Rio Grande Fall

Book excerpt: A New Mexico PI tries to stop a cult leader’s murderous rampage in “a fascinating hybrid of detective story, adventure yarn, and shamanistic magic.” —Kirkus Reviews The world-famous International Balloon Fiesta of Albuquerque is one of the city’s most eagerly anticipated annual events and its biggest moneymaker. But when a woman plunges to her death from one of the balloons—foreshadowed by Sonny Baca’s vision of a body plummeting from the sky—Sonny’s sure it’s murder. The dead woman was the chief witness to testify against the cult implicated in the murder-for-hire of Sonny’s cousin Gloria, whose death still haunts him. In addition to motive, Sonny finds means and opportunity: a homeless family who saw someone push Veronica Worthy out of the hot-air balloon. Worthy was one of the four wives of Raven, leader of the sun cult, and a dangerous, shamanlike criminal who’s supposed to be dead. But the four black feathers found on the corpse are his calling card—clues to let Sonny know he’s alive and kicking. And his murder spree isn’t over. Now, led by his spirit guides, Sonny must race to stop a vengeful madman and save the woman he loves. From the American Book Award–winning author, this is “a completely entertaining mystery novel [that] offers two parallel lands of enchantment” (Booklist).