The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O'Keeffe

The Pot Thief Mysteries, Book 7

By: J. Michael Orenduff

Narrated by: Austin Rising

Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

This Southwest-set tale about a hunt for a precious relic offers a “nice mix of comedy and mystery” (Booklist) from an award-winning author.

A dealer in traditional Native American pottery, Hubie Schuze scours New Mexico in search of ancient treasures. The Bureau of Land Management calls him a criminal, but Hubie knows that the real injustice would be to leave the legacies of prehistoric craftspeople buried in the dirt.

In all his travels across the state, there is one place that Hubie hasn’t been able to access: Trinity Site at the White Sands Missile Range, where the first atomic bomb was detonated. Deep within the range are ruins once occupied by the Tompiro people, whose distinctive pottery is incredibly rare and valuable. When an old associate claims to have a buyer interested in spending big money on a Tompiro pot, Hubie resolves to finally find a way into the heavily guarded military installation.

But Hubie has more on his mind than just outwitting the army’s most sophisticated security measures. He’s in love with a beautiful woman who has a few secrets of her own - and his best friend, Susannah, may have just unearthed a lost Georgia O’Keeffe painting. It’s a lot for a mild-mannered pot thief to handle, and when his associate is murdered and Tompiro pots start replicating like Russian nesting dolls, Hubie suddenly realizes he’s caught up in the most complex and dangerous mystery he’s ever faced.

The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O’Keeffe is the seventh book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy listening to the series in any order.

©2016 J. Michael Orenduff (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

a fun, well narrated mystery.

Orenduff's writing of his hero Huey
Hughes is so funny. I loved this book (and series.) Huey is really very smart and talented but the author gets him into situations and places that baffle him. Fortunately he has a good friend and partner in crime to help him out. Susanna is a very likable character as well!
Huey is unabashedly a thief, and often a liar (but he hates that). He digs up very valuable ancient Indian pottery and sells it to rich collectors at his Spirits & Clay shop. He is also not afraid of making his own knock-offs and selling them too.
In this story, he actually digs up a valuable pot from the uber-protected, highly classified, White Sands Missile base. But he has to rebury it to get away. After that, it's like a game of the pea under one of three walnut shells that keep moving around in quicker than you can see actions. Where is the real pot? The fake pot? And the other fake pot?
All during this time his romantic relationship with his Hygienist girlfriend heats up, and he gets a new renter. At times it's like the Keystobe Cops, but so much fun.
Oh, and a character gets murdered. Huey has many suspects, but every theory has a flaw. There is also a Georgia Okeefe painting with no providence that gets mixed into the mystery. I had fun trying to get it all sorted out.
Narrator Austin Rising is terrific in clearly voicing all the characters.