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Death of a Myth Maker
A Texana Jones Mystery
Allana Martin
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0-312-25241-2
Publication Date: March, 2000
List Price: $23.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): Texana gains firsthand knowledge of just how dangerous life on her part of the beautiful Texas-Mexico border can be. In the peaceful nighttime air, Texana and her sister-in-law Fran marvel at the mysterious Marfa lights. Legend has it that the lights are fires lit by an Apache chief to help his tribe find their way home, but others contend that the lights are just some type of natural phenomenon. Whatever their origin, that is the type of mystery that the people of Polvo are used to.
When Ella Spivey, one of the wealthy sisters of the seven sisters ranch, brings a handsome man home, people begin to wonder. The man, Julian Row, claims to have traveled all over the world and seems to have completely wooed Ella. Her sister, Leila, does not trust Julian at all and tries to run him out of town. Then Julian is found shot by the side of the road. It soon becomes clear that the man was a "myth maker," a scheming liar, and had many people in his life who would have been more than happy to kill him. The question is who actually had the opportunity.
A friend of the Spiveys' because her veterinarian husband takes care of their cattle, Texana becomes involved in the mystery. She realizes that the sisters are very close-knit, but is unsure if that would lead Leila to commit murder. Texana is moved to find out the truth of who Julian really was and what happened to him. She suspects that his murder is connected with that of a street photographer from the Mexican side of the border, but her quest leads her to more questions than answers.
Review: Death of a Myth Maker is the fourth mystery by Allana Martin to feature border resident Texana Jones.
Sometimes a mystery book seems to hit all the right notes, and Death of a Myth Maker is one of those mysteries. Martin effectively transports the reader to southwest Texas along the Rio Grande with mesmerizing descriptions of the area inhabited by Texana Jones. The characters are richly drawn, and the mystery simultaneously simple in its scope yet complex in its detail.
Death of a Myth Maker is certainly one of the best mysteries to be published this year, and is highly recommended.
Review Copyright © 2000 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books
Other mysteries in this series by Allana Martin:
Death of a Healing Woman
A Texana Jones Mystery
St. Martin's Press (1996)
ISBN: 0-312-14581-0
Death of a Saint Maker
A Texana Jones Mystery
St. Martin's Press (1997)
ISBN: 0-312-18083-7
Death of an Evangelista
A Texana Jones Mystery
St. Martin's Press (1999)
ISBN: 0-312-19853-1
Death of the Last Villista
A Texana Jones Mystery
St. Martin's Minotaur (2001)
ISBN: 0-312-26573-5
Death of the River Master
A Texana Jones Mystery
St. Martin's Minotaur (2003)
ISBN: 0-312-30685-7
