Border Ghosts : Deputy Rico's Tale #4

Deputy Margarita Ricos is not like every other deputy sheriff. She’s young. She’s tough. She’s kindhearted and smart. She’s a proud Chicana! Raised on the edge of the United States in Terlingua, Texas, she has a broad perspective of “the border,” its people, and its issues. She chooses to remain in the vast land of mountains and desert, a muddy, winding river, fiery sunsets, unique dangers, and indescribable beauty. Margarita is an advocate of justice and fairness in a world that is neither. She takes comfort in the steadfastness of the scenery she adores and her love for and commitment to her community. While still recovering from the loss of her love, Margarita’s birth father comes to visit. He is Sergeant Zeke Pacheco with the Texas Rangers, and he invites her to accompany him to Dallas. He wants to spend a week with his daughter, to take her away from the darkness in her head and the gossip in Terlingua. Also, “if she wants to,” he could use her help on the mysterious case of a friend’s son. The young man is in prison for killing his wife and children. Is he guilty as charged or innocent, as he claims? Margarita jumps at the chance to get to know her father better and to have an adventure in Dallas. And she can never resist a mystery or a chance to right a wrong. She’s quickly drawn into a web of lies and cover-ups, angels and villains, wrongs and redemption. While trying to prove an imprisoned man guilty beyond doubt or wrongly accused, Margarita is haunted by a mystery from her past. She begins the fast-paced, danger-filled, winding route to the Border Ghosts.

Reviewed by Manning Wolfe of Lone Star Literary Review

Elizabeth A. Garcia's Border Ghosts begins with her heroine, Deputy SheriffMargarita Ricos, recovering from a broken heart and career woes inTerlingua, Texas. Margarita's birth father, Zeke Pacheco, a Texas Ranger from Dallas, entices her to spend a week with him solving the mysteryof a young man who may be falsely imprisoned for the murder of his wifeand two children. "My father had thrown me a lifeline," Margarita muses, "and even with a broken heart and a head full of dark thoughts, I knewenough to grab it."

Margarita leaves her beautiful desert landfor Dallas, where she is confronted with lies and cover-ups by those who have been quick to accuse the imprisoned young man. Or, are they rightabout him? Found covered in blood, jealous of an affair his wife washaving (and having struck her before, according to police reports), theman's a likely suspect. Margarita is challenged to unravel the chain ofevents and put to rest his guilt or innocence once and for all.

The vast and haunting beauty of the Big Bend Country, its people, and itsunique dangers circa 1966 are the backdrop for a haunting storycomprising the second part of the novel. A young couple leaves thesafety of their Chihuahua, Mexico, home and faces the dangers ofcrossing the Rio Grande River and the Texas desert for a chance at theAmerican dream.

The two stories are interwoven like a leatherbootlace, alternating the sweet story of young love and danger-filledmystery from the past involving the Border Ghosts with the modern-dayquest to prove the imprisoned man either guilty or innocent. Thejuxtaposition of the border drama against the Dallas mystery elevatesthe texture of the novel and gives it depth. The way the two stands arereconciled is both charming and satisfying.

Garcia exposes thehistorical relationship between Mexican immigrants and U.S. citizens inan eye-opening way. She promotes truth and honesty in her dealingswithout becoming preachy. Love of the Big Bend area is paramount toGarcia and her heroine.

This fourth installment in the DeputyRicos series does not disappoint. In the style of Tony Hillerman, BillCrider, and Rex Stout, Garcia weaves an intertwined tale of twomysteries that keeps the reader guessing and rooting for the heroine,Margarita Ricos, until the last page.