After the death of her beloved grandfather, and with no
immediate surviving family members, Pilar Sagasta decides to travel from
Cincinati to Arizona to look up some
distant relatives in hopes of forging new family relationships. Upon her
arrival she’s met with hostility by the same and she soon realizes why her
grandfather had distanced himself from them.
They are decidedly unfriendly and vicious to her and to one
another and beneath their black façade lies an even blacker secret. They are all related to a notorious band of
bank robbers and murderers from years past and someone is sitting on a pile of
loot. With no love for one another and a
new stranger in their midst, the situation is ripe for murder and intrigue and
bad stuff begins to happen quickly.
A multitude of characters introduced at the beginning of
this story made it difficult for me to follow who was whom. All have a part to
play. I suggest that if you read this book, you jot down notes regarding the
characters, who they are and where they fall on the family tree so you can follow
the trail of intrigue. I found that on occasion the book could have used a
little bit better editing. I particularly enjoyed the originality of the plot
and the bits of history woven in and Pilar’s character is one I warmed to. This
kept me turning pages as I wanted to find out whodunit and where the money
would end up. I also liked how Rogers wove in historical facts. I give this
four out of five stars. This is the first in a series.
