Valley of shadows A novel

Ruiz's second historical novel set in the 1880s brings readers back to the Texas-Mexico border as they follow the heroic adventures of Solitario Cisneros, a Mexican cowboy who is saddled with the same curse that afflicted the hero in The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez (2020). But instead of dealing with the love curse, Cisneros, who is at once brooding and driven by honor, is preoccupied with solving gruesome killings in Olvido, Texas, where he is hastily hired as the new sheriff. The townspeople are on edge as random families, Mexican and Anglo alike, fall prey to horrific acts by perpetrators who then abduct the children of the adults they murder. Aiding Cisneros is his love interest, a Mexican Apache psychic, as well as the ghost of his deputy who was killed in the murder spree, and they all race against time to try to stop the murders and rescue the kidnap victims. Ruiz's engaging tale, peppered generously with Spanish words and smoldering with racial tension and classism, is immersive and atmospheric and features an interesting cast of characters with rich backstories. Ruiz deftly combines elements of romance, historical mystery, horror, and magical realism to deliver a richly satisfying adventure.

Ruiz (The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez) offers an engrossing blend of historical fiction, ghost story, and mystery. Mexicans, Anglos, and Apaches live uneasily together in the town of Olvido, Tex., in 1883, on land that was once split between Mexico and Texas but is now under American control. The town's sheriff, his wife, and older son are murdered, and the rest of his children are abducted. Townsmen ask Solitario Cisneros, Olvido's previous lawman, to investigate. Solitario, who can see the dead, refuses because he would miss out on his brief nighttime encounters with the spirit of his late wife. He also fears he would be made a scapegoat if a culprit can't be identified, given his Mexican ethnicity. After a plea from the ghost of the murdered boy changes his mind, he enlists a young Mexican Apache seer, Onawa, to help him find the missing children. They rescue Tolbert's surviving son without finding his two missing daughters, and return to Olvido to learn another family has been killed. As the body count rises, a romance simmers between Solitario and Onawa, and they face Olvido's entrenched prejudices. Here Ruiz slips into clichés, particularly in describing Onawa's attraction to Cisneros, but he employs elements of magic realism to haunting effect, and the depictions of human cruelty and injustice are unflinching. Despite some bumps, this has its rewards. (Sept.)