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-...

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.

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 ...

From #1 bestselling authors Preston & Child comes a thrilling novel following archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Corrie Swanson as they work together to solve a twisted crime that reaches far beyond any of their worst fears. Following the acclaimed debut of Old Bones, this second "happily...

A top nuclear scientist goes mad and takes an innocent family hostage at gunpoint, killing one and causing a massive standoff. A plume of radiation above New York City leads to a warehouse where, it seems, a powerful nuclear bomb was assembled just hours before. Sifting through the evidence...

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 ...

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.

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.

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.

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?

Grim Reaper Charley Davidson is back in the twelfth installment of Darynda Jones’ New York Times bestselling paranormal series, The Trouble with Twelfth Grave. Ever since Reyes Farrow escaped from a hell dimension in which Charley Davidson accidentally trapped him, the son of Satan has been...

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.

In the forgotten town of Red Fox, a Navajo couple is tortured by things unseen and by motives unknown. Wild animals slink through their house in the dark, a barrage of stones pound their roof nightly, and mutilated sheep carcasses are turning up on their property. Armed with a camera and just enough to go on, Perry and Dex travel to the desolate locale, hoping to film the supernatural occurrences and add credibility to their flailing webcast.

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 ...

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 ...

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.

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.

For the first time ever, bestselling novelists Jonathan and Faye Kellermen team up to deliver the launch book in a thrilling new series of short crime novels. This book--printed as a reversible volume with two different covers--contains two stories featuring different detectives solving crimes...

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.

The stories in this collection reflect a fundamental truth about Santa Fe: history depends on who's telling it. Too often the story of this city has been told only by the conquerors and the tourism PR firms. Hear the stories that never make the glossy tour brochures: the working class and the underground, the decolonized and the ever-haunted; the Santa Fe only we know.... Conquered and reconquered, colonized and commodified, Santa Fe understands - from historical genocide to the murders of family members - the intimacy of violence.