The Gold of San Xavier

by Bruce D. Itule

The Gold of San Xavier is a story of greed, murder, and love set in the 200-year-old Spanish colonial church near Tucson, Ariz. Nick Genoa, a freelance journalist and former newspaper reporter is heading to southern Arizona to do a story about the art conservation project inside the mission by a group of European art conservators. Before Genoa arrives, a stash of ancient gold and precious relics is found, a beloved priest is murdered, and the treasure is missing. Genoa can't resist the investigation or his attraction to the head of the conservation project, beautiful Rosa Zizzo.

293 pages, Hardcover

First published April 8, 2003

Reviews

[Dawnmarch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read while we were in Tucson and visiting the Mission. The church is every bit as gorgeous as described and the author did a nice job covering some of the history (although perhaps an explanation of the parts that were fictional vs. factual would have been a good idea). The fictional story itself is a pretty straight-forward mystery. I didn't find the love story particularly believable (it felt like they fell in love and planned their future together in about 2 days) and some of the conversation seemed forced and juvenile. I didn't feel much tension leading up to the big "reveal" but hung in there to find out how it all turned out. Toward the end, points of view changed awkwardly -- even in successive sentences -- an issue that could have been solved with some good editing. Also, the female characters were described by the author or by the male characters in sexual terms while, of course, none of the male characters were. "I kind of like her little body, though." "Nick agreed that Elizabeth had an attractively small and wiry body." "Peterson took his time looking at each woman. He enjoyed what he saw." Annoying. Still, the book is worth a read if you are visiting the region or want to learn about the lovely, historic mission through an entertaining historical novel rather than a history book.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a really great book that depicts not only a story of lova and betrayal, but also one with a tremendeous setting of The San Xavier del Bac Mission.

[Stephanie Gerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading this before and after my trip to see the mission. Great historical info mixed into an interesting story. Not always a fan of mystery but this one was great.