Mona Brandon’s artist husband disappeared several months ago. Had he just grown tired of his domineering, artsy wife or was it his body lying out there in the desert, rendered unrecognizable by turkey vultures? And was it just a coincidence that a handsome private detective from San Francisco just happened to pick that time to show up in Santa Maria to pursue an art career?

Young Jean Holly, owner of The Turquoise Shop, hasn’t much use for Mona, who uses her wealth to dominate this small New Mexico community. Mona isn’t very popular with much of the local Mexican population, especially after she sent one of their own—a beautiful teenager—to prison.

When murder strikes a second time, this time at Mona’s enormous adobe mansion at the edge of town, suspicion falls not only on her but on several of the artists and writers she had encouraged to move to Santa Maria.

Mona is loosely based on Mabel Dodge Luhan, a wealthy Easterner who came to Taos in 1918 and turned the town into a mecca for the arts, luring D.H. Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe, Robinson Jeffers, Ansel Adams, and many others there. Mona’s hacienda is also modeled after Luhan’s own home.

Inspired by an actual event in Taos, The Turquoise Shop was originally published in 1941. It was the first mystery by Frances Crane and introduced the world to Pat and Jean Abbott, one of the most popular husband-and-wife sleuthing teams in detective fiction.

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