The Bone Fire

A Mystery

Christine Barber

Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books

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"Christine Barber is new to the Southwest in the sense that The Replacement Child is her first novel. But she has a great feel for the territory and for the family connections that enforce its strong community bonds."
—THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
 
Every year, the people of Santa Fe gather together for the burning of a four-story-tall figure called Zozobra, a local custom that that takes place during the Fiesta de Santa Fe. Early the next morning, as the sounds of the Fiesta celebration still echo through the streets, skull is discovered in the ashes of Zozobra.
 
As Detective Sergeant Gilbert Montoya starts to investigate the case, disturbing displays of human bones begin appearing at religious sites around the city. With a possible psychopath on the loose, Gil goes to newspaper editor Lucy Newroe for help to find the person responsible in a case that will take them into the highest and lowest levels of Santa Fe society.
 
Christine Barber was highly praised for her first book, The Replacement Child, which won the first annual Tony Hillerman Prize and was named a New York Times Notable Book. An intriguing, impressive new mystery, The Bone Fire captures the colorful New Mexican landscape and the unique world of Santa Fe.

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Book Excerpts

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CHAPTER ONE
Thursday Night
The lights flashed off, and a few people screamed.
A couple of teenagers nearby held up lighters as if they were at a rock concert. Someone yelled, “Freebird,” which got a slight swell of laughter from the crowd standing in the dark, open field.
Lucy Newroe looked at the family of four standing next to her. The dad had his arm around the mom. Two kids—both girls—stood in front, their eyes shining. The younger girl, who looked all of eight with brown hair down to her shoulders and big eyes, suddenly screamed, “Burn him!”

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Reviews

Praise for The Bone Fire

A New Mexico Book Award Winner

"The insights that Barber, an Albuquerque resident, offers heighten the pleasure of reading her mysteries and give a fresh take on why Santa Fe is called the City Different.”--THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL

“Full marks to Barber for providing the mesmerizing Southwest landscape and mindset.”--KIRKUS REVIEWS

“Readers will enjoy the Santa Fe atmosphere and the local lore along with an intriguing plot.”--          BOOKLIST

“Santa Fe is a vivid character in this book, impacting the characters, the mystery and the crime. This complicated and excellently written story moves quickly, is realistic and has an interesting set-up where the two main characters are almost never physically together.”--ROMANTIC TIMES
 
"Barber ... has a knack for slicing the the core of her richly flawed characters. . . . The beautiful part of The Bone Fire is its refusal to turn away from truth. The crimes at the center of the mystery begin with the kind of all-too-common violation that, left to fester in silence, leaks its poison through multiple generations."--PASATIEMPO DIGITAL
 

PRAISE FOR THE REPLACEMENT CHILD

“Provides detours into the rich Hispanic traditions, the geography, the architecture and vagaries of life in present-day Santa Fe...I think the pleasurable novel will endure as a far more insightful tour guide than any document printed for that purpose.”
—ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
 
“The author has a sharp eye for details about Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico that longtime area residents often take for granted.”
—THE SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN
 
“[Barber] has put as many twists in the plot as there are in the mountain roads near Santa Fe, and you'll be fooled again and again.”
—RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
 
"Looking for an undiscovered gem? Christine Barber won the very first Tony Hillerman Prize last year for the best unpublished novel set in the Southwest. Along came a publisher, and now we have Barber's very good debut."
—THE GLOBE AND MAIL (TORONTO)

"Rich in local color."
—FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM

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About the Author

Christine Barber

Christine Barber is an award-winning journalist as well as a certified emergency medical technician and firefighter. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has worked as an editor at the Santa Fe New Mexican and a writer for the Albuquerque Journal and Gallup Independent. She is the author of The Replacement Child.

Christine Barber

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Christine Barber

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Available Formats and Book Details

The Bone Fire
A Mystery
Christine Barber

Hardcover

Hardcover
St. Martin's Press
Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books
July 2010
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780312593506
ISBN10: 0312593503
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 320 pages
$24.99
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e-Book Agency
St. Martin's Press
Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books
July 2010
e-Book Agency
ISBN: 9781429902571
ISBN10: 1429902574
320 pages
$11.99
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