City Different

Stephen Hazlett is a veteran of Vietnam and the Army Corps of Engineers. Born in New Jersey, he gravitated to Silicon Valley as a computer professional and finally ended up in New Mexico, where he writes full time. He's published four books besides CITY DIFFERENT: NINA'S STORY; THE FAMILY O'SHEA; A PRIVATE WAR; and THE BUDDHIST. City Different, a nickname for Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the setting for this Silicon Valley mystery. Eddie Collins is a wealthy Internet guru with a successful company...so successful that he has to hire a CFO, Chief Financial Officer. The tale begins when his young and exotic wife, Nina, runs out of their home in a panic and he finds his CFO murdered. Did his wife shoot him? She has disappeared, and Eddie returns to Santa Fe, her home town, in search of her and the answers to his questions. Nina is well known in Santa Fe, and her Aunt Helen is a powerful and menacing figure in the story as Eddie finds himself returning to her again and again for answers that aren't forthcoming: "'You're becoming a regular here,' she said, stepping aside to let me enter. She closed the door and walked past me into the Great Room, seating herself on the long couch. I followed behind, but preferred to stand, looking down at her. She really did look tired. Her eyelids were half-closed and her face was pale and covered with fine wrinkles in the light from the window behind her. I found myself wondering how old she actually was." Stephen Hazlett has managed to craft a fine mystery out of Santa Fe history, including the travails of the Indians who were tortured, ripped off, and driven from the best lands. Santa Fe is almost half way between Los Angeles and Chicago, and Hazlett is interested in maintaining its authenticity. His story is a murder mystery with layers of intrigue both on an environmental level as well as an interpersonal level. He captures the beauty of Santa Fe and the small town politics that retain its uniqueness. Hazlett's characters are shadowy, and the plot moves along in a typically Southwestern, unhurried pace. Eddie Collins is a young, intelligent nice guy who is only trying to regain his lost love. But he finds more than he bargains for, and therein lies the tension in the tale. An excellent read from a mystery craftsman, CITY is worth the time. Shelley Glodowski Senior Reviewer