Book Review: Death of the Last Villista

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Death of the Last Villista     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Allana Martin
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Woman Main Character
Series: Texana Jones # 5
St. Martin’s, Aug 2001, $22.95, 224 pp.

The border land adjacent to both sides of the Rio Grande has its own rhythm, culture, and language that sets it apart from the rest of both countries. Texanna Jones operates a trading post two miles west of Polo, a small hamlet of hundred and twenty-five people. She has lived there all her life and is part of the community that took part in the filming of Pancho, a movie about the 1917 raid of the Moore Ranch by Villa and his followers. To add authenticity to the film, the director hired former Villa follower Jacinto Frejo on as a consultant. Frejo was killed shortly before the movie ended.

Now an independent video producer is creating a PBS special celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the movie. The male lead in Pancho is a big hit in a TV sitcom, hence the PBS special. Texanna is leasing land to the moviemakers and the trading post is the center of operations. At the beginning of the production, the RV of the male lead blows up and nobody is sure whether it is an accident or arson. A young boy goes missing and Texanna finds out that her mother and Trejo were lovers before he was killed. Allana is unable to let past secrets stay buried and is determined, for her mother’s sake, to find out who killed Trejo, but somebody wants past secrets to stay hidden.

DEATH OF THE LAST VILLISTA is much more than a mystery; it is a glimpse into a subculture that is a part of yet separate from the rest of the United States and Mexico. The characters give the novel atmosphere and a sense of what it is like living on the border. Allana Martin has created a novel that has depth yet remains very entertaining.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner