Land of Burning Heat: A Claire Reynier Mystery (Claire Reynier Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Judith Van Gieson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2003 | Series: Claire Reynier Mysteries

An ancient religion, a family�s hidden past, and a modern-day murder confront archivist Claire Reynier in her search for a priceless document. A young woman named Isabel Santos discovers a faded scrap of paper buried for hundreds of years under her family�s adobe house. It could be the controversial last words of a Jewish mystic condemned to death by the Inquisition in Mexico City in 1596.

Before Claire can examine the document, it disappears and tragedy strikes the Santos family, leaving Claire with many unanswered questions. Were these really the mystic�s last words? How did they get to New Mexico, a place Sephardic Jews hid from the Inquisition and continued to practice their religion in secret for centuries? Is someone willing to kill for the document?

Santos is Spanish for saints, but Claire soon discovers that this namesake is a mixed legacy. Every time she visits their old home, she puts herself in harm�s way, yet she continues to search for answers to questions rooted in a dark and dangerous time when heretics were killed for their beliefs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Van Gieson writes with grace, tangles her phrases skillfully, and plots a compelling story down to the intricate final turns.” (Washington Post Book World )

"Judith Van Gieson has written her best Claire Reynier mystery yet." (New Mexico Magazine )

From the Publisher

An ancient religion, a family’s hidden past, and a modern-day murder confront archivist Claire Reynier in her search for the controversial last words of a Jewish mystic condemned to death in 1596.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press; 1st edition (January 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826331726
• ISBN-13: 978-0826331724
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,659,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, April 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Land of Burning Heat (Claire Reynier Mysteries) (Paperback)

"L of BH" is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Great topic, good sense of suspense, interesting characters, insight into an unusual(and, may I add, still contoversial)period of Southwestern history. All of Claire's novels are very very good, this was the best. I just returned from a trip to New Mexico, went thru Bernallilo, stayed at Tamaya, so I could totally get into the atmosphere, evoked quite well. Van Giesen has such a good way of writing intelligent and provocative aspects of Albuquerque/New Mexico tales and keeping the mystery, energy and intrigue up, especially thru the view of a "book-loving" main character. More!!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong mystery, February 4, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Land of Burning Heat (Claire Reynier Mysteries) (Paperback)

Archivist Claire Reynier works at the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. One day Isabel Santos informs Claire that she tripped over a loose brick on the floor but when she investigated it she found a wooden cross with a note hidden in it. Isabel made a copy of the document and shows it to Claire who believes it was the last note written by a Jewish mystic before he was killed in the Mexican Inquisition.

The document should be placed somewhere safe but when Claire tries to convince Isabel to give it to the university, she tells the archivist she has to think about it. The very next day Isabel is murdered in her home and the document is missing but the cross is found On a hunch, Claire asks the police to dig around the area where the cross was buried and they unearth a skeleton over four centuries old. The police think Isabel was murdered in a robbery gone bad, but Claire thinks the modern day homicide, the document, and the skeleton are all linked together and she intends to prove it or die trying.

The protagonist is an independent thinker who does not allow herself to be sidetracked when she thinks she is right. She is a woman of the new millennium one to be admired and emulated. Judith Van Gieson tells a creative and fascinating story intermingling the past with the present and educating the reader in a period not widely studied. The who-done-it is fascinating but it is the mystery of the past that holds the reader's attention.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read, March 27, 2010

By 

Abbey E. Kuller "Abbey" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Land of Burning Heat (Claire Reynier Mysteries) (Paperback)

The story is good and it gives an understanding of the culture of New Mexico.