A SHADOW REVURB
While the Phoenix area is blooming with crime fiction, Clark Lohr, in his debut novel, moves us south to Pima County and the Arizona-Sonoran borderlands. Lohr has written a terrific crime story with a compelling cast of characters. Pima County sheriff’s detective Manny Aguilar is three parts Mexican and one part Yaqui Indian. His Yaqui grandmother, a witch and a healer, haunts his dreams as he struggles with her visitations from the grave versus his jaundiced cops-eye take on humankind. Manny’s girlfriend, Reina, seems to be on the same wavelength as his grandmother. This clash of cultures adds spice and, for me, a unique take on the usual police procedural tropes.
The book is fast paced, wonderfully constructed, and manages to hit on all the major issues facing present day Arizona. Lohr integrates border issues, drugs, illegal aliens, corrupt cops and greedy developers. Around these issues he seamlessly weaves an action-filled plot that keeps the pages turning.
Lohr’s prose is pitch-perfect with a consistent tonal voice that brings every character to life. Manny Aguilar is such an appealing figure that I hope Lohr brings him back. The dialogue between him and his lover, Reina, is priceless; both funny and perceptive.
This is an assured debut and a welcome addition to the Arizona crime scene. Enjoy it.
STEVE SHADOW SCHWARTZ
For other books in a similar vein try:
Betty Webb “Desert Wind”
Deborah J. Ledford “Snare”
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