WILD INDIGO

Sandi Ault Author of Berkley Prime Crime's WILD Mystery Series

Author Biography

Sandi Ault is the award-winning author of the critically acclaimed WILD Mystery Series. A former journalist, newspaper section editor, and writing instructor, Sandi also serves as a wildland firefighter and Type 2 Fire Information Officer responding locally and nationally to wildland fires.
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Influences

Wildlife, the WILD West, the Southwest in particular, Native America, the Native Puebloans, my research, and all the great authors I've read.

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Synopsis:

On a reservation near Taos, New Mexico, BLM Agent Jamaica Wild witnesses a Tanoah Pueblo man being trampled to death by stampeding buffalo. The tribe declares the incident a suicide, the FBI concurs, and the body is hurried to ceremony before the sun can go down on his spirit.

Book Excerpt:

I got there too late to save Jerome Santana.

The Pueblo was closed, but I'd had a report that the buffalo herd was wandering out of its confines up on the foothills to the northwest of the reservation. And that land was in my jurisdiction-or the BLM's anyway. I work for the Bureau of Land Management as a Resource Protection Agent. It was my job to check out the report.

Santana stood in the center of the herd, his arms outstretched and the palms facing skyward. He was looking into the azure sky beyond the purple crest of Sacred Mountain. The bulls sniffed around him and pawed the ground, huffing angrily at this intruder. Santana's long black hair was tied into a rope of red cloth at the base of his neck, and his black traditional apron covered the lap of his jeans. His chest was bare, and his shoulders and back were laced with thin red welts.

The long gate on the north side of the ten-foot-high fence was open, and many of the cows and their calves had wandered into the fields of open scrub that led up to forest land and beyond. But the bulls saw the man as a threat, and they stayed-angry, circling.

I slowed my jeep to a crawl, not wanting to provoke a stampede. I parked beside the tall hogwire fence and eased out the door, leaving it ajar so I didn't make much sound. I called to Santana, "Get out of there. Walk slowly towards me." I reached into the back seat and drew out my rifle, being careful not to make any sudden or abrupt moves.

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Author Comment:

Winner of the Special Edgar: Mary Higgins Clark Award for 2007 The New York Times said: "A smashing debut...and there are thrills galore..." Washington Post: "Wild Indigo crackles with life and novelty..."

Original Publish Date:

2007-01-02

ISBNs:

BERKLEY PRIME CRIM, $23.95; 978-0-425-21369-8 HC BERKLEY PRIME CRIM, $29.95; 978-0-7862-9452-7 HC-LP (lgprt) BERKLEY PRIME CRIM, $34.99; 978-1-4001-0383-6 UCD (unabridged CD)