A Town Called Why

by Rick Lenz

Simple justice or an eye for an eye? Half-Apache cop confronts pure evil.

Colleagues of Frank Gaines, a half-Apache, Arizona desert town police detective, know him as a courageous man. Gaines doubts that. He suspects he's afraid of not behaving courageously. He goes into therapy. This creates a new problem: he is falling in love with his therapist, a striking, full-blooded Apache woman, Sunny Kacheenay, granddaughter of a great shaman, who has mystical gifts of her own.

A distant maternal relative of Gaines dies by shotgun blast. Against her own best professional instincts, Sunny is forced to tell Gaines that by ancient, ancestral law, his sacred duty is to find, torture and kill the murderer.

Jokingly, Gaines tells her it's not the 1800s anymore.

Sunny doesn't laugh.

In the process of trying to hunt down the most malignant villain Gaines has ever heard of, he begins to test his courage for real and to recognize his true feelings about life, love, and courage.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

248 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 21, 2023

About the author

I’ve spent the greatest part of my life as a writer and actor. Most of the acting was to make a living and raise my family. I have been a writer longer than I’m comfortable saying. I do it because it gives me joy, whether it’s playwriting, or in the last dozen years, writing books. Like a lot of people, I’m told, I threw away my first attempts at books—maybe two medium length novels. I hope readers come away from my stories knowing something they didn't know before, having been entertained, and wishing it didn't have to come to an end.

To see what I'm doing now, please visit www.ricklenz.com. Thanks!

Reviews

[Gerry Blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read and enjoyed other works by Rick Lenz, but “A Town Called Why” is a surprise departure and I believe his best work to date. The foundation of this mystery is complete and satisfying. But then he adds a description of the the desert environment that made this story impossible to tell anywhere else, and an Apache mysticism that envelopes everything completely. Not like a veil, but more like moonlight. It’s just there, and it affects all it touches. So when we read about a serial killer in the town called Why, he/her motives can’t be explained in a traditional sense because Mr. Lenz has covered us with that same mysticism, and it skews our vision as well. It works wonderfully. The well drawn characters each have a purpose in the story. I should say stories, because there are several, all connected. It’s a page turner from beginning to end. And speaking of characters, Sheriff Frank Gaines is so strong and interesting that he needs further adventures.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘My people drive me almost as crazy as the white man’ - An Apache-influenced novel

California author/actor/playwright Rick Lenz brings to his writing a rich sense of dramatic genius garnered from his years on stage and screen as well as backstage as the creative writer for such events. His has penned five successful books – NORTH OF HOLLYWOOD, THE ALEXANDRITE, IMPERSONATORS ANONYMOUS, HELLO, REST OF MY LIFE, and now A TOWN CALLED WHY – a novel that infuses Native American philosophy with vivid action and romance - and a touch of supernatural.

Rick’s characters are so well sculpted that should we pass them on the street we would immediately recognize them. That gift is accompanied by scene painting, well suggested on the book’s cover art, as his opening words describe - ‘A Mexican gray wolf, then three, then a dozen stare at the desert, immense, motionless, aglow. As if with a single eye, they see the unshadowed forms of sheep bones, an empty prairie dog town, rabbit brush, piñon, creosote bushes, and a half dozen kinds of cactus. A purple block mesa looms ageless in the distance…’ Into this atmosphere Rick launches his story, condensed as follows: ‘Colleagues of Frank Gaines, a half-Apache, Arizona desert town police detective, know him as a courageous man. Gaines doubts that. He suspects he’s afraid of not behaving courageously. He goes into therapy. This creates a new problem: he is falling in love with his therapist, a striking, full-blooded Apache woman, Sunny Kacheenay, granddaughter of a great shaman, who has mystical gifts of her own. A distant maternal relative of Gaines dies by shotgun blast. Against her own best professional instincts, Sunny is forced to tell Gaines that by ancient, ancestral law, his sacred duty is to find, torture and kill the murderer. Jokingly, Gaines tells her it’s not the 1800s anymore. Sunny doesn’t laugh. In the process of trying to hunt down the most malignant villain Gaines has ever heard of, he begins to test his courage for real and to recognize his true feelings about life, love, and courage.’

The manner in which Rick weaves this Arizona desert tale from threads of Apache folklore with scintillating criminal scrutiny makes for an unforgettable story, one that could quite comfortable transition onto the screen! Highly recommended.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book

[Ashley : bostieslovebooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Police detective Frank falls in love with his therapist Sunny. Frank is half-Apache. Sunny is full-blooded Apache. When a distant relative of Frank’s dies, Sunny tells Frank about an ancestral Apache law that states it is his duty to torture and kill the murderer. Frank thinks this is ridiculous in present day. In looking for the murderer, Frank must reconcile his feelings about courage, life, and love.

A TOWN CALLED WHY was steeped in fantastic imagery. I liked the writing style. I was quickly engrossed in the story and the mysterious plot kept me turning pages. The characters were complex and interesting as they each grappled with how to live with the consequences of their actions. The Apache folklore woven throughout the book tied everything together nicely and played well into the exploration of modern versus tradition.

I enjoyed A TOWN CALLED WHY and would recommend it to mystery fans. This is the first book I've read by this author. I'd be interested in reading other books by him.

Thank you to Rick Lenz for the giveaway ARC.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a captivating story. There are many characters at play, and each gives us a piece of the puzzle. Gaines was easily the most complex character, probably because we get some extra insight into him via his therapy sessions. Sunny was interesting, and it was nice to see the more human side of a therapist, someone many would consider to be detached and impartial most of the time. The interplay of modern greed and older Apache traditions with personal growth and relationships made for a compelling storyline that kept me turning pages from cover to cover. An excellent tale of suspense that will have you wondering how things will play out til the very end.

[Leslie Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Gaines is a half Apache police detective in a small Arizona town. He's seeing a full-blooded Apache therapist with whom he is falling in love. There is a murder and of an ancestor on his mother's side, which professionally he is required to solve the crime. However, ancestral law of the Apache, require him to find, torture, and kill the murderer.
This is a well-written book with a lot of Native American culture and history explained. Rick Lenz is an actor who writes as though he is setting a scene and you can feel yourself watching it and walking into it with the characters.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

But not my kind of book. I prefer a more straightforward style.. This is very stream of consciousness and has many characters and shifts between them so often that getting a handle on any of them is difficult. I don’t mind the number of characters; I do mind not really having a chance to understand them. I also think the book tries too hard to be — for lack of a better term — mystical. It reminds of a parody of a Sixties conversation between stoned hippies seeking the meaning of life. I won’t be looking for more books by this author.

[Pam]

Even though I gave this a five star, I found it a little difficult to follow because of it jumping from one scene to another. But it is worth the five stars because it's interesting to find out what happens in A Town Called Why, in other words...it's worth reading.

[Danny Glover · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Town Called Why Perfectly Named

A non story populated with non characters headed to a non conclusion that requires a more fully developed non description. Why?

[Lorraine McCleary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This murder mystery set in AZ dealing with White and Apache relationships. The characters and plot did not work for me

[J.D. Schechter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disturbing

Apache mysticism, full and mixed blood Apaches, a psychologist, a shaman, a ghost, assorted physical and spiritual animals...and a murder or two