Customer Reviews

Wild Penance (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bureau of Land Management Resource Protection Agent Jamaica Wild works out of the Taos, New Mexico filed office. She runs along fences to make sure there are no holes in them; if they contain rips usually means someone is doing something illegal. One morning while running Jamaica stares up at the Rio Grande Gorge bridge only to see activity where there should be none. Two men drops a cross with a man tied to it into the river below; the current takes the cross with its rider.

Jamaica believes someone wants to disguise a murder by making it look as if the ancient Christian sect Los Penitentes, who reenact Jesus' crucifixion as part of their extreme penance, committed the act. She learns the corpse is Father Ignatius who warned her to stop asking questions about Los Penitentes who react rather swiftly and ugly to inquiries and loathe outsiders asking questions about them. Three men break into her car to steal a book Jamaica is writing about this sect. A car follows her and her house is broken into. However, the trauma she faces is raised when someone tries to kill her at a lingerie show. Not one to idly sit back, Jamaica with an unexpected ally goes after her tormentor with help from the late Father Ignatius.

Fans are going to love the latest Wild thriller as we are thoroughly drawn into the world of a little known sub-culture that receives support from the masses. The sect conducts much of its practices in secret because the Catholic Church would prefer they vanish as their modern day penance is considered extreme by most people. The protagonist is a strong woman who may receive a lot of punishment, but obstinately refuses to back down as she remains dedicated and committed although the danger mounts. Jamaica is terrific, but Wild Penance is owned by Los Penitentes.

Harriet Klausner

While Jamaica Wild was on an early morning run, she saw two men remove a cross from the back of a truck and roll it over the railing of the Rio Grande Gorge. Unfortunately, there was someone nailed to the cross at the time.

Investigators found that the cross was connected to an ancient religious group by the name of Los Penitentes. The members of the group performed excessive self-penance, sometimes to the point of death.

Seeing the cross at the bridge reminded Jamaica of the meeting she had with Father Ignacio Moradas several months before. He was an expert on the Pententes and Jamaica had been studying the history of the group, drawing sketches and keeping notes in a special journal.

Jamaica is an agent for the Bureau of Land Management. Her most recent assignment is riding the fence line during the night to check for broken links due to rustling in the area. Her new partner is a Forest Service ranger by the name of Kerry Reed.

Shortly after the incidence at the bridge, her sketch book is stolen from her car. Then she finds that someone is out to stop her from learning anything more about the Pententes. As the bodies begin to pile up, Jamaica finds her own life in danger.

Sandi Ault has written a wonderful mystery set in the Taos area of New Mexico. She writes with such beauty that the reader feels like they are a part of the landscape. The characters are written with a depth that helps draw the reader into the story and feel like a part of the action.

Wild Penance is a great read, and I really look forward to reading the rest of the series. From what I understand, this is a prequel to the other books, so I am coming into the series from a different direction. Catching up should be very enjoyable.

The fourth book in the WILD mystery series is an unusual story. Jamaica Wild, the Bureau of Land Management agent in New Mexico, witnesses what appears to be a crucified man on a cross dumped off a bridge into the Rio Grande. It is assumed that it is part of a ritual reenactment of the death of Jesus Christ. But that is only the beginning of the story.

Jamaica already was fascinated by Los Penitentes, an ancient religious group that annually, during Easter week, reenacts the Crucifixion, and practices excessive penance. She was already making sketches of shrines and events and attempting to write a book on the sect. Then all sorts of strange events, including attempts on her life, set her off on a path leading to solving several mysteries.

In addition to the main plot, the novel is quite an outdoor adventure story, together with the mystic elements. Attention to detail and background blend with the plot and descriptions of Native American lore and history.

Recommended.

As a reader, have you ever wondered where some of your favorite characters got their start? You know, where did they grow up; what were they like as a child; why did they choose to do what they do? Well, Jamaica Wild fans, wonder no more as Sandi Ault steps back in time with her beloved protagonist's prequel WILD PENANCE, the fourth adventure in the Wild Mystery series. Similar to authors such as Larry McMurtry, who treated his followers to two prequels in the string of LONSOME DOVE novels, Sandi escorts her admirers to the period when Jamaica bears no commitments or burdens other than her job as a BLM range rider, and the memories of family that, although she tries to restrain them, haunt her soul and beg recognition. Kerry, Mama Anna, Tecolote and Mountain wait in the wings as readers and Jamaica discover these series stalwarts together.
The Preface quote "time before time" clues readers as to the storyline to follow. Jamaica is not yet the one-man-band sleuth she develops into as the Wild series progresses, but her incurable knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time prevails when she witnesses a body swan dive from The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. In the uncertain light of early dawn, Jamaica questions whether the form is an illegal bungee jumper or a suicide...or a crucifixion as the body appears loincloth clad and lashed to a cross. She also spots two hooded individuals watch the human sacrifice plummet into the gorge and then flee from the overpass. The entire scenario reminds Jamaica of rituals once performed by Los Penitentes, an antiquated religious sect that her insatiable curiosity has compelled her to study. Merely a witness to a crime at this point, Jamaica steps aside to let the local badges do their job while she returns to hers...until her prized Penitentes notebook, filled with notes, essays and drawings is stolen from right under her nose. Now it's personal. The question is why? A query that draws Jamaica into a maze of quirky characters, a budding relationship and attempts on her life, factors that ultimately lead her toward the satisfaction of resolving her first mystery and self-acceptance.
Although PENANCE is truly the first Wild episode, the descriptive, one-off writing style Ault addicts anticipate flows from every page as Sandi and Jamaica reflect their affection for the high-dry mesa country. The observance "spurts of planetary heartburn" when depicting the lava formations scattered across New Mexico's landscape is just one of many unique interpretations that afford Jamaica Wild and Sandi Ault enthusiasts the opportunity to visually share and appreciate the gals' wild adventures. Another guaranteed colorful, action-packed who-dunnit, WILD PENANCE entertainingly helps explain why Jamaica is so wild and fully prepares us for the next installment: WILD...??? Can't wait!

Every title in this series has always left me wanting more..so much so that I rush out and buy the next in the series. WILD PENANCE does not disappoint. First off....it is a prequel to the first 3 titles, which we sometimes see in movies today. I found this approach very exciting and new in regards to WILD Indigo, Wild Inferno and Wild Sorrow. Wild Penance sends you back to a time when Mountain was a pup, and Jamaica meets a couple of other mainstays in her mysteries, Kerry and Momma Anna and more....all while holding true and dear to her portrayal of the Pueblo culture, Taos NM, writing style....and a page-turning mystery you can't put down.

Sandi Ault has a fascinating way of crafting a story comprised of "history, mystery, turmoil and place." Sounds like a spell that a fictional witch would be chanting over her brew, doesn't it? In her latest book, Wild Penance, Ault will bewitch you with her story of Los Penitentes and heroine Jamaica Wild's deep fascination with learning more about this practice.

Out for a run on the canyon rim before her duty shift, BLM Agent Jamaica Wild is shocked to see a sight she hopes to never see again. "...My feet pounded a tempo on the trail as I jogged in place, as if what I witnessed might merely be a temporary detour in my day's trajectory. There I was: out on the rim, too far away to do anything to change what was happening. I saw a body on a cross. Falling into the Rio Grande Gorge. And it did not come back up."

The ensuing investigation, which her superiors would rather she keep her nose out of, leads Jamaica on a wild ride through the canyons and forests of the mountain ranges of Northern New Mexico. Her job is to protect the land, but in doing so, she risks her life as she also searches for answers and information about the illusive religious group that reenacts Jesus' crucifixion and practices excessive penance. Her own penance, given to her by her medicine teacher, Momma Anna, proves to be an assignment that seems impossible to puzzle out. While searching for answers to the murder and its ties with Los Penitentes she is determined to complete her cryptic task.

Although it is the fourth book released in this series, Wild Penance takes the reader back to the beginning days of Jamaica's story, complete with her meeting the mysterious Indian woman from the hills who disappears at a blink; her beginning training in the "Indun Way" by Momma Anna and her meeting with the wolf of her life, Mountain. As always, the breathtaking descriptions of the world around her and the surprise, intense action leave you shocked and thrilled thoroughly enough to keep turning the pages.

by Rhonda Esakov
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Fans of Sandi Ault's series will be delighted with Wild Penance, which pre-dates the other three books, and therefore provides some interesting backstory. This book includes all the elements that have brought the WILD series so much attention. Protagonist Jamaica Wild is a complex character who needs to solve some issues in her own life. Descriptions of the New Mexico landscape are evocative, and the unique mystery plot is rooted deep in the area's cultural heritage. A fascinating and engaging read.

Another winner by Sandi Ault.She writes edge-of-the-seat action mysteries, ala Tony Hillerman.BLM sleuth Jamaica Wild witnesses a shocking crime and discovers a secret society with chilling rituals that put her life in the danger zone.Sandi's books are recipients of several awards, including the Mary Higgins Clark Award, the WILLA award and SPUR finalist. I recommend it as a good read.

Heidi M. ThomasCowgirl Dreams

There is an authenticity about Jamaica Wild, and the Wild Mystery Series that is hard to nail down. She is everything I am and everything I am not. She is the character that makes me feel like I am looking in a mirror, and the character that is everything I may never be. I admire the way Ault captures not only the woman natural resource manager as heroine, but the heroics of northern New Mexico with all its complications, secrets, and closely held beliefs.

As a teenager I kept a notebook, spiral bound, with sketches and stories from things I learned and saw about Penitentes in the mountains of New Mexico. I quit when I realized it wasn't my story to tell. Yet I admire the way Ault tells the story, steeped with respect.

If you have not read any of the Wild series yet, this fourth book is actually the first book to start with. Just be prepared to do nothing else for awhile. This isn't the kind of book you want to put down.

by Mary Stuever
a New Mexico forester, and author
The Forester's Log: Musings from the Woods

In her latest Wild Mystery installment, Sandi Ault weaves an intriguing story of the Los Penitentes, an ancient religious sect, with the story behind her lovable female sleuth, Jamaica Wild. After witnessing a body tied to a cross plunge hundreds of feet off a bridge into icy waters, BLM agent Jamaica is drawn into the investigation. As a hobby she has studied the secret society of the Los Penitentes and is drawn into danger as she questions their ties to the murder. If you enjoyed the religious oddities found in the pages of Dan Brown's DaVinci Code, you will savor the pages of adventure regarding the Los Penitentes.

The native customs and unique landscape of the Taos, New Mexico area color the pages of Wild Penance, and in this prequel Jamaica's connection to the land and its people are apparent. Momma Anna, her medicine teacher, leads Jamaica to see that the Los Penitentes are not the only ones seeking penance. In the midst of seeking her truths, Jamaica forms relationships with the primary characters followed in the other Wild Mystery Series books.

Wild Penance has suspense, mystery, romance and some lighthearted fun moments. Questions are answered about Jamaica's past and give the reader some insight to the vulnerability of this series' heroine. I loved this latest installment and look forward to the next one with a new understanding of all the characters.