A Killing in New Town

The winner of the 1996 Western States Book Award for fiction, Horsley's latest captures the dusty, dry essence of life in New Town, a frontier settlement in the New Mexico Territory. Its setting is the late 19th century, but the characters populate their historical setting with an endearing and rather modern mix of foibles, quirks and passions. Eliza Pelham, though an alcoholic and adulteress, loves her children with the passion of a mother grizzly. When they are stolen, she sets out with two unlikely allies, the consumptive Irish saloon girl, Bridie O'Doonan, and an Eastern-educated Apache, Robert Youngman. Although the relationship will eventually prove tragic, it does, for a short time, offer an island of loyalty and trust in the midst of prevailing lawlessness. The title implies a murder story, and though it is about murder, Horsley's intention is a double meaning that refers also to the ``killing'' that settlers hope to make in New Town. Small daily details and larger ideas make this unconventional western a truly compelling blend of adventure, Southwestern mythology and reality. (Oct.)