Salinas Trilogy

In this first in The Salinas Trilogy, Nina Lucero discovers that blood guilt has its consequences as she fights her way to self reliance, escaping from the multicultural, Pentecostal confines of a rural upbringing in southern New Mexico. Whether in butchering prize farm animals for food, hunting deer in the nearby Manzano Mountains with her war-vet uncle, warding off the lecherous attacks of neighboring twin brothers, or protecting herself from combative school-girl rivals, violence and blood map the way of Nina's individuation. Marriage to a delusional pastor caught up in snake worship offers her only tragic respite from the perverse darkness engulfing her spirit and the historic Native American and Hispanic ruins just beyond her father's sheep ranch. She has the stuff to save herself and her children, but will she? Are divorce and a move to Albuquerque the answers? Will the soothing strains of her brother's enchanting guitar and her mother's fateful courage help? Atonement must come for Nina and her family but so must even more catastrophic blood guilt. Includes Readers Guide.

The American Southwest, known in Chicano myth as Aztlan, is rediscovered by a phantom jaguar known as El Jefe ( the chief). His discovery takes him into New Mexico and the mountains near the Salinas ruins outside of Mountainair. His autumn arrival is announced in the darkness of the night by a bloodcurdling roar which echoes throughout the hills and awakens rancher Raul Lucero, who senses his life as a hunting guide is in jeopardy. Raul's niece, Nina Lucero, is stalked by Felix Aguilar, an Albuquerque police detective, soon revealed to be a serial killer of young women found murdered on Albuquerque's West Mesa. The mystical powers of El Jefe ultimately work to save not only Nina but also Lillian Gonzalez, a young Mexican immigrant targeted by Aguilar in his demented killing spree. Raul makes it through a stressful hunting season, which includes a shooting accident investigated by Roscoe Powers, a no-nonsense game warden. A colorful assembly of townsmen, including the barber Shorty Sisneros and his son, Manny, lend their voices and actions to the incredible events. Includes Readers Guide.