• Published on: 1998-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.com Review
With 1996's Tularosa, his first book about former New Mexico cop Kevin Kerney, onetime Santa Fe chief of detectives Michael McGarrity landed on lots of Top 10 lists and bedside tables. His latest is even better--it is a complex and exciting mystery, full of beautifully sketched people and moments, written in a style as cool and clear as spring water. Still recovering from the leg and stomach wounds he got at the end of Tularosa, Kerney is living in a rented house trailer and working as a temporary forest ranger in the Gila Wilderness in the southwest corner of New Mexico. All he wants to do is put aside enough money to buy a small ranch, but events--the poaching of protected animals, the murder of a Mexican citizen, an outbreak of local militia terrorism--conspire to take advantage of his highly developed detection and survival skills.

From Library Journal
Kevin Kerney, a disabled policeman working as a forest ranger, discovers a poaching incident in the Gilla Wilderness of New Mexico. He than discovers is stranded tourist, Dr. Jose Padilla, who has returned to Catron County after 60 years to solve the mystery surrounding his father's murder. Tragically, Kerney next finds Padilla's grandson, Hector, murdered?a case of history repeating itself. Karen Cox, a sexy assistant district attorney, appoints Kerney as special investigator. Kerney, who made his debut in Tularosa (Norton, 1996), successfully solves another series of crimes in this entertaining thriller. Like Tony Hillerman's Southwestern mysteries, this novel features authentic detail and realistic description. The dialog has an easy, natural flow. The characters may not have great depth, but this is an exciting, well-crafted story with a likable, sympathetic hero, appealing heroine and secondary characters, and appropriately vile villains. Recommended for all suspense collections.?Jacqueline Seewald, Red Bank Regional H.S., Little Silver, N.J.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Former Santa Fe police chief Kevin Kerney makes ends meet with a temporary job as a park ranger in the Gila Wilderness Park. After a black bear is found dead in the hills and a Mexican tourist is murdered nearby, Kerney detects a poaching ring at work. When assistant district attorney Karen Cox appoints Kerney to lead the investigation, personal and professional interests conflict. Kerney is attracted to Cox, but the case points toward her family. This second Kerney novel is at least the equal of its acclaimed predecessor, Tularosa. The contemporary western setting is carefully drawn and functions as a character as well as a backdrop. Kerney himself has a number of reasons to be bitter over the turns his life has taken but never succumbs to them. He's tough but not a superman; he's sharp but not Holmes. He's a good man willing to do difficult, often painful work. He's very much worth getting to know. Wes Lukowsky

Customer Reviews

Multiple plotlines in the southwest? No Hillerman here.
Many readers will make the error, just as I did, in thinking all southwestern mysteries were Hillerman copies, chock full of Native American lore, spirituality, and culture. Author Michael McGarrity has now proven me wrong, twice over, but in a pleasing way that will be having me read future installments of our hero Kevin Kerney.

Similar in style to Tularosa, the reader will find themselves involved in numerous, major plotlines, all seemingly unique from each other, but finally converging in the end into an explosive climax that does not let the reader feel cheated. On the contrary, the multiple story threads are well paced between each other so as one does not get lost in the overall story direction and forget about certain characters or situations like other novels are known to do.

Here we find ex-cop Kerney just months after his role in 'Tularosa' just making ends meet as a temp park ranger for the forest service investigating a recent string of animal poaching. It just so happens that two Mexicans (a grandson and grandfather) find themselves in the wrong place and the wrong time, and one of them gets murdered, Kerney finds himself as part of the investigations.

Enter his new pseudo partner, a young Jim Stiles, all too eager to impress Kerney and his superiors and ends up getting shot at, but by who? Kerney is impressed by this young mans detective skills, but realizes that he himself was the target.

Omar Gatewood, the local sheriff is more a politician than a cop, and proves to be inept at the worst times, or does he have a master plan?

A family feud between ranchers Edgar and Eugene Cox has kept the twin brothers from speaking to each other in over sixty years, but when a note is delivered to Edgar he breaks the silence to confront his oppressive and abusive crippled brother. Why did Eugene's wife disapear all those years ago?

Karen Cox returns to her roots as the new local ADA, and takes notice of the strong and silent Kerney. She likes him, but has to work with him, and how does she deal with her fathers lie, and ensuing family feud. And how does her current case and the assassination attempt on Kerney fit into all this?

The positive aspect of introducing a new female interest for Kerney is that the author really does not push it. In Tularosa, Kerney was smitten by Sara who left at the end, and the author realizes that a new woman can't pick up the pieces immediately, but develops Karen for future novels.

The only problems I had with this novel, keeping it from five stars, was the authors constant, almost unending reminders that Kerney has a bad knee suffered from an injury years back. Okay, I got it...knee hurt. Also Jim Stiles girlfriend Molly's dialogue seemed a bit...fake. I believed in all the characters in this novel except Molly...she seemed to stick out like a displaced soap star...thank God she was only a minor part of the novel and does not detract from any one else.

Other than those two quirks, I believe that Mexican Hat was an excellent adventure that had me guessing for quite a bit on how all these threads would weave together and I was happy with the end result. I will be reading future installments.

Now I want to read all McGarrity's novels.
I picked up Mexican Hat in the San Juan airport because I had time to kill. It turned out to be a wise choice. It was like reading a good Western movie. McGarrity paints wonderful word pictures, especially for someone like me who has never been out west. The plot twists kept me going and the minimal profanity was a breath of fresh air. Thanks, McGarrity, for a clean book that was fun.

MEXICAN HAT DANCE
Kevin Kerney is back in McGarrity's second novel in this well-written series. Kerney is now a seasonal forest ranger in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness. A Mexican tourist is murdered, and his senile grandfather wandering around the area; seems, too, like there are some poachers in the area. Add to this a sixty-year old family feud, a lovely ADA, and a great partner (Jim Stiles), and Kerney is off and running in trying to find murderers, poacheers, and the harvesting of rare animals for illegal sales. As in TULAROSA, the plot is thick and juicy, and Kerney once again the penultimate hero. A great read in this wonderfully engaging series.