The Clovis Incident: A Mystery

by Pari Noskin Taichert

Book Overview

Sasha Solomon is having a bad day. Fired from her job as PR director at an Albuquerque HMO, she is dealing with an ailing mother and trying to figure out the origins of hallucinations that include conversations with her cat.

Sasha heads for Clovis, a small town in southeastern New Mexico, where she'll bid on a project for the Chamber of Commerce. While there, she will check in with her widowed friend Mae King. Mae, a local dairy farmer, is...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826331866
• ISBN13: 9780826331861
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Length: 231 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Intriguing Debut Novel

Sasha Solomon needs to start her PR consulting business back up sine she's just been fired from her current job. Fortunately, she has one possibility already lined up. The city of Clovis wants to increase their tourism revenue and is looking for a PR consultant to help them do that. As an added bonus, she'll get to spend time with one of her best friends, Mae King, a local dairy farmer. Mae is acting weird, however. When Sasha finally gets Mae to open up, Mae reveals two secrets. First, aliens have regularly kidnapped her. Second, there's a dead body on her land, and she doesn't really want to call the police for fear they'll arrest her. Sasha isn't keen on the idea of keeping the secret and calls the police the first chance she gets. After she does, she realizes Mae's fears were justified as she seems to be the only suspect the police want to talk about. Mae's daughter isn't helping matters any by sticking her nose into the two's friendship. Meanwhile, at her interview with the Chamber of Commerce, Sasha learns they want her to come up with a PR plan to put them on the map and greatly increase their tourism revenue. And they hint that the aliens in the area really just might be the way to go. She's got just one week to come up with a plan to present to find out if she'll get the job. The book starts out all over the place, with talk of Sasha's hallucinations and a visit with her mom. I was beginning to wonder if the praise I'd heard for the book was well founded or not, but then Sasha arrived in Clovis. It's really not too far in, but from that point on, the plot picks up and the book becomes quite interesting. There are several red herrings that distract for a while, but the solution is a little obvious before the end. Even so, the author does a good job of keeping the reader entertained with quirky and sinister characters. The writing style is quite fun as well. There are long passages of dialog at times, and every so often, the author uses a cleaver turn of phrase that makes you stop and reread the passage to fully enjoy it. The couple of flaws are worth mentioning, but hardly detract from the overall enjoyment. It's a quirky cozy that will leave the reader ready for Sasha's next case.

Aliens For Real

THE CLOVIS INCIDENT by Pari Noskin Taichert - At page 20 I didn't care for this book - aliens, UFO's and hallucinations. At page 40, as the plot began to thicken. I began to change my mind. At page 64 I hit the paragraph that convinced me this was a good book worth reading to the end. "If aliens were so advanced, with technology that far exceeded our own, why did they make a habit of snatching dowdy girls and pasty boys for their experiments? Why didn't they go for nuclear physicists or Nobel Prize winners! And why was it always small town hicks?" Sasha Solomon, PR consultant and amateur sleuth, goes to Clovis looking for a job, only to learn her friend Mae not only has discovered a dead body on her dairy farm but has also been "abducted" by aliens. As Sasha gets drawn deeper and deeper into the case it seems every government agency and half the town's leading citizens are already involved, all with different agendas. The ending is satisfying and startling, you might even say unreal. . A must read.

MURDER, WHIPPED CREAM, ALIENS: WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR?

Several reviewers have done a spiffy job of giving a basic plot summary. I would like to comment on the author's writing. This book is just hilarious at times. I am always impressed with good comedic writing, and Ms. Taichert has certianly mastered the technique. Add a little murder, mayhem, and whipped cream, and you have yourself a great read. Super congrats to Ms. Taichert. Can't wait for the next!

Will quickly earn her legions of appreciative fans

Pari Noskin Taichert is a journalist and public relations consultant. She draws upon her experience and expertise in The Clovis Incident, an intriguing and superbly crafted murder mystery which following the unexpected adventure of Sasha Solomon, an ordinary PR director fired from her job as PR director of Albuquerque's only holistic HMO, and then travels to the small New Mexico town of Clovis to bid on a PR project for the local Chamber of Commerce only to become entangled in a dark and ruthless plot of murder and intrigue. An exciting journey through hidden motives in a desperate search to protect oneself with the power of truth and insight before it is too late, The Clovis Incident is unique and compelling in its masterful interplay of layers of plot. The Clovis Incident is Taichert's rather impressive debut effort and will quickly earn her legions of appreciative fans who will look eagerly toward her next title.

TERRIFIC NEW SERIES!

Oh, are you in for a treat when you meet Sasha Solomon! Snappy wit, sharp dialogue, first rate mystery and then add UFO's, conversations with her cat, international intrigue, the magic of southeatern New Mexico, and...oh, too much to mention without giving the plot away. This is one of the best mysteries I've read in a long time and I'm eagerly awaiting the next in the series. No wonder Tony Hillerman have her a rousing review!Take it from me, a mystery writer who knows how hard it is to keep pages turning, when I tell you Pari will keep you up all night with this one!