BEN PECOS MYSTERIES, BOOK 1
Native American psychologist Ben Pecos has returned to the New Mexico pueblo of his birth as an intern with the Indian Health Service. Still struggling with the demons of his past, he is plunged into the nightmare rampage of a mysterious illness that is killing the residents of the pueblo, including his own grandmother. One of the victims, the powerful tribal governor, had made powerful enemies, and Ben suspects his murder was premeditated—but that doesn't explain the insidious killer now stalking the innocent. Undaunted, Ben digs deep into the motives of power and greed to root out a killer whose deadly agenda is spiraling out of control.
Native American psychologist Ben Pecos has returned to the New Mexico pueblo of his birth as an intern with the Indian Health Service. Still struggling with the demons of his past, he is plunged into the nightmare rampage of a mysterious illness that is killing the residents of the pueblo, including his own grandmother. One of the victims, the powerful tribal governor, had made powerful enemies, and Ben suspects his murder was premeditated—but that doesn't explain the insidious killer now stalking the innocent. Undaunted, Ben digs deep into the motives of power and greed to root out a killer whose deadly agenda is spiraling out of control.
Audio version now available!
BEN PECOS MYSTERIES, BOOK 2
The coyote howled four times. Salvador Zuni laughed, realizing he was holding his breath, then waited for another long piercing wail--hoped for another…
Salvador Zuni is a master carver of traditional Native American fetishes. He is also a cheat. He makes synthetic amber that rivals anything to be found in nature, complete down to the insects he places inside. His recipe is worth a fortune, and someone is after it.
When Ben Pecos, the new resident Indian Health Services psychologist, arrives at the pueblo, he finds himself caught up in the investigation of the murder of a trader in native artifacts and fetishes. Someone is willing to kill and use the spirits of the tribes to drive Salvador out of his mind and into prison for the crime. But something smells odd to Ben, and as he begins to investigate, he treads deeper into the mystic and the list of suspects grows longer. Masterfully plotted and rich with the spirit and characters of the Southwest, Yellow Lies shows Susan Slater to be at the top of her form.
Audio version now available!
BEN PECOS MYSTERIES, BOOK 3
The fiery midnight crash of a Stealth fighter on a New Mexico reservation and the disappearance of a young Navajo woman put psychologist Ben Pecos and tribal police officer Tommy Spottedhorse on a sinister and mysterious trail. Tribal police lock horns with air force personnel over jurisdiction and the right to search for the missing woman. The murder of a local park ranger and several livestock mutilations complicate the whole picture and take the case from strange to downright bizarre.
When it appears the missing Navajo woman, Brenda Begay, may have witnessed what happened that fateful night and might still be alive, Ben and Tommy Spottedhorse race to connect the pieces of the puzzle. Because, otherworldly or not, something evil is out there in the desert, awaiting a final showdown among the ruins of the Ancient Ones.
The fiery midnight crash of a Stealth fighter on a New Mexico reservation and the disappearance of a young Navajo woman put psychologist Ben Pecos and tribal police officer Tommy Spottedhorse on a sinister and mysterious trail. Tribal police lock horns with air force personnel over jurisdiction and the right to search for the missing woman. The murder of a local park ranger and several livestock mutilations complicate the whole picture and take the case from strange to downright bizarre.
When it appears the missing Navajo woman, Brenda Begay, may have witnessed what happened that fateful night and might still be alive, Ben and Tommy Spottedhorse race to connect the pieces of the puzzle. Because, otherworldly or not, something evil is out there in the desert, awaiting a final showdown among the ruins of the Ancient Ones.
Audio version now available!
BEN PECOS MYSTERIES, BOOK 4
Ben Pecos has the opportunity to work in Albuquerque on a research project for the Indian Health Service, and his fiancée Julie Conlin decides to join him when she snags an invitation for the couple to stay at the lavish home of an old family friend, Connie CdeBaca, who is the head of a family of successful land developers. But Connie harbors a deep secret she has never told anyone. Ben and Julie are hardly settled when people begin dying, and they find themselves swept into the midst of another mystery. The twists and turns in this complex plot will keep readers guessing to the very end!
Ben Pecos has the opportunity to work in Albuquerque on a research project for the Indian Health Service, and his fiancée Julie Conlin decides to join him when she snags an invitation for the couple to stay at the lavish home of an old family friend, Connie CdeBaca, who is the head of a family of successful land developers. But Connie harbors a deep secret she has never told anyone. Ben and Julie are hardly settled when people begin dying, and they find themselves swept into the midst of another mystery. The twists and turns in this complex plot will keep readers guessing to the very end!
Audio version now available!
A BEN PECOS CHRISTMAS MYSTERY NOVELLA
A week before Christmas Charlene Toya, local teen basketball star, goes missing on the way to her Tewa pueblo home. Native American psychologist Ben Pecos offers to help the family and begins to piece together some disturbing facts—Charlene’s dark and painful secret has likely put her on a collision course with some very nasty bad guys. As the people of the pueblo prepare for the holidays, a cloud of sadness hangs over all. Tension mounts as Ben and the police try to find Charlene before the unthinkable happens. Surprisingly, 96-year-old Lorenzo Loretto provides the most important clues in this heartwarming Christmas novella, rich with New Mexico ambiance and tradition. |
Under A Mulberry Moon: Ben Pecos Mysteries, Book 5
Ben Pecos takes a transfer to Florida for his job as a psychologist with the Indian Health Service. His first assignment in St. Augustine puts him right in the middle of a terrifying case where a student has brought a gun to school and threatened his teacher. Ben works with the troubled eight-year-old and the traumatized teacher, Maureen Beltzer. When Mo is offered a new job with the botanical garden at prestigious Whitney Labs, she jumps at the chance to get out of teaching, little knowing that cataloging and photographing rare orchids may actually involve more danger than her pint-sized adversary ever dreamed of inflicting.
Ben Pecos takes a transfer to Florida for his job as a psychologist with the Indian Health Service. His first assignment in St. Augustine puts him right in the middle of a terrifying case where a student has brought a gun to school and threatened his teacher. Ben works with the troubled eight-year-old and the traumatized teacher, Maureen Beltzer. When Mo is offered a new job with the botanical garden at prestigious Whitney Labs, she jumps at the chance to get out of teaching, little knowing that cataloging and photographing rare orchids may actually involve more danger than her pint-sized adversary ever dreamed of inflicting.
Fun story!
Inspiration for the story behind Under A Mulberry Moon....
Does it sound silly to say you can fall in love with a flower? A maroon and gold cymbidium grabbed my heart many years ago and I just had to be surrounded by these and other orchid beauties. That really started a life-long hobby. In my last greenhouse in NM I had over three hundred plants! I have a far more modest collection in Florida.
Thanks to cloning and better germination, many species have been saved from extinction world-wide. But in the jungles and even the Everglades close to me, orchid species are in danger. Poaching is big business. Sold on the black market, many plants close to extinction bring hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When I sit down to write a mystery, I first need to know what’s worth dying for. And last year an article by the American Orchid Society warning of this crime caught my eye. Yes! I could write about something I dearly love and help educate my readers to an ecological threat. So, Under A Mulberry Moon was born. I hope you enjoy!
What's your favorite flower? Share with me on my blog...
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The Thaw: Ben Pecos Mysteries, Book 6
Ben Pecos finds himself leaving his new home and new wife Julie in Florida, as he is sent on temporary assignment with the Indian Health Service to remote and frigid Moose Flats, Alaska. There, his job will be to help set up a new clinic to address the community’s problems. He soon discovers that alcoholism, drugs, and domestic violence aren’t the only issues in this tiny village. Almost before he has set up his office, there are three deaths under questionable circumstances. But what do a heart attack, a drug overdose, and frozen corpse out on the tundra have in common? Ben is shocked to learn it could all involve his ex-girlfriend, who has quite a few surprises in store, including a son Ben never knew about. And when Julie rearranges her work assignment to come and spend several months with Ben in Alaska, that’s when the tough questions must be answered—if they survive long enough to put together all the complex clues. |
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Ghost Dust: Ben Pecos Mysteries, Book 7
Indian Health Services psychologist Ben Pecos and his eleven-year-old son are enjoying a summer vacation to Ben’s New Mexico pueblo ancestral home when Ben is called back to duty, this time on the Navajo reservation. It’s the year of the global pandemic and the Navajo Nation is under particular threat, especially when supplies ordered by the tribe are being stolen before they ever reach the reservation. Trucks have been hijacked and one driver killed. As Ben works to coordinate relief efforts for the tribe and find out what has happened to their missing medical supplies, Zac meets a new friend, a boy who tells him about Skinwalkers. These humans who can take animal form and make evil things happen represent the darker side of tribal culture. Zac remembers the antelope—did it have kindly intentions, as he imagined, or was it a Skinwalker? As the days pass, the virus isn’t the only danger in the Navajo community—a delivery driver is beaten, and an unexplained murder hits the family of Zac’s new friend. Ben’s wife Julie joins in the effort, only to have her own life threatened as well. Ben has his hands full on all sides, and the twists don’t let up until the final pages of this heart-pounding thriller. |
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Paper Arrows: Ben Pecos Mysteries, Book 8
When psychologist Ben Pecos gets the call—his 12 year old ward, Nathan Yazzi has been expelled from school—Ben sees a road trip as an opportunity to spend extended time with the troubled boy, camping and fishing and talking things through. Little does he realize they are driving right into trouble in the small town of Spearfish, South Dakota, where the local sheriff is investigating the mysterious death of a Lakota Sun Dancer. Things are not looking good when the sheriff directs his attention toward Ben. And when it turns out the dead man was neither Lakota nor a Sun Dancer, the mystery deepens. Meanwhile, hoards of protestors are showing up over a proposed oil pipeline through the reservation, people from outside the area who are being trucked in and paid to create havoc. As the body count rises, Sheriff Mac Sterling and the reservation police chief, Red Bull, have their hands full, as neither the tribe nor the county have the manpower to keep things from getting out of hand. Ben gets recruited to help but soon finds his world rocked to the core with the revelation of the darkest secret from his own past. |
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Snake Eyes: Ben Pecos Mysteries, Book 9
An elderly Seminole man paddles his kayak to a spot in the Everglades, a place known for alligators, snakes, and deadly quicksand, a place he intends to end his life. He believes the secret he brings with him will be discovered by authorities—eventually. Meanwhile, Ben Pecos and his wife Julie have settled in south Florida, she with a great job at the Miami Herald, and Ben’s connections with the Indian Health Service have assigned him to the HR department of a huge casino on Seminole land. What starts out as a job to fill new positions and oversee the wellbeing of the employees turns into something far more deadly. Julie is mugged in the parking garage, one of the young employees is murdered, and Ben is warned that he’s being watched during every minute in his office. He has no idea who he can trust. The action ramps up as the big hotel is hosting a beauty pageant, and Ben’s own sons are hired for summer jobs, which will include escorting the teen contestants. Will he be able to keep his family safe, not to mention the hundreds of employees and the innocent teens he’s responsible for? Or will the killer strike again before Ben can figure out who to trust enough for their help? |
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