The Bone Fire A Mystery [Hardcover]

Christine Barber is new to the Southwest in the sense thatThe Replacement Childis her first novel. But she has a great feel for the territory and for the family connections that enforce its strong community bonds.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Every year, the people of Santa Fe gather together for the burning of a four-story-tall figure called Zozobra, a local custom that that takes place during the Fiesta de Santa Fe. Early the next morning, as the sounds of the Fiesta celebration still echo through the streets, skull is discovered in the ashes of Zozobra.

As Detective Sergeant Gilbert Montoya starts to investigate the case, disturbing displays of human bones begin appearing at religious sites around the city. With a possible psychopath on the loose, Gil goes to newspaper editor Lucy Newroe for help to find the person responsible in a case that will take them into the highest and lowest levels of Santa Fe society.

Christine Barber was highly praised for her first book,The Replacement Child, which won the first annual Tony Hillerman Prize and was named aNew York TimesNotable Book. An intriguing, impressive new mystery,The Bone Firecaptures the colorful New Mexican landscape and the unique world of Santa Fe.

The insights that Barber, an Albuquerque resident, offers heighten the pleasure of reading her mysteries and give a fresh take on why Santa Fe is called the City Different. THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL

Full marks to Barber for providing the mesmerizing Southwest landscape and mindset. KIRKUS REVIEWS

Readers will enjoy the Santa Fe atmosphere and the local lore along with an intriguing plot. BOOKLIST

Santa Fe is a vivid character in this book, impacting the characters, the mystery and the crime. This complicated and excellently written story moves quickly, is realistic and has an interesting set-up where the two main characters are almost never physicall3Ð