Durangoan and former city councilor Scott Graham has written his first mystery, Canyon Sacrifice, after successfully publishing five non-fiction books. Graham’s Extreme Kids was awarded the 2006 National Outdoor Book Award. Canyon Sacrifice is a National Park mystery published by Torrey House Press, which has a reputation for publishing books that relate to the land, people and issues unique to the West.
This promising debut novel introduces Chuck Bender, who makes his living as a contract archaeologist. His business is to assess property for evidence of ancient artifacts before construction can begin on sites located mostly on the massive Navajo Nation reservation, as well as national parks.
As the story opens in the heat of August, he has just arrived at Mather Campground at Grand Canyon National Park with his new, instant family. After a four-month-long whirlwind courtship, loner Chuck finds himself married to a younger Hispanic women, Janelle, with two young daughters. Carmelita is 7 and Rosie is 5, and they have just moved in with Chuck in Durango, leaving behind Albuquerque and their grandparents and uncle. It was their uncle, Clarence, who introduced Janelle and him. Clarence had worked with Chuck for almost two years as his assistant in the field on a recent job.
Married only three weeks, Janelle suggests a honeymoon camping trip to the Grand Canyon because neither her or the girls has ever been camping. She also wants to see the places where Chuck spends all his time working. As the family tries to find its way in this new dynamic, ghosts from both Chuck’s and Janelle’s past threaten their newly formed relationship.
On awakening on their second morning in the park, Janelle and Chuck discover Carmelita has been taken. This is every parent’s worst nightmare. The clock is now ticking as Chuck and Janelle try to get her back and find out who has taken her and why. Their search takes Chuck to many different areas of the park, and when the stakes are raised, the body count mounts.
Graham has created a story blending the three cultures of the Southwest. His characters are Hispanic, Navajo and Anglo. He also folds the history of ancestral Puebloans into the plot, which gives it a richness and depth. Because the story in Canyon Sacrifice takes place in only three days, the pace of the narrative screams along as Chuck tries to save a daughter he barely knows. The story flows, and Graham’s comfort and familiarity with his subject makes the story an enjoyable read.
The real star of Canyon Sacrifice, though, is the Grand Canyon and Graham’s detailed and knowledgeable description of the landscape, critters and flora. His choice of setting offers him the opportunity to educate readers about one of the greatest natural wonders in the Southwest. When Chuck descends mid-day into the inner canyon in his quest to find Carmelita, Graham’s words raise the readers’ temperatures with: “The heat set to work on him within minutes. The pocket of air trapped between his scalp and baseball cap grew oven-hot beneath the blazing sun. Sweat barely gathered on his brow before it evaporated, leaving a grainy film of salt on his skin.”
This book will attract local readers’ interest with references to both Fort Lewis College and Durango. The next adventure of the Bender family will take place at Rocky Mountain National Park. Other books are planned to take place at Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks. It will be interesting to see how the relationship between Chuck and Janelle grows and what trouble will follow them to their next adventure.
sierrapoco@yahoo.com. Leslie Doran is a Durango freelance reviewer.
If you go
Scott Graham will read from and sign copies of his recent book, Canyon Sacrifice: A National Park Mystery, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. today at Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.
