Josie Gray Mysteries Series by Tricia Fields

Josie Gray Mysteries #1

At the end of State Road 170 and just past a ghost town lies Artemis, population 2,500. The townspeople had sought out this remote corner of Western Texas in hopes of living lives of solitude and independence. None of them realized that their small town would become a hot spot for Mexican drug runners, whose turf battles have turned both sides of the Rio Grande into a war zone. Still, many of the locals would rather take the law into their own hands than get help from police chief Josie Gray, even when they're up against a cartel's private army. After arresting one of the cartel's hit men and killing another, Josie finds her life at risk for doing a job that many people would rather see her quit. And when the town's self-appointed protector of the Second Amendment is murdered and his cache of weapons disappears, it's clear that she doesn't have to pick sides in this war. She's battling them both. Set in a desert landscape as beautiful as it is dangerous, The Territory captures the current border issues from the eyes of a tough, compelling heroine and richly evokes the American Southwest.ReviewAdvance Praise:“The Territory has it all: believable characters, a terse plot, and an accurate depiction of a section of the Texas/Mexican border that’s a virtual war zone. This is a gritty contemporary crime novel that’s lifted above the pack by the intense humanity of its female protagonist. Don’t miss it.”--Milton T. Burton, author of Nights of the Red Moon“There’s a new voice in western crime fiction--Tricia Fields is the real deal." --Craig Johnson, author of The Cold Dish and Hell is Empty“With a sure voice and ferocious pacing, Fields enters the crime fiction work with an entertaining beautifully executed novel that belies its debut status. Crime fiction readers who yearn for wide open spaces, characters with real heartbeats, and stories that ring true will welcome Fields and wait breathlessly for the next installment in this exciting new series.”--M.J. Rose, author of The ReincarnationistAbout the AuthorTRICIA FIELDS lives in a log cabin on a small farm with her husband and two daughters. She was born in Hawaii but has spent most of her life in small-town Indiana, where her husband is a state trooper. A lifelong obsession with Mexico and the Southwest led to The Territory and its sequel, Scratchgravel Road. She is currently working on her third Josie Gray mystery.

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Published: 2011

Josie Gray Mysteries #2

Scratchgravel Road: A Mystery

Tricia Fields

The twisty follow-up to the Hillerman Prize–winning The Territory, featuring tough smalltown Texas police chief Josie GrayIt was pure luck that Josie Gray spotted Cassidy Harper's car, abandoned on the side of the road. If she hadn't, then she'd never have found Cassidy, lying nearly dead of heatstroke on the desert sand beside the body of a Mexican immigrant. But Cassidy can't explain why she was out for a walk in the midday desert heat, let alone how she happened upon the corpse. And once Josie sees the ominous wounds on the man's body, she knows she needs to find the answer fast, before her own life is in danger.Tricia Fields's The Territory marked her as talented new author of Southwestern crime, and Scratchgravel Road marks an inventive new mystery set in the unique world of smalltown Texas.ReviewPraise for Scratchgravel Road“As in Fields’ Tony Hillerman Prize–winning debut: carefully integrated red herrings, a tinge of romance and dead-on descriptions of West Texas weather—oppressive heat, weeklong downpours and earth-obliterating mudslides.”—Kirkus ReviewsAbout the AuthorTRICIA FIELDS lives in a log cabin on a small farm with her husband and two daughters. She was born in Hawaii but has spent most of her life in small town Indiana, where her husband is a state trooper. She won the Tony Hillerman Prize for her first mystery, The Territory, which was also named a Sun-Sentinel Best Mystery Debut of the Year.

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Published: 2013

Josie Gray Mysteries #4

Firebreak: A Mystery

Tricia Fields

Texas is experiencing its worst season of wildfires in a decade, forcing police chief Josie Gray to evacuate the citizens of Artemis and the surrounding ranchlands. Not everyone makes it out alive, however.In the fire's wake, Josie discovers the body of someone who didn't leave in time, inside the partly burned home of a local country music singer. A syringe found near the body offers an answer for why the deceased missed the evacuation. The question remains, though, why the unlucky soul was in the house in the first place. As Josie investigates, digging further into the country music scene and its hard-living characters, she begins to wonder whether or not something more sinister took place.Firebreak continues Tricia Fields's award-winning Josie Gray mystery series, which has drawn acclaim for its detailed portrayal of this remote corner of America and the tough, resilient people who call it home.ReviewPraise for Tricia Fields There's a new voice in Western crime fiction--Tricia Fields is the real deal. (Craig Johnson, author of The Cold Dish) "It's easy to see why Tricia Fields has become one of the authors whom fans of the mystery genre are raving about." (William Kent Krueger) A fresh, confident writer of Western crime fiction. (Dallas Morning News) "Crime fiction readers who yearn for wide-open spaces, characters with real heartbeats, and stories that ring true will welcome Fields." (M.J. Rose, author of The Reincarnationist) Praise for *The Territory "The Territory runs on adrenaline." * (Houston Chronicle) "Buckle your seatbelts for an off-road trip full of adrenaline. Tough and determined to make her way in today's Wild West, Josie is the type of police chief you'd want in your hometown, a gutsy new heroine who would be friends with Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon and probably Lori Armstrong's Mercy Gunderson, too." (Library Journal (starred review)) "Tricia Fields' gritty debut novel about a Texas border town battling a Mexican drug cartel feels like, well, fresh territory for a mystery. The Territory has a lot going for it." * (USA Today) "The Territory provides plenty of thrills for readers, as well as food for thought." (Associated Press*) "Fields builds suspense with a well-wrought cast of characters who deal with deadly violence that's particularly frightening for being all-too-believable. And no one does it better than Josie Gray....Readers will want to see much more of her." (Booklist (starred review)) Praise for *Scratchgravel Road "As in Fields' Tony Hillerman Prize-winning debut: carefully integrated red herrings, a tinge of romance and dead-on descriptions of West Texas weather--oppressive heat, weeklong downpours and earth-obliterating mudslides." (Kirkus Reviews) "Noteworthy for the delineation of the west Texas desert country and the well-drawn cast of characters; Josie Gray is a protagonist worth following." * (Booklist) "Fields sounds a warning on industrial dangers and their wide-ranging effects on ordinary people in this engrossing follow-up to her Hillerman Prize-winning debut. … A tense climax with a flood, mudslide, explosives, and a possible murderer add to the suspense." * (Publishers Weekly) Praise for Wrecked "Wrecked is a brutal tale with beauty at its heart. A powerful story driven by the violence of the Mexican drug war, which frequently spills across the border, it's also about integrity, loyalty, and love. Small town police chief Josie Gray is one hell of a protagonist, and the harsh landscape of west Texas, which she patrols, provides a stunning backdrop to a compelling, often surprising plot. It's easy to see why Tricia Fields has become one of the authors whom fans of the mystery genre are raving about." * (William Kent Krueger*) "Emotionally taut, building to a breathtaking climax and portraying, in the process, the danger inherent in a Texas border town." * (Booklist (starred review)) "This is a barnburner of a story and held my attention all the way through." (Reviewing the Evidence*) "Tricia Fields has proved once again that West Texas noir remains hot--as hot as the desert surrounding Artemis." * (Gumshoe Review) Praise for Firebreak As crisp as brush ready to catch fire. (Publishers Weekly) A brisk narrative, a vivid sense of place, and an appealing protagonist make this another fine entry in this winning series. (Booklist) ******About the AuthorTRICIA FIELDS lives in a log cabin on a small farm with her husband and two daughters. She was born in Hawaii but has spent most of her life in small-town Indiana, where her husband is a state trooper. She won the Tony Hillerman Prize for her first mystery, The Territory, which was also named a Sun-Sentinel Best Mystery Debut of the Year, and was followed by Scratchgravel Road and Wrecked. **

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Published: 2015

Josie Gray Mysteries #5

Midnight Crossing: A Mystery

Tricia Fields

Police Chief Josie Gray wakes in the middle of the night, sure that she’s heard a car slowly passing by her remote homestead. When she goes outside to check, she discovers a woman, mute with shock and terror, hiding on her porch. And when she explores the field nearby, she comes across the body of another young woman, shot and killed. Located on the border of Texas and Mexico, the small town of Artemis has become a way station for the coyotes who ferry immigrants across the Rio Grande. But they usually keep moving north, to cities where they can blend into the crowd and pass by unnoticed. Why would these women stick around in Artemis? As Josie investigates the murder and tries to learn the identity of her uninvited houseguest, she discovers that not everyone in town has stayed out of the trafficking business, and someone may play a bigger role than she ever expected. The fifth book in Tricia Fields’s Hillerman Prize–winning series, Midnight Crossing captures the raw natural beauty of West Texas and the tough, independent people who choose to live at the very edge of the country. **Review Praise for Midnight Crossing "Fields wraps a complex plot and ripped-from-the-headlines social relevance around a terrific heroine, scoring big for women in law enforcement." ―Publishers Weekly Praise for Tricia Fields and the Josie Gray Series “There’s a new voice in Western crime fiction―Tricia Fields is the real deal.” ―Craig Johnson “It’s easy to see why Tricia Fields has become one of the authors about whom fans of the mystery genre are raving.” ―William Kent Krueger “Crime fiction readers who yearn for wide-open spaces, characters with real heartbeats, and stories that ring true will welcome Fields.” ―M. J. Rose “Tough and determined to make her way in today’s Wild West, Josie is the type of police chief you’d want in your hometown, a gutsy new heroine who would be friends with Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon and probably Lori Armstrong’s Mercy Gunderson, too.” ―*Library Journal * About the Author Tricia Fields lives in a log cabin on a small farm with her husband and two daughters. She was born in Hawaii but has spent most of her life in small-town Indiana, where her husband is a state trooper. She won the Tony Hillerman Prize for her first mystery, The Territory, which was also named a Sun-Sentinel Best Mystery Debut of the Year, and has been followed by Scratchgravel Road, Wrecked, and Firebreak.

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Published: 2016