The King's Lizard: A Tale of Murder and Deception in Old Santa Fe

Pamela Christie

Santa Fe. 1782. The colony of New Mexico teeters on the brink of extinction. Unknown enemies sabotage the desperately needed peace between the Spanish and Comanches. To whom can Governor Anza turn? Unexpectedly, aid comes from the least likely of his subjects, one as invisible as a lizard on a wall. Nando Aguilar, the half-breed son of a Spanish don and a Ute slave, finds himself recruited to be the eyes and ears for Anza's government. Caught between warring cultures, Nando soon becomes deeply embroiled in murder and intrigue.

Immerse yourself in the world of one the greatest governors of New Mexico and gallop across the lands of El Norte with the wily Nando. The King's Lizard is a fascinating and colorful journey back into time, rich in historical detail, full of treason and revenge, with enough red herrings and plot turns to dazzle the most ardent mystery fan.

Illustrated with maps after the style of the eighteenth century cartographer and explorer Don Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco, and complemented with a bibliography of sources that is a substantial must-read list for Anza's New Mexico, The Kings Lizard is both a super-charged mystery and a historically authentic visit to New Mexico's past. Students and study groups have chosen this book as a lively introduction to New Mexico in the late colonial period.

". . . a rarity among the lightweight historical novels knocking around bookstores nowadays . . . a hell of a saga."--The Santa Fe New Mexican

"Christie's plot twists are so well woven the reader keeps reading late at night . . . sure to delight the most discriminating historical devotee as well as the mystery fan."--Southwest BookViews

The King's Lizard: A Tale of Murder and Deception in Old Santa Fe won the 2007 Zia Award from the New Mexico Press Women's Association for the best book published in the previous year. New Mexico Press Women is an organization of professional journalists and communicators that promotes communication ethics and standards through professional development, networking and protection of our First Amendment rights.

"Entertaining, relaxing, yet loaded with historical information, The King's Lizard will invoke interest in New Mexico's past while providing a story that gallops along at an exciting pace."--Vamonos, Ruidoso, NM

"[Christie has] chosen New Mexico slaves and their usually colonial masters as the backbone of her beautifully researched historical mystery novel The King's Lizard.--Durango Herald

Pamela Christie, longtime Santa Fean, spent four years researching and writing her historical mystery. Christie has explored New Mexico since 1970, tracking ancient mysteries and gathering stories of the people who lived in the rugged kingdom centuries ago.

Lone Butte Press

5.5 x 8.5 354 pages 5 maps