The Blue Corn Murders: A Eugenia Potter Mystery (Eugenia Potter Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Nancy Pickard (Author), Virginia Rich (Author)

Book Description

Series: Eugenia Potter Mysteries | Publication Date: March 9, 1999

Kernels of Truth....

When Eugenia Potter stumbles upon some ancient pottery shards on her ranch, she feels a profound connection with the past.  And a deep desire to learn more about the relics.  Now, she's heeding the call of her soul--by visiting an archaeological camp amid the magnificent cliff dwellings of Colorado's Mesa Verde.

But strange things are happening at Mesa Verde, from the director's increasing mental confusion to a visitor's grisly death.  Even a Talking Circle--a traditional ritual facilitated by the passing around of an ear of blue corn--doesn't reveal the source of the trouble.  And when a busload of teenagers on a hiking trip disappears without a trace, Mrs. Potter begins some digging... to unearth a cruel scheme, a long-buried secret, and the deadly fruits of a killer's dark hungers.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"When she did reach the cafe, she bought her hot sandwich and took it back outside to her car, so that she could sit there and stare at the landmark and think about the Tony Hillerman mystery she had just read. It was set all around the great rock. As she pondered it, recalling scenes from the book, she was glad to leave it to authors like him to find and solve the murderous mysteries of the great Southwest. She'd had her own brushes with homicidal individuals in the past. That was enough--more than enough for a woman who desired only to be a doting grandmother, a good friend, a competent rancher, a bit of a needlepoint whiz, and a plain country cook." The "great rock" is Shiprock; the Tony Hillerman book in question is probably The Fallen Man; and the woman hoping for a crime-free life is Genia Potter, the memorable character first created by Virginia Rich and then continued after Rich's death by Nancy Pickard. As she did in The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders, Pickard uses characters and plot suggestions left by Rich to create a solid, comfortable mystery of the sort usually classified as a "cozy." But even if you're not a cozy lover, you'll probably be enticed by the setting (an archeological camp near the wondrous Mesa Verde National Park, home of the elaborate, mysteriously abandoned Indian villages), by the characters (some tough and interesting women of varying ages, each with her own reasons for visiting the area), the good food served by a feisty cook named Bingo (the cornbread and cream cheese sticks sound particularly succulent), and even the plot--which involves two murders and the apparent disappearance of 16 teenagers from Texas. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In The 27-Ingredient Chili con Carne Murders Pickard carried forward the Eugenia Potter series created by the late Virginia Rich (The Cooking School Murders, etc.). In this second story based on Rich's notes, Pickard ably blends Native American history into a modern murder mystery. Genia, a 64-year-old Arizona rancher and cook, moves out from the kitchen and into the desert after she finds a pottery shard and inscribed seashell in one of her pastures. Her curiosity piqued, she signs up for a five-day interpretive hike for women at the Medicine Wheel Archaeological Dig in Colorado. What she finds at the camp is discord among her fellow hikers and among the camp's trustees, one of whom is out to fire the camp director. Then a camper from a different group is killed and a group of Texas teenagers goes missing. In a series of ritual Talking Circles, where an ear of blue corn is passed from participant to participant, deadly secrets are revealed. After a young archeologist who shares a secret with Genia and her group falls to her death during an overnight hike, it appears that one among them may be a killer. Keeping a low profile, Genia ferrets out the guilty party. In the process, readers are treated to both Genia's astute observations on human nature and to various theories on the Anasazi's abrupt migration from their southern Colorado pueblos. Mystery Guild alternate selection.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Dell (March 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440217652
• ISBN-13: 978-0440217657
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Series

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A juicy,tasty and totally satisfying mystery, August 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue Corn Murders (Hardcover)

When Eugenia Potter finds pottery remains and carved shells on her ranch just outside Tucson, she decides it is time to learn about the Native Americans who once occupied the land. She packs her favorite snacks and heads to Cortez, Colorado. There, Eugenia joins an archeological camp, hoping that she can fulfill her dream of learning about the previous residents and perhaps even seeing a ruin or two.

However, this is not an idyll trip back to nature. A busload of Texas teenagers suddenly vanish and two attendees are murdered. Eugenia decides it is time to investigate what is going on before someone else, perhaps even herself, is hurt.

THE BLUE CORN MURDERS is an interesting Genia Potter mystery that adds much richness to the main character, originally developed by the late, great Virginia Rich. The story line is fulfilling and the secondary characters provide great depth to this combination archeological-culinary who-done-it, starring one of the top female ama! teur sleuths to ever grace a novel. This reviewer strongly recommends both the Rich and Pickard novels that make up this wonderful series because both writers provide fabulous reading entertainment.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK, September 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue Corn Murders (Hardcover)

Nancy Pickard is continuing a series started by Virginia Rich. Ms. Rich has since died. Ms. Pickard has done a great job with this series and I look forward to others in this series by her. Genia is an older woman who lives on a ranch in Arizona. She finds old pottery on her land and joins a woman's hike with an archaeologist to try to learn more about the pottery and where it came from. Many things happen and of course, Genia ends up helping solve murders.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Archeological "Rich" mystery, June 26, 1998

By 

Susan Rose ([e-mail]) (Belleair, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Corn Murders (Hardcover)

When Eugenia Potter picks up some pot shards and carved shells on her ranch near Tucson, Arizona, she decides that she is meant to discover the people who lived there years ago. Remembering a brochure advertising a "Hike Into History" at the Medicine Wheel Archaeological Camp in Cortez, Colorado, she calls and reserves a space on the next class starting in two days. Quickly packing and grabbing a supply of Sweet Dream cookies, she climbs into her car and heads it towards Colorado. When she arrives, she discovers that her hiking class is made up of eight women, all but two of which are definitely on the mature side. Also at the Camp are a group of 16 gifted high school students from a prep school in Texas. When one of the hikers is found dead, then a young archeologist killed in a fall, and the whole 16 students disappear, Genia decides it is time to put her detecting skills to work. In the second of the Eugenia Potter mysteries written by Nancy Pickard and based on the late Virginia Rich's character and notes, the souls of mature women are captured in an archeological rich story.