First published 1984
Sailor Galey steps off the bus in Santa Fe with murder on his mind. He has come to settle accounts with Sen, the Chicago politician who double-crossed him and left him to face a Senate investigation alone. Galey expects to collect the money Sen owes him, then kill the man who destroyed his life. But Santa Fe during fiesta time proves more complicated than Galey anticipated. He finds himself drawn into the lives of the locals, including Pila, a young Mexican woman, and her grandfather Pancho, who operates a carousel called the Pink Horse. As Galey waits for the right moment to confront Sen, he discovers that others are watching him, including FBI agents and Sen's dangerous associates. The hunter becomes the hunted in a deadly game where Galey must choose between his thirst for vengeance and an unexpected chance at redemption among people who offer him something he never expected to find.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Chicago, Santa Fe
Period: Fiesta Time
200 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Golden Apple Publishers
Content warnings: violence