Anasazi Trail
The Diné knew of the Anasazi when they came to this world but they were not alone in their journey to this world. First Angry followed them. The people have a proverb: Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry. An author of mischief, it was Coyote who brought magic into the world. This magic spreads fear when such knowledge falls to someone with evil in their heart.
Jackson Deveraux wouldn’t normally consider robbing a stage. However, short of traveling funds, it was a spur of the moment decision. Stopping the stage proved to be rather simple, which pleased him. The driver and the shotgun guard appeared to be reasonable men, as their grumbling response while their stage was robbed did not involve an exchange of gun shots. Therefore, it came as something of a surprise to Jackson when the lone passenger, Belle, robbed him at gunpoint.
Being robbed by a woman, while he was attempting to secure traveling-money was a painful bruise to Jackson Deveraux’s ego. However, it wasn't nearly as painful as meeting Belle's double-crossing partner. Curtis McAllister shot both of them! Then he took the money and the riding horses, leaving the two of them to die. The posse chasing the robbers saved them…for prison.
While incarcerated in Yuma Territorial prison, Belle Townsend perused the prison library—studying business. After release, she became a successful business woman in Bisbee Arizona. Brooding over the past, she decided to find her no-good double-dealing ex-partner, Curtis McAllister. She intended to pay him back (with interest) for the bullet he put in her and claim a share of the stolen money.
Belle's quest to find McAllister leads to a chance encounter with a fellow graduate of Yuma Prison. Belle wasn’t one hundred percent certain she could trust Jackson “Spider Jack” Deveraux but he insisted on joining the search. The trail of the missing loot and the double-crossing ex-partner proved to be hazardous. During their trek through rough country she discovered Jackson was a good man to have on your side in a fight.
When strangers arrived in the land of the Diné looking for information that seemed related to the dead man, Ahiga was willing to take them to the lost city, the place where the body of the white man had been found. Hoping once they had prepared a proper burial in the manner of their people, his ghost would be appeased and trouble the Diné no more.
An unlikely group, Ahiga, Belle, and Spider Jack, follow an ancient path that leads them to a lost city, abandoned centuries before the Conquistadors explored the Southwest. Their quest would be complicated by other treasure seekers and the mischief spawned of yee naaldlooshii. Neither Belle nor Jackson counted on having to deal with dead cities and ancient ghosts—and certainly not a skin-walker
Anasazi Trail is a fast moving novel of greed, treachery, and hard-time, set against a backdrop of the myths and legends of the Navajo people. Aided by a Navajo warrior, two graduates of Yuma Territorial prison, Belle Townsend and Jackson Deveraux, search for a stolen treasure guarded by a skin-walker in a city abandoned hundreds of years before the coming of the conquistadors. Follow the trail and their story in the novel.
Author's note: Anasazi Trail was fun to write. I enjoyed the research into the myths and legends of the Navajo people. Ghosts (chindi) and skin-walkers (yee naaldlooshii) included in the novel are a fascinating part of their culture. I did not start the book with the intent to incorporate a werewolf, it just happened! Two main characters get most of the attention, Jackson Deveraux and Belle Townsend. Their adventures are a rollercoaster ride of highs (finding each other) and lows (Yuma Territorial Prison). The story has humor, adventure, and a supernatual element that keeps the story interesting. In my opinion, it is always easier to write a story when you genuinely like the characters. I like the characters in Anasazi Trail!- SC
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See a complete list of books published by Steve Croy in the library.
For more tales of the west, try the novel Killing Time or Behold a Pale Horse. Happy reading! - SC
