This is the second book in the Kevin Kerney series. I read this one immediately after finishing the first in the series,
TULAROSA, which I enjoyed a lot. In MEXICAN HAT, Kerney, the ex-Santa Fe chief of detectives, is working as a seasonal forest ranger in Catron County, New Mexico. He gets involved in the murder of a Mexican man named Hector Padilla who had come back to New Mexico along with his grandfather, Jose, to try to right a wrong that was done to their family sixty years earlier. Unfortunately, the Padillas truck broke down and Hector was shot when he stumbled into someone poaching a mountain lion. Kerney had also been investigating the poaching of a black bear. Could the two cases be related? Then there is also a local family feud related to what happened to the Padillas sixty years ago and that family's involvement in a paramilitary group. Kerney's investigation makes him a target for someone. Is it the poachers or the paramilitary group? Or both?
This was another fast-paced entry in the Kerney series. This series reminds me of two of my favorites, the Longmire series by Craig Johnson and the Joe Pickett series by C.J. Box. I enjoy the New Mexico locale and the descriptions of the desert Southwest used by McGarrity. His characters are also interesting and his narrative kept me turning the pages. I have a few others in this series that I'll be reading soon. SERPENT GATE is next on the list.
This is McGarrity's second effort, following "Tularosa" which introduced the protagonist; if possible, read that book first. While "Mexican Hat" will stand alone, the author makes several references to the first novel; it's not mandatory that you have the entire back story to enjoy this book, but your enjoyment will be enhanced if you do.
That said, I thoroughly liked both books; my late wife and I spent considerable time in NM, and the author's descriptions of the countryside and people brought back a lot of pleasant memories for me. I've decided to try to read the rest of his books; am reading book 3 now and have ordered books 4-7 through PBS. His books seem to be quite popular, but are not keepers so there are lots available in paperback on PBS.
The writing is not deathless prose - not in a class with John LeCarre or Michael Conelly, but fun to read nonetheless. I usually read myself to sleep, and these books make good bed-time reading, enjoyable but not so great you have to be fully alert for every sentence.
