Murder and Mystery in New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico: Lightning Tree Press, 1991. First Lightning Tree Press Edition . Trade Paperback. Fine. 6" x 9. 192 Pages plus eight pages of photographs. Erna Fergusson's books about the Southwest are among the best written about the region, for they are a blend of perceptive knowledge, love, and understanding. She has earned the title of New Mexico's First Lady of Letters." To these words from Lawrence Clark Powell, the "Dean" of Southwestern literature, we add those of Paul Horgan: " ... no one ever lived in greater harmony with the immediate environment than she. o Erna Fergusson was born in Albuquerque's Old Town, the daughter of Harvey Fergusson and Clara Huning Fergusson. Her grandfather was the famous merchant Franz Huning. In this new edition of MURDER & MYSTERY IN NEW MEXICO nine riveting tales are presented with seldom- told facts that go far toward explaining the why of the incidents involved. Why did women go out of their way to defend Billy the Kid? Who killed the editor of the Socorro "Sun" just outside the church? How did the laws of land ownership and usage of three countries cause the shoot-out on the Estancia Plains? Why did the hanging of Black Jack Ketchum put an end to train robbery in New Mexico? These tales are fascinating reading and became a format often copied but never equaled in New Mexico lore. As Dorothy Hughes, the New Mexico mystery writer, said of them, they are "not only more exciting than fiction, but far more exciting than the killings of the present generation both in implication and resolution." Readers and collectors of New Mexicana, as well as mystery fans, will be well rewarded by this work of "New Mexico's First Lady of Letters.