In 鈥淗our of the Hunter,鈥 author J.A. Jance introduced her readers to Brandon Walker, who wore his white hat long after retiring as the Pima County sheriff.
鈥淎mor Eterno鈥 was a collection of 11 warm, wonderful stories that explored various meanings of love by longtime Tucsonan Patricia Preciado Martin.
Published in 2011, 鈥淭he Four Fingers of Death鈥 was a futuristic fantasy set in Tucson and with references to a number of local landmarks 鈥 one of them the 鈥淗appiness is Submission to God鈥 house that still stands near the university.
Three very different tales, to be sure, but readers of this space were quick to add them after we unveiled our first list of 鈥淭op Tales from Tucson鈥 in February.
Today, we offer Part 2, with more suggestions from readers and writers who live here. Do you have a Tucson favorite that is not yet on our list? Send it to bookmarks.arizona@gmail.com . We will update our library again later this year.
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Books in the Walker family aeries of mysteries by J.A. Jance.
鈥淗our of the Hunter鈥 was Jance鈥檚 first 蜜聊直播 mystery, released in 1991, two years before she launched her ultra-popular Joanna Brady series. 鈥淗ouse of the Hunter鈥 was one of six Jance mysteries that have followed Walker, a former Pima County sheriff who lived near Gates Pass and still enjoyed chasing bad guys now and then. This time it is a vengeful psychopath who spent only six years in prison for killing a Tohono O鈥檕dham girl. 鈥 from Elaine McDonald of Tucson.
鈥淎mor Eterno鈥 told the tale of a magical love potion that was carried from Barrio Viejo to guests at a resort in the Catalina Foothills 鈥 and the mayhem that ensued. 鈥淚 read it at least once a year to remind myself that life is short and that love is always a dark enticement,鈥 said Maribel Alvarez of Tucson.
鈥淭he Four Fingers of Death鈥 by Rick Moody was a stunningly creative story that centers around a man who decides to write a sequel to the 1963 horror classic, 鈥淭he Crawling Hand.鈥 In his sequel, a mission to Mars begins with three spacecraft carrying nine Americans. It ends when one of the capsules crashes back into the 蜜聊直播 desert 鈥 with only a human arm aboard. 鈥 Tom Hartzell, Tucson
鈥淭he Terranauts鈥 by T.C. Boyle takes us inside the Biosphere north of Tucson, where four men and two women 鈥渢erranauts鈥 are living under glass. It is 1994, and the mission is both a scientific experiment and a publicity stunt. It becomes a game of survival for the people inside. 鈥 Helene Woodhams, Tucson
鈥淎 Garden of Aloes鈥 by Gayle Davies Jandrey follows a woman who flees an abusive husband and starts over 鈥 in a seedy motor court in Tucson. Together with her two young daughters, Leslie finds solace and eventually family with the people she meets there. 鈥 Wynne Browne, author of 鈥淭he Forgotten Botanist鈥
鈥淎in鈥檛 That a Mother鈥 by Adiba Nelson is a frank, often-funny memoir by an Afro-Latina mom determined to make the most of a life that now includes a daughter with special needs. Told with heart and humor, this is not your average motherhood story 鈥 and Nelson is not your average mom. 鈥 Kate Bernheimer, author of 鈥淭he Girl Who Wouldn鈥檛 Brush Her Hair鈥
鈥淏lue Desert鈥 was Charles Bowden鈥檚 third book-length study of life in the American Southwest. Published in 1988, it focused almost entirely on 蜜聊直播, and how rapid development was changing the essence of what the state had been. A graduate of Tucson High, Bowden became well-known for his reporting of life along the border, particularly in Ciudad Juarez. 鈥 Tim Schaffner, Schaffner Press
鈥淔racture鈥 is a lively whodunit and where-did-it-go from Tucson鈥檚 favorite author-geologist, Susan Cummins Miller. A wealthy developer鈥檚 wife is found dead in her million-dollar Tucson home. The husband鈥檚 priceless coin collection is now missing. Frankie MacFarlane is on it, and 鈥淔racture鈥 and keeps us guessing (and reading) from first page to last. 鈥 Tricia Clapp, Mostly Books
鈥淕irl in Pieces鈥 by Tucsonan Kathleen Glasgow is a wrenching story of a 17-year-old girl who has lost everyone and everything dear to her, and comes to Tucson to start over. 鈥 Matt Mendez, author of 鈥淭he Broke Hearts鈥
鈥淢arlow鈥檚 Revenge鈥 by Dan Stuart features Marlowe Billings, who has returned to Tucson to get clean and save his marriage. Predictably, it鈥檚 easier said than done. 鈥 Richard Grant, author of 鈥淎 Race to the Bottom of Crazy鈥
鈥淐actus Country鈥 by Zo毛 Bossiere is a coming-of-age memoir recounting the author鈥檚 teenage years in Cactus Country, a trailer park near Vail. It is a story of resilience, identity and gender fluidity from a young person with questions that weren鈥檛 easily answered. 鈥 Abra McAndrew, Tucson Festival of Books
Footnotes
鈥 Courtney Gustafson, the author of 鈥淧oets Square鈥 and curator of the uber-popular Poets Square Cats page on TikTok, will discuss both when she appears at Stacks Book Club this coming Friday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased by visiting .
鈥 Tess Mayer, director of the Berkeley Public Library in Northern California for the last five years, has been named the new director of the Pima County Public Library. She will begin working here on Sept. 2. Mayer replaces Amber Mathewson, who retired last month.
鈥 Submissions are now being accepted for the annual Free Time Writing Contest for incarcerated writers. Judging will take place in fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and the winning pieces will appear in The Rain Shadow Review. For more information, visit .
The top stories from Sunday's Home+Life section in the 蜜聊直播 Daily Star.
