Death of a Saint Maker: A Texana Jones Mystery

Texana Jones #2

by Allana Martin

When trading post owner Texana Jones discovers the body of a local carver of wooden saints while touring a small Mexican town, he becomes embroiled in a murder investigation that includes traveling photographers, an arms dealer, and an environmentalist. BAKER & TAYLOR

Genres: Mystery

276 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Allana lives in Marfa, Texas, with her husband.

Her first novel, Death of a Healing Woman, won the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award.

She is a former journalism teacher.

Reviews

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good Texana Jones mystery. She and her husband get involved with a rich Mexican rancher who just might also be a drug dealer. In addition she solves the murder of a local wood carver. Lots of time is spent with her pet bobcat. Recommended.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read of a good mystery set in the borderland along the Rio Grande. There, in the harsh desert landscape, we find Texana, who runs a trading post, and her veterinarian husband, Clay. Across the border a wood carver known as the saint maker is found dead in a church. Also, there in the church, a pit bull, with blood on him, is found standing over the body. Did the dog kill the man? Texana doesn't think so, and, besides trying to save the dog, she gets involved in trying to solve the murder.
What I like most about the story is that the world of the desert is brought to life along with the rich cultural mix of "the frontier." Have a glass of clean cool water available.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A carver of statues is found dead in a Mexican church. On the Texas side of the Rio Grande, Texan Jones is plagued by obnoxious people in her RV park and her trading post is broken into. The DEA suspects her of smuggling. As a reasult, she has to figue out what is going on.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just started; so far, good "border" (la frontera) color and culture.
Might read another of these. Main characters are good and believable.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I could be as tuff and feminine as Texana. Quite the sleuth too.

[RYAN · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pretty good book, I really liked how the Author describes the culture on the border.

[RC Prentice]

As in Death of an Evangelista, we are smacked with a plethora of characters and their melodramatic situations that have little or nothing to do with the plot. In the end, the goings-on are pretty simple yet it seems a lot of extraneous situations are thrown at us because the author couldn't think of how to get the protagonist to unwind a few events and situations to come to a resolution of the precipitating incident. Or maybe her doing so would have reduced the book to a short story and and thus a lot of filler was needed. The relentless message of the book--as well as Martin's previous one--is that the place where it all happens, the far end of Texas is truly an awful place to live or visit.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another author to look up other works
So evocative of the southern Texas/Mexico border that you can almost taste the dust.
Well crafted.

[R. C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the border setting and the depiction of relationships across the border. I would have rated it higher, but I found the ultra-rich and menacing drug dealer a bit like a TV or movie character. But I would definitely read another novel by the author.

[Jean Carlton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entered 2019
Read 2001
I rate every book entereed years later as 2 stars (ok) unless i starred the entry in my original log.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 2.5. It was a good-enough book but I just didn’t quite get into the heroine.