Customer Reviews

Pumpkin Seed Massacre (A Ben Pecos Mystery) (Worldwide Library Mysteries)

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Ben Pecos has a mixed heritage. His father is Anglo, while his deceased mother was Native American. Most of his life has been spent in the Anglo world culminating in his graduating from Stanford. Surprisingly, Ben accepts an internship working for Dr. Sanford Black at the Albuquerque Indian Health Service Unit. His home station is the Tewa Pueblo where his grandmother lives.

On the Pueblo, several senior citizens suddenly die, but no one seems concerned. However, that changes when healthy younger Indians die. Panic surfaces, as an epidemic appears to be on the precipice. TV reporter Julie Conlin covers the deadly outbreak. She works with Ben to solve the mystery of the virus that is killing the residents of the pueblo.

THE PUMPKIN SEED MASSACRE is an entertaining Native American mystery that centers on a man-made killer virus linked to casino interests. The atmospheric story line captures the diversity of New Mexico while providing insight into a Native American culture. Ben and Julie are an intriguing pair of amateur sleuths, who seem capable of carrying the plot. The fracturing of various points of view occasionally leaves the audience disconnected. Still Susan Slater provides an enjoyable debut that will have sub-genre readers wanting more appearances from Ben and Julie.

Harriet Klausner

The plot is like a Mister Potato Head mixture of various standard mystery plots, yet it ends up being a pretty good tale. The writer needs to stay away from adult material until she can do it with competence, and sometimes she gets a bit didactic about native lore, but it was worth the purchase.