New Mexico Thrillers

Charlie just wants a quiet life … Then he finds a human skull buried in the front yard. Mystery writer Charlie McGinley moves from L.A. to a small town in New Mexico. No more big-city hassles. No more big-city hustles. Guess again! Suddenly Charlie has to deal with disappearing bodies, crabby cops, crazed killers, and a very pregnant wife, while trying desperately to avoid ending up in an unmarked grave next to the mysterious stiff. Gold Medal Winner, Humor and Satire —2024 Global Book Awards “Proverbial skeletons in closets and actual ones buried in the yard help make this a bone-...

When King Elsher’s murdered partner falls in Scarlett Beam’s path—literally—the DEA agent and security expert find themselves in a deadly cartel’s crosshairs. The message is clear: stop interfering with their business or they’ll be the next victims. The past taught King to keep professional and personal separate. But Scarlett’s wit and determination tempt him to break his code. And then his son is kidnapped, raising the stakes even further. One wrong step can get them killed. Can King get justice…and keep them all alive?

Charlie McGinley writes about tough guys…then he has to become one. Fed up with writing cheesy detective fiction, Charlie dreams of writing something serious. Unfortunately, his publisher insists that he keep cranking out hard-boiled Johnny Dent PI novels. When Charlie stumbles across an urban legend about Thomas Edison inventing a machine that could speak to the dead, he thinks he’s found the perfect gimmick to spice up his next book. That is, until he builds the "Ghost Machine" and accidentally uses it... And people in his small New Mexico town start dying. Suddenly, Charlie must ...

After years away on the pro rodeo circuit, Johnny Jordan struts into Santa Fe to ask his boyhood friend, Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney, to serve as a technical advisor on a contemporary Western movie to be filmed along the Mexican border. Kerney agrees and plans a working vacation on location in a remote area of the state known as the Bootheel with his wife, Lt. Colonel Sara Brannon, and their three year old son, Patrick.

Visit the Land of Enchantment! Learn about New Mexico's history, geography, weather, people, and more in this book that's all about our 47th state.

Charlie's novel is being filmed as a movie ... Then the star is kidnapped. Charlie McGinley's latest novel is being filmed on location in New Mexico. Everything is going great, until Scott Lassiter, the hard-drinking star of the film, disappears. Vanessa Tanner, the female lead in the movie, is married to Scott. She quickly becomes the primary suspect in the case. Charlie, who was once engaged to Vanessa, reluctantly agrees to help her. Then, it gets really strange... Can Charlie find Scott, save the movie, and not get knocked off, while trying to convince his wife that he's not having an ...

Ed Eagle, the six-feet-six, take-no-prisoners Santa Fe attorney, has recovered from his encounters with Mexican organized crime and - more treacherously - his ex-wife, Barbara. Now a mysterious new client has come his way, one who may shed light into some dark corners of Ed's past...and put him in danger once more.

Grief takes a back seat to uncover the truth… The sky was filled with wonder—vibrant colors, drifting dreams, and the thrill of flight. Unexpectedly, the dazzling celebration at a balloon fiesta takes a horrifying turn when a hot air balloon plummets from the sky. Nikki’s world shatters—two lives are lost, and her brother is in surgery, fighting for his life. A witness claims to have seen something that could change everything—a drone, hovering too close to the balloon before disaster struck. Was it a tragic accident, or something far more sinister? Grief must take a back seat as ...

Once a land of Pueblo dwellers, the town of San Geronimo Peak, New Mexico, is prime ski country. PI Howard Moon Deer and ex-cop Jack Wilder are headed there to meet their first client - a former US senator and the ski slope's owner. Instead, they find his body - and a murder case to solve.

Former poetry professor Jodi Luna hasn’t quite adjusted to life as a game warden. Her boss thinks she’s better with animals than humans, and the man she’s seeing wants a real relationship. Still reeling from her husband’s death, Jodi has to admit that she keeps people at a distance.

When the story opens, the eponymous hero of Rudolfo Anaya's novel is in an ambulance en route to a hospital for crippled children in the New Mexican desert. A poor boy from Albuquerque, 16-year-old Tortuga takes his name from the odd, turtle-shaped mountain that is rumored to possess miraculous curative powers. Tortuga is paralyzed, and not even his mother's fervent prayers can heal him. But under the mountain's watchful gaze, with the support of fellow patients, he begins the Herculean task of breaking out of his shell and becoming whole again.

Dumped by her husband for a man, ex-rodeo queen Emily Bernal yearns for a fresh start. When a handsome local attorney named Jack offers her a gig, she's not sure if it's the right fit. But after a dead body takes a swan dive right in front of her and she learns a missing six-year-old girl is caught in the aftermath, Emily's heart sends her from barrel racing to paralegal work in a hurry. As she and Jack interrogate the young girl's tight-lipped mother, a string of strange coincidences don't seem to add up.

Who needs a police K9 unit when you've got a cat like Merlin? This isn't your average cozy mystery. It's a high-stakes, high-desert thriller starring an academic textile expert and her talking cat. Dr. Elizabeth Bennett's world turns upside down when her presentation on ancient weaving leads to a New Mexico gallery owner's murder, exposing a massive, deadly operation of art fraud and cultural exploitation. From meticulously crafted fakes to hidden ledgers revealing millions in illegal sales, this duo navigates a world where every beautiful piece could hide a dark secret, and even a genius ...

A half-century after its original publication, Edward Abbey's classic 1962 novel, Fire on the Mountain, still retains its beauty, power, and relevance. This extraordinary tale by the legendary icon of the environmentalism movement and author of The Monkey Wrench Gang proudly celebrates rugged American individualism, as it tells the story of one tough old loner's stand against the combined, well-armed forces of government that are determined to clear him from his land.

Decker Justus and Will Pardoni are up to their old shenanigans again. Decker picks up the scent of a charitable foundation she believes killed off a grantor of a large trust in order to activate the trust immediately, instead of waiting decades until the principals died naturally. Mayhem ensues.

In the vast deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, divorced ex-cop David Parker seeks a fresh start on vacation with his kids. Chemistry with a captivating woman sparks hope, but when three people are brutally murdered at a motel he stayed in along the way, Dave realizes he's been framed. Now, he must go on the run to clear his name and expose the real killer. Will the police catch him, or will the razor-wielding murderer find him first? In the high desert, survival becomes a deadly race against both the law and a merciless predator. Gum is a pulse-pounding thriller set along the dusty desert ...

Aden, a handsome young nurse, is destitute after his new boyfriend rumbles away in his semi with everything Aden owns in the back. He has no money, no clothes, and no car. Nothing. Maybe his boyfriend really didn't intend to take him to California to live happily ever after.

A vengeful female ringleader heads an expensive show horse kidnapping operation, selling to the black market. One couple loses a much treasured dressage mount. Will Cajun Magic make it back to his rightful owners? Can the Mob push back against the villain's dark ways?

A heist. A chase. A desperate gang holed up in a hideout. Darla Doyle hates being poor. She didn't go to college. She doesn't have a rich family. But she has a skill: driving. For five years, she has been the getaway driver for several bank jobs, each netting her over twenty thousand US dollars. It's not wealth, but it's enough to keep her kids clothed. Then a new bank job comes along. Great target. Good score. Well-planned. Well-executed by three people she's worked with before. The plan is firing on all cylinders...right up until an armored car guard offers them more money than they'd ...

Cold case murder investigations are a lot harder to solve than current murder cases. Particularly when the murder occurred over 15 years ago. But when a friend asks Brigid to investigate a cold case for her in New Mexico, Brigid feels she has to at least try. What she hadn’t taken into consideration were old grudges, a small town that kept secrets, and people who were willing to commit hate crimes to keep those secrets.