The Sonny Baca Novels: Zia Summer, Rio Grande Fall, Shaman Winter, and Jemez Spring

by Rudolfo Anaya

Four suspenseful southwestern mysteries featuring a Chicano PI in New Mexico, by the “extraordinary” author of Bless Me, Ultima (Los Angeles Times Book Review). These four novels starring detective Sonny Baca are set against the terrain of the American Southwest, blending its Spanish, Mexican, and Native American cultures.Zia Sonny Baca’s cousin Gloria is brutally slain, her body found drained of blood with a Zia sun sign—the symbol on the New Mexican flag—carved on her stomach. His quest to find her killer leads Baca across New Mexico’s diverse South Valley to an environmental compound and a terrifying brujo.Rio Grande A woman plummets to her death from a hot air balloon during Albuquerque’s famous Balloon Fiesta—and Baca recognizes it as no accident.Shaman Baca, confined to a wheelchair after a violent encounter, is haunted by chilling dreams, but has no choice but to go to work when the Santa Fe mayor’s teenage daughter disappears and the trail leads to a charismatic and dangerous shaman.Jemez A high-profile murder ignites a hotbed of political treachery and terrorist threats that take Baca to Los Alamos, pitting him against a formidable foe—and a nuclear bomb. Unrelentingly suspenseful, with vivid details of the physical and spiritual landscape of northern New Mexico, these mysteries are perfect for fans of Margaret Coel or James D. Doss and star “a fascinating hero” (Edmonton Journal).

Genres: Mystery

1564 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2016

About the author

Rudolfo Anaya lives and breathes the landscape of the Southwest. It is a powerful force, full of magic and myth, integral to his writings. Anaya, however, is a native Hispanic fascinated by cultural crossings unique to the Southwest, a combination of oldSpain and New Spain, of Mexico with Mesoamerica and the anglicizing forces of the twentieth century. Rudolfo Anaya is widely acclaimed as the founder of modern Chicano literature. According to the New York Times, he is the most widely read author in Hispanic communities, and sales of his classic Bless Me, Ultima (1972) have surpassed 360,000, despite the fact that none of his books have been published originally by New York publishing houses. His works are standard texts in Chicano studies and literature courses around the world, and he has done more than perhaps any other single person to promote publication of books by Hispanic authors in this country. With the publication of his novel, Albuquerque (1992),Newsweek has proclaimed him a front-runner in "what is better called not the new multicultural writing, but the new American writing." His most recent volume, published in 1995, is Zia Summer.

"I've always used the technique of the cuento. I am an oral storyteller, but now I do it on the printed page. I think if we were very wise we would use that same tradition in video cassettes, in movies, and on radio."

from
http://www.unm.edu/~wrtgsw/anaya.html
and
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_reso...

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bless Me Ultima was classic, lyrical and a beautiful representation of the culture of the southwest. Because Rudolfo Anaya was so highly esteemed after it, I had high expectations for the Sonny Baca series, Zia Summer etc. I really tried to like them, but found so much of it cliche. I'm not a huge fan of murder mysteries, but a good one will still hold my attention. And I love the mysticism of the Native American and Mexican cultures, but both the mystery and the mysticism of the series were boring, and lacking in literary integrity. The mystical parts remind me of children's "battle of the witches" and full of spiritual cliches. It made the shamanic path seem simplistic, too easy and with too much machismo. I like the old man neighbor. I like that the "hero", Sonny kept having to be rescued. I believe the author was throwing in some tongue in cheek humor there. I like the sprinkles of Spanish and the cultural references and regional character. But so much of it lacked depth or sophisticated nuances that I would have anticipated from the author of Bless Me Ultima. Sure, the characters have good values and Anaya expressed some important cultural and environmental concerns, but in a cheesy TV drama sort of way. I hope he had fun writing it. It has some value in presenting a nice representation of the Mexican American culture with people any reader can relate to.

[Susan B Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Anaya's best