Death in the Desert - Softcover

Francine P. Biere

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1932695230 ISBN 13: 9781932695236

Publisher: Treble Heart Books/Whooodoo Mysteries, 2005

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fade...but fear is everlasting.

Fleeing the horror of September 11th, journalist Meagan Wagner returns to the tranquility of Arizona, only to discover that her nightmare has just begun.

Meagan is greeted by a nameless and faceless terror stalking southeastern Arizona. Hundreds of strangers crawl through the desert night, following the people smugglers who are guided by greed and a disregard for human life.

Parched bones and dying immigrants, ravaged by the sweltering heat, litter the once peaceful landscape of the desert. But Meagan s vulnerability and isolation intensify as she witnesses the horror and shock of a busload of injured and dying children. Along with her close-knit community, fear turns to outrage with the realization that human lives are tragically taken at the hands of illegal immigrants.

In Meagan s attempts to discover the truth and to help put a stop to the desert carnage, she risks more than her career. She learns that the price for justice and integrity can be paid with risking your life.

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About the Author:

Francine P. Biere calls Arizona home. She s been writing for 20 years and as an award-winning journalist, editor, and photojournalist for a worldwide feature newspaper, she s had numerous articles published. She is a nationally recognized speechwriter and award-winning public speaker, one of Arizona s Outstanding Young Women of America, and received a national U.S. Bicentennial Leadership Award. She s published a short story and photographs in two literary magazines. As a freelance journalist, her articles and photographs have been published in regional newspapers and magazines in southeastern Arizona and Europe.

Review:

Meagan Wagner, an award-winning journalist, has settled back in the safety of Cochise County, Arizona. She has fled back to her roots in order for her to start healing from the devastation and fear that crept into her life after September 11, 2001. Living in Washington D.C. at that time, Meagan should have been covering the hysteria and chaos that surrounded the hours and days following the attacks on New York and Washington. Instead, she was glued to the television like the rest of the country. She was experiencing failure when she should have been taking pictures and writing about the experience.

Back in Arizona, she has settled into her life out on the ranch with her Uncle Billy, the closest thing to a father that she has in her life. Billy, a recovering alcoholic, has managed to turn his life around after years of drifting and drinking. Now Billy has won the lottery and lives comfortably on the ranch. One thing he had the good sense to spend his money on. The other constant in his life is his niece, Meagan, who has always shown him unconditional love even when most of her love life was dry like the desert that she lived in.

The quiet Arizona area that she lived in was quickly becoming the gateway for illegal immigrants from Mexico entering the United States. The area was becoming a little dangerous as the drug runners and coyotes (or paid guides) that brought the Mexicans became greedy and wanted more and more money to do these deeds. As more and more illegal Mexicans turn up dead in the desert from dehydration, the area becomes a tinderbox waiting for a spark. That spark comes and the fire of hatred and bigotry runs rampant throughout the county. Meagan is unintentionally fanning the flames with her stories. With the help of Uncle Billy and her friends, Meagan finally sees that the fear she has is running her life.

Wow, this book is really a lesson in fear and how it can run your life without you knowing it. Francine Biere tells a very touching story, it brought tears to my eyes a couple of times. I think that this is a must read book. --Reviewed by LightHouse Literary Reviews, Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Death in the Desert is a novel with its heart in the right place. Well done, Francine Biere. I thought Death in the Desert was grand, as they say over here (in Ireland). Best of luck with it!!! I hope that Death in the Desert raises awareness and lends support toward those good causes which try to assist poor migrants. --Featured Review by Mick Halpin, Critical Mick Reviews Free of Rules, Dublin, Ireland

Death in the Desert is a literary experience that takes the reader to a place they may never otherwise go. Invaluable in this, true-to-life characters flesh out a dark but needful expos� of human suffering intensified, if not begun, by people who manipulate the tenets of their own freedom in order to maltreat others. --Reviewed by Cami Tapley, Lindenville Publishing, Gibraltar Fiction Series, Michigan

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