"L of BH" is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Great topic, good sense of suspense, interesting characters, insight into an unusual(and, may I add, still contoversial)period of Southwestern history. All of Claire's novels are very very good, this was the best. I just returned from a trip to New Mexico, went thru Bernallilo, stayed at Tamaya, so I could totally get into the atmosphere, evoked quite well. Van Giesen has such a good way of writing intelligent and provocative aspects of Albuquerque/New Mexico tales and keeping the mystery, energy and intrigue up, especially thru the view of a "book-loving" main character. More!!

Archivist Claire Reynier works at the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. One day Isabel Santos informs Claire that she tripped over a loose brick on the floor but when she investigated it she found a wooden cross with a note hidden in it. Isabel made a copy of the document and shows it to Claire who believes it was the last note written by a Jewish mystic before he was killed in the Mexican Inquisition.

The document should be placed somewhere safe but when Claire tries to convince Isabel to give it to the university, she tells the archivist she has to think about it. The very next day Isabel is murdered in her home and the document is missing but the cross is found On a hunch, Claire asks the police to dig around the area where the cross was buried and they unearth a skeleton over four centuries old. The police think Isabel was murdered in a robbery gone bad, but Claire thinks the modern day homicide, the document, and the skeleton are all linked together and she intends to prove it or die trying.

The protagonist is an independent thinker who does not allow herself to be sidetracked when she thinks she is right. She is a woman of the new millennium one to be admired and emulated. Judith Van Gieson tells a creative and fascinating story intermingling the past with the present and educating the reader in a period not widely studied. The who-done-it is fascinating but it is the mystery of the past that holds the reader's attention.

Harriet Klausner

In this Neil Hamel mystery, the death of Neil's distant aunt leaves Neil with a diary and a plane ticket to observe an environmental miracle, the white Arctic falcon. But instead of seeing the glorious falcon, Neil and her birding party see a body flying off a cliff. Little does Neil realize that the trip she decides to take to Montana to see this bird will turn out to be a search for a murderer:

"'It wasn't a falconer, I'm tellin' you. There are plenty of other people around who hated Pederson's guts. The man had it comin' and goin'.' He climbed down from the fence. 'You give my best to March. Goodness is a rough trail, especially where he is. And don't forget to say hello to that girlfriend of his, Kate.' He grinned. 'Now there's a woman with spirit. She can park her boots under my bed anytime she wants to.'"

Van Giesen moves Neil and her mysterious love, the Kid, from Albuquerque: where if the hot sauce isn't burning your throat it has no taste; to the dangerous regions of Montana, where the greatest danger can be anything from a snowstorm that catches the birders unaware; to the horrible traps used on beautiful, unsuspecting, and diminishing animals for profit; to the people themselves, whose motives are hidden by the wide-open skies and mountains. Neil tries to adjust as she sleuths for March, the wrongfully accused ranger. Van Giesen's characters drive the suspense-driven plot; at the same time throwing in quirks of Neil's which make her all the more human. Neil is a lovable neurotic: from her smoking and drinking habits, to her "inappropriate" relationship to the Kid, to her turning her nose up at anything that remotely resembles food. The reader pictures an Ally McBeal galloping around the hillsides with heart and clothes flapping. But somewhere she finds the strength to get the job done, before she resumes her nonconformist lifestyle. Raptor is a delight, and Neil does it her own way.

A very popular mystery writer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Judith Van Gieson is an author who has a plethora of information on the web, and enough name recognition so that her author bio simply includes the names of some of the catalog of mysteries she has written, including: North Of The Border, Confidence Woman, and Vanishing Point. Van Gieson is

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

An enjoyable, light read. Van Gieson describes the New Mexico and Utah landscapes better than the central characters. But they're characters we're comfortable with, so maybe that works. I'd put it on my "Recommended" list, but not at the top.

The archivist assigned to "preserve the papers, the legend, and the memories" of the 1960s rebel Jonathan Vail is Clair Reynier. The Southwest Research of the University of New Mexico employs the fiftyish woman. Recovering from a divorce, Clair enjoys cataloging Vail's works including his letters, a journal, and a book the cult classic "A Blue Eyed Boy."

A student working on a dissertation on Vail excites Clair when he produces another journal from the cult icon. The journal highlights Vail's days in Slickrock Canyon, where he was camping with his girlfriend before vanishing. Clair and a police officer go to meet the graduate student near the cave where Jonathan's duffel bag containing the journal was found. Instead, the duo finds the dead body of the student, who appears to have fallen from a steep cliff. The inquisitive Clair begins making inquiries not realizing that someone close by wants to insure she learns nothing even if it means another death to accomplish that.

Judith VanGieson proves once again that she is a superb storyteller through her ability to vividly depict the Southwest desert so that readers feel they are there. Clair may seem like an ordinary person, but her values insist she fight for what she believes in regardless of the personal cost. The well-plotted mystery combines with realistic characters to turn VANISHING POINT into a pleasant reading affair.

Harriet Klausner

This author ought to find a new protagonist. I think she's burned out on Neil. Nothing new going on in her life. The Kid is phoning in his performance. Neil's sexlife is deader than a dodo. The plot was okay, but predictable. Teen gangbangers aren't all that interesting. Oh, well. As I like to save my money, I checked this one out of the library and am glad I did. It was a one day read and now I can go on to something bigger and better.

This author exposes us to an inside view of living life in todays gang infested citys. Once again Judith Van Gieson paints word pictures that draw you into the midst of her investigation. An enjoyable read. Beverly J Scott author of Righteous Revenge

Judith Van Gieson is one of the best writers working the genre, and in Ditch Rider she just keeps getting better. She keeps her subjects immersed in the social issues of the day -- from smuggling rare birds to wolf reintroduction, to this book's gang girls. It's a treat to read her prose -- "We stepped out of the Nissan, shutting the doors behind us very carefully and quietly. We walked in the middle of the road so as not to crunch the gravel on the shoulder and set off all the dogs in the hood. The dogs heard us anyway and began barking one after another, knocking down quiet like dominoes. 'Callesan, perritos,' whispered the Kid." As a former New Mexican, I especially love the way she brings the landscape to life. You can almost smell the damp earth by the irrigation ditch, feel the dry air on your skin. Her evocation of her neighborhood, complete with delinquent girls next door, rings just right. Can't wait to see what happens next in Neil's personal life, now that Neil's bought a house and given the Kid some closet space! Keep 'em coming!

As a lover of the Southwest, I found Stolen Blue was very satisfying. I found myself underlining all sorts of places, books, etc. mentioned in the text to follow up. The "atmosphere" was terrific..

The negative was that the "mystery" aspects of the book were transparent. You KNEW the books would be stolen from her car, you KNEW the "History of the Blue" would be the important stolen book (the title alone gave it away!)so there weren't so many "surprises" that mysteries often have. And the eventual "killer" seemed somewhat arbitrary.

Still, the the writing drew you in, the atmosphere held you there, and the "mystery" pulled you through! The quasi-intellectual aspects were also a plus.

More!!

Book lovers, mystery lovers, lovers of the Southwest and librarians . . . don't miss The Stolen Blue by Judith Van Gieson. Critics say it is a book lover's delight. Sleuth Claire Reynier is an appealing heroine and the mystery is ingenious. This is a new series for Van Gieson. The Stolen Blue will get you hooked and wanting more. The writing is crisp, smooth and flows gracefully with subtle intensity from the first page. Claire has a cast of friends who are book lovers, book scouts and librarians that you must meet.

I've heard Judith Van Gieson's previous mysteries described as hard-boiled, but this one's definitely a cozy. The sleuth is Claire Reynier, a librarian at the University of New Mexico's Center for Southwest Research, who practices tai chi, loves books, listens to Mozart, and has a cat named Nemesis. Her dying mentor, Burke Lovell, turns over his private collection of Southwest-related books to the university. While Claire is at his ranch, located in a remote region called "the Blue," to pick up the books, Burke commits suicide with the assistance of a newfound daughter. When Claire returns to the university, a box containing some especially valuable books (including two by Tony Hillerman) and a volume titled "History of the Blue" is stolen. This mystery is great fun for book lovers. It's replete with eccentric bibliophiles, various libraries, and antiquarian bookstores. Ms. Van Gieson's characterizations and descriptions are vivid and detailed. If you've ever been in New Mexico, this book will take you back there; if you haven't, you'll get a good idea of what it's like. Apparently the editors and proofreaders didn't quite make it to the end of the book. They did a fairly good job until the very last paragraph, where someone is referred to by the wrong name. That aside, this is a very entertaining read, and I look forward to more of Claire's adventures in the promised sequel.

Ok so this is the plot. A young, beautiful, firefighter, belonging to a "hotshot" elite unit dies due to cutbacks, and bad policy stemming from protocols designed to protect rich people's property. So the flat girl character died on the job. Everyyear firefighters risk their lives in similar situations and yes some do die. So we are led to sympathy because she's a woman. Its just as tragic if a man dies. Bad ploy. I think that Joni should have entered the corporate scene and stayed away from high risk employment. She might not have made as big a statement as by tereading on traditional "man's ground", but she would have lived and spared her family all that grief. I just found it hard to have sympathy for her.

Judith Van Gieson has that rare talent with words allowing the reader to feel as if you were sitting on her shoulder experiencing the story through her eyes. She brings her scenes to life with action and dialogue. I look forward eagerly to opening the pages of her next book and spending time with the gutsy full of life lawyer Neil Hamel. Keep up the good work. Beverly J Scott author of Righteous Revenge

Neil does it again. This is her trial by fire. Great blending of story telling and consciousness elevating. As always Neil is a fascinating character. All of Van Gieson's books are exceptionally well written. Jim Tanzola

It is a shame this book is out of print. This is by far Van Gieson's best novel featuring her magnetic lawyer-sleuth, Neil Hamel. Whereas the earlier books had not yet developed Hamel's character into full bloom, and the most recent one is a bit contrived, this volume is like a comfortable old sweater. If you can get your hands on a copy, relish it!

I GRABBED THIS BOOK ON IMPULSE AND WASN'T SURE AT FIRST IF I WAS GOING TO READ PAST THE FIRST COUPLE OF CHAPTERS OR NOT, BUT I STUCK WITH IT AND REALLY GOT INTO IT. I ENJOYED CLAIRE, BUT WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SEE SOME CLOSER FAMILY AND SOCIAL INTERACTION.

I loved the book. An entertaining book should take you away from your troubles during the course of the reading.....This one does....and does it well. Being from Santa Fe, I especially enjoyed the insights on Santa Fe women and the insights on women in general. The characters were very true to life and I know each one of them exists in my own world......By the way, Judith, we are passing the book around Santa Fe, pretty soon everyone in yoga class will have read it....!!!! Cheers to you !!

I feel I owe Judith Van Gieson a special thank you for giving her readers consistently excellent novels. Ever since the Neil Hamel, and now with the Claire Reynier series, I've enjoyed her well defined, genuine characters, no nonsense plotlines as well as her remarkable ambience-rendering of the Southwest. The author sense of time and places proves once again right here. As a woman in her fifties, Claire Reynier has already had a share of ups and downs. She has settled for the best as a rare book expert at the Univesity of New Mexico and a life of her own spent between books, Tai-chi, a potential lover and a cat. When she becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a former classmate, she has to dig into a long-forgotten past and go through some sobering discoveries. With her sharp reflexion about what people really are about behind the scene, precise but thoughtful writing, Judith Van Gieson brings a definite plus to the mystery genre.