Coyota [Paperback]

Martha Egan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2009

Nena Herrera-Casey is the coyota, the youngest, in her large Mexican-American family. Her life in Albuquerque seems placid enough, teaching Spanish part time at UNM and selling crafts from south of the border at the flea market. But she becomes unwittingly entangled in a mysterious "accident," a fiery plane crash that kills a former student. As her life unravels, rogue DEA agents conspire to set her up on bogus drug charges. And her worst nightmare stalks her through the Mexican desert.

Coyota is the consummate Southwestern novel. . . . Egan tells her story with the sure hand of a writer who knows both sides of the peso."--Sara Voorhees, author of The Lumière Affair: A Novel of Cannes

"It is apparent that author Martha Egan, who is an importer herself, is very familiar with Mexico and its culture and the Hispanic culture of the Southwest, of which she writes without sentimentality or clichés. Coyota is highly recommended for its vividness and well-crafted plot."--La Herencia

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Coyota Nena Herrera-Casey is set up on bogus drug charges, and her worst nightmare stalks her through the Mexican desert.

About the Author

Martha Egan began to write fiction in response to her experiences as a Latin American folk art dealer attempting to cope with the U.S. Customs service. Her nonfiction books are Milagros: Votive Offerings from the Americas and Relicarios: Devotional Miniatures from the Americas. Egan owns Pachamama, a folk art gallery in Santa Fe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 183 pages
• Publisher: Papolote Press (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975588133
• ISBN-13: 978-0975588130
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,284,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What an engaging and wonderful southwestern novel!, November 3, 2007

By 

Hope O. Kiah "Hope Kiah" (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coyota (Paperback)

Length:: 0:56 Mins

This is a quick video of my recommendation for Martha Egan's fabulous new novel, Coyota. What a treat this book is!

4.0 out of 5 stars Coyota, September 18, 2011

By 

Cindy Bellinger (Pecos, New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coyota (Hardcover)

This novel is set near Albuquerque but falls into international intrigue after the main character, Nena, overhears a conversation between two airport customs agents. Soon after a plane crashes, her house is ransacked and unwittingly Nena realizes she is witness to a murder plot. She travels to Mexico only to become disillusioned with a lover and find herself entangled in bogus drug trafficking charges. The book moves along but the characters are rather flat and the dialog sometimes forced. Things that are supposed to be funny, don't bring a smile. Nevertheless, the story is enough to keep you turning the pages. Written by a long-time Mexican importer, who has a shop in Santa Fe, the setting, the details of the novel are steeped in real-life. Different story layers converge and eventually end satisfactorily. A quick read for a snowy weekend.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast-Paced & Well Drawn Sense of Place, July 17, 2010

By 

Candelora Versace (Santa Fe, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coyota (Paperback)

Santa Fe author Martha Egan proves that she's in it for the long haul with her second novel, "Coyota." While "Clearing Customs" focused on the owner of a South American folk art shop in Albuquerque (Egan owned Pachamama, a similar shop, in Santa Fe for over 30 years) who is harassed by US Customs agents to cover up their own shady drug deals, "Coyota" concerns an even more nefarious plot: a murder committed by DEA agents and framed as a suicide.

Nena Herrera-Casey of Corrales accidentally overhears a private conversation while she is in the Customs office in Albuquerque; a mysterious fatal accident soon follows and she realizes she is a witness to a murder plot.

Soon she is being followed, her house ransacked and her phone tapped. Nena's hesitation in going to her former boyfriend, a detective, about what she knows puts her in even more danger, and then a Christmas vacation to Mexico with a clueless Anglo boyfriend goes astonishingly bad, and not only because the boyfriend is a jerk.

Egan tells a fast-paced story with plenty of suspense and a well-drawn sense of place; her descriptions of Corralles as well as Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato are a reflection of Egan's own long familiarity with the locales. Her characters are not as crisp as they could be, but that is common in quick reads that are plot-heavy. Nonetheless, "Coyota" is an exciting diversion that sets up a possible series of adventures for an evolving cast of characters.