The Clovis Incident: A Mystery [Hardcover]

Pari Noskin Taichert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2004

Sasha Solomon is having a bad day. Fired from her job as PR director at an Albuquerque HMO, she is dealing with an ailing mother and trying to figure out the origins of hallucinations that include conversations with her cat.

Sasha heads for Clovis, a small town in southeastern New Mexico, where she'll bid on a project for the Chamber of Commerce. While there, she will check in with her widowed friend Mae King. Mae, a local dairy farmer, is clearly out of sorts and shows Sasha the reason. There's a body in one of her stock tanks--a Singaporean aviator stationed at Cannon Air Force Base. Who killed him and why? What was he doing on Mae's land? Why won't she go to the police?

Sasha must clear her friend's name, find the murderer, and land the PR job with the Chamber of Commerce within a week. But there are other forces at work who will stop at nothing to keep her from the truth. Sasha soon discovers that there's a lot more to Clovis than a dot on a map.

"A ripping debut! Fresh and witty. Pari Noskin Taichert is a writer to watch."--Carol Luce, author of Night Stalker and Night Prey

"Hop in and hold tight! It's a wild ride with hard-nosed, soft-hearted Sasha Solomon. In Clovis, Sasha discovers shady characters, a hunky cop, and a passel of possible space aliens. . . . A beguiling new voice in mystery."--Deborah Donnelly, author of May the Best Man Die

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Well written and plotted. . . I'll be looking forward to the next installment." (Books-n-Bytes )

". . . lively, vivid, and satisfying." (Drood Mystery Review )

"Taichert works the suspense masterfully, and in the end turns out a mystery that is fun and somehow heartfelt." (San Antonio Current )

"The Clovis Incident is a "cozy mystery. . It is a quirky novel and a quick, fun read." (The Clovis Informant )

". . . [an] innovative mystery. . . Taichert's debut mystery is quick, quirky and lots of fun to read." (Tulsa World )

"Fast-moving, suspenseful, humorous, Sasha Solomon should be a hit!" (Roundup Magazine )

"A fun read from beginning to end written by a talented author. . Highly Recommended." (Murder and Mayhem Bookclub )

From the Inside Flap

"Hop in and hold tight! It's a wild ride with hard-nosed, soft-hearted Sasha Solomon. In Clovis, Sasha discovers shady characters, a hunky cop, and a passel of possible space aliens. . . . A beguiling new voice in mystery."--Deborah Donnelly, author of May the Best Man Die --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press (February 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826331858
• ISBN-13: 978-0826331854
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,506,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pari Noskin Taichert has garnered two Agatha Award nominations for her mystery series from the University New Mexico Press. Her books are THE SOCORRO BLAST, THE BELEN HITCH and THE CLOVIS INCIDENT; all humorously celebrate the Land of Enchantment while exploring the deeper human condition. Recently, she is delving more in to paranormal subjects in her fiction.

Pari is also a 20+ year veteran in the public relations industry, the founder of the Anthony-nominated web log Murderati.com, and an award-winning freelance features writer. She finds delight in eating Vietnamese food, playing cello, lifting weights, hanging out with writers and readers, loving her family and practicing gratitude.

http://www.parinoskintaichert.com
http://www.murderati.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Debut Novel, October 8, 2005

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Clovis Incident: A Mystery (Sasha Solomon Mysteries) (Paperback)

Sasha Solomon needs to start her PR consulting business back up sine she's just been fired from her current job. Fortunately, she has one possibility already lined up. The city of Clovis wants to increase their tourism revenue and is looking for a PR consultant to help them do that. As an added bonus, she'll get to spend time with one of her best friends, Mae King, a local dairy farmer.

Mae is acting weird, however. When Sasha finally gets Mae to open up, Mae reveals two secrets. First, aliens have regularly kidnapped her. Second, there's a dead body on her land, and she doesn't really want to call the police for fear they'll arrest her.

Sasha isn't keen on the idea of keeping the secret and calls the police the first chance she gets. After she does, she realizes Mae's fears were justified as she seems to be the only suspect the police want to talk about. Mae's daughter isn't helping matters any by sticking her nose into the two's friendship.

Meanwhile, at her interview with the Chamber of Commerce, Sasha learns they want her to come up with a PR plan to put them on the map and greatly increase their tourism revenue. And they hint that the aliens in the area really just might be the way to go. She's got just one week to come up with a plan to present to find out if she'll get the job.

The book starts out all over the place, with talk of Sasha's hallucinations and a visit with her mom. I was beginning to wonder if the praise I'd heard for the book was well founded or not, but then Sasha arrived in Clovis. It's really not too far in, but from that point on, the plot picks up and the book becomes quite interesting. There are several red herrings that distract for a while, but the solution is a little obvious before the end. Even so, the author does a good job of keeping the reader entertained with quirky and sinister characters. The writing style is quite fun as well. There are long passages of dialog at times, and every so often, the author uses a cleaver turn of phrase that makes you stop and reread the passage to fully enjoy it.

The couple of flaws are worth mentioning, but hardly detract from the overall enjoyment. It's a quirky cozy that will leave the reader ready for Sasha's next case.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will quickly earn her legions of appreciative fans, April 4, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Clovis Incident: A Mystery (Hardcover)

Pari Noskin Taichert is a journalist and public relations consultant. She draws upon her experience and expertise in The Clovis Incident, an intriguing and superbly crafted murder mystery which following the unexpected adventure of Sasha Solomon, an ordinary PR director fired from her job as PR director of Albuquerque's only holistic HMO, and then travels to the small New Mexico town of Clovis to bid on a PR project for the local Chamber of Commerce only to become entangled in a dark and ruthless plot of murder and intrigue. An exciting journey through hidden motives in a desperate search to protect oneself with the power of truth and insight before it is too late, The Clovis Incident is unique and compelling in its masterful interplay of layers of plot. The Clovis Incident is Taichert's rather impressive debut effort and will quickly earn her legions of appreciative fans who will look eagerly toward her next title.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder She Wrote Meets the X-Files, March 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Clovis Incident: A Mystery (Hardcover)

Want to take an unusual roller coast ride of a mystery? Pari Noskin Taichert's debut novel, "The Clovis Incident," introduces offbeat series heroine Sasha Solomon, a freelance PR professional who gets a New Age trancendental overload and is fired from her job--all in the first chapter. Hallucinations, space aliens, a killer, Sasha battles them all as she researches the small New Mexico town of Clovis in search of a lucrative PR job. She lands in the middle of a murder when an old friend finds a body on her land. Sasha deals with an intriguing gallery of small town characters, vindictive relatives, and cops of all types who become involved because the victim was an important foreign military officer. The reader bounces with Sasha from likely suspect to likely suspect. Her inquiring mind eventually gets her into trouble--several threats and two life-threatening situations--before she figures out the killer and the motivation.

Pari has finished a second Sasha novel and is busy on a third. Readers can look forward to more adventures in out of the way New Mexico small towns as Sasha continues looking for employment but finds mystery and suspense.