Death of a Healing Woman (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Allana Martin (Author)

Book Description

Series: G K Hall Large Print Book Series | Publication Date: July 1997

MysteryLarge Print Edition* Spur Award Finalist for Best Western Novel* Winner of the Medicine Pipe Bearer Award In a remote region of the Chihuahuan desert, the Rio Grande marks the border between Texas and Mexico. There Texana Jones owns and operates a trading post, and upon making a routine delivery to Rhea Fair, she finds the healing woman dead. Texana refuses to believe that the random violence of drug smugglers was the cause of Rheas death especially since the earlier deaths of two friends had been attributed to the same vague motivation. Texana takes a closer look on her own and finds that in the desert, secrets are easily hidden, and nearly bury a powerful motive for murder.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The borderland between Texas and Mexico along the Rio Grande comes alive in this absorbing debut featuring Texana Jones, the owner of a trading post, and her veterinarian husband, Clay. Jones doesn't believe that her best friend, Maria Ortega-Deed, and her husband were killed by drug smugglers. So, when reclusive Rhea Fair, a curandera or healing woman, is found murdered in a similar manner, Jones is determined to get to the bottom of it. Fair, once owner of a large ranch, became a healer and herbalist after her sons were arrested for drug smuggling and fled across the border to Mexico while out on bail. Just before Ortega-Deed died, Fair had gone to her for some kind of legal advice. Fair, afraid of a client with the evil eye, had also seen a clairvoyant and had sent off a long letter only days before she was murdered. Jones tracks down the identity of Fair's last client, a journalist, now also missing, who was writing a book about the curandera.Getting help in her investigation from both sides of the border, Jones must also deal with her husband's campaign to stem a rabies epidemic, and with multimillionaire rancher Robert Darke's plans for a lavish fiesta and the archeological project he is financing on his property. Martin populates Jones's tiny hometown of El Polvo with hardworking, goodhearted eccentrics and farmers, all richly portrayed in a series sure to be a winner.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Set in the Chihuahuan Desert of Presidio County, Texas, on the Mexican border, this intriguing tale beautifully evokes not only the stark landscape but also the vibrant flavors of the area's Tex-Mex culture. The story features Texana Jones, owner of El Polvo's all-purpose trading post, who has recently returned to her hometown after an unsatisfying sojourn in the larger world. There is bad trouble at home when two friends and now a third, a respected curandera, or healer, are murdered, presumably because of their accidental run-ins with drug smugglers. It is not a solution that satisfies Texana, especially when connections among the three victims suggest another motive. Equally frightening is an outbreak of rabies in the area; the threatened epidemic actually provides an unlikely final piece in the crimes' solution. Although the story's climax falls a bit flat, this first novel offers an excellent sense of place and strong characters. Martin is a significant new voice in the genre. Stuart Miller --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 290 pages
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0783882165
• ISBN-13: 978-0783882161
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,729,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the most entertaining of the modern American mysterie, January 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Death Of A Healing Woman (Worldwide Library Mystery) (Paperback)

I read lots of mysteries, but enjoy the English village murder mysteries the best. This is a welcome addition of the American variety. I also liked this book because the heroine didn't do something stupid that put her in harm's way. It was well written and very enjoyable. I have now ordered her other mysteries.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent writer, great characters!, May 3, 2009

By 

katrsqr "loves books" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death of a Healing Woman: A Texana Jones Mystery (Hardcover)

I have every one of Allana Martin's books and they are my very favorites, I read them time and time again. Her description of the West Texas small towns are so vivid and very interesting. Her character is a favorite of mine and she has a smart attitude and a great hand at solving crimes in and around the area she lives. My only regret is that Ms. Martin is no longer writing and I miss Texana Jones so much I have to read the books over and over to get my fix. Every single book from the first to the last are good and very timely in many instances.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great local color, January 9, 2002

By 

James Collett (Midland, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death of a Healing Woman: A Texana Jones Mystery (Hardcover)

Martin writes with a true feel both for place and for mystery. Her knowledge of the Big Bend area of West Texas is reflected in the accuracy with which she captures the people and lifeways of this interesting borderland. Her tale of the healing woman is both intriguing and resolved with a grimly appropriate resolution. This book will whet your appetite for those that have followed.