Agatha Nominee Launches Third Explosive Sasha Solomon Mystery

Pari Noskin Taichert is accustomed to the quizzical looks, spelling questions, and mispronunciations associated with her unusual name. “I know that my name can be challenging for people,” she admits. But in the immediate wake of 9/11, when Taichert received an offer for a calling card for cell phone minutes to Iran, she was truly taken aback.

“Pari,” a Persian name meaning “fairy,” had evidently earned her the recognition of an Arlington, Virginia, calling card company. Crude direct marketing? Racial profiling? Amidst the mass anxiety that followed 9/11, Taichert opted for the latter.

“I was paranoid,” she confesses now. Though the U.S. invaded Iraq, the possibility of war in Iran has since fueled many a news article and conspiracy theory. For Taichert, the enduring impressions from her alarming piece of mail composed the major themes—terrorism, racism, and sensational media coverage—addressed in her third Sasha Solomon mystery, The Socorro Blast.

In The Socorro Blast, readers of Taichert’s previous gems,The Clovis Incident and The Belen Hitch, roadtrip with Sasha on her latest foray to small-town New Mexico—this time to consult with town patriarch Papi Sanchez on how to bring tourism to Socorro County attractions: the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, the El Camino Real International Heritage Center, and the Very Large Array telescope field to name a few. The Sanchez family has scandals of its own that impede Sasha, but as usual, a crime obstructs her work: This time it’s her niece Gabi, a student at Socorro’s New Mexico Tech who studies explosives and is involved in a perilous relationship with one of her professors. Instead of quality time with her family, Sasha finds herself managing the shockwaves of family crises at the local hospital, where Gabi lands after a pipebomb shatters her mailbox.

Even a loyal Sasha questions Gabi’s agency—is she a victim . . . or perpetrator? With Gabi’s orthodox Jewish mother and judgmental aunt plunging into family dysfunction, Sasha is left to promote the peace. The Solomon family makes for a dynamic gallery of characters, as explosive tempers mix in a combustible concoction that PR-pro Sasha must control in order to get to the bottom of the crime—and to get the job done in Socorro.

The Socorro Blast will be available at the Center for the book signing and in the Center Gift Shop.  It is also available at bookstores or directly from the University of New Mexico Press.

Pari Noskin Taichert, of Albuquerque, has been nominated twice for the coveted Agatha Award for The Clovis Incident and The Belen Hitch, both published by UNM Press. Taichert’s fans can visit her online at parinoskintaichert.com and also on the mystery writers’ blog, Murderati.com, for which she is a weekly contributor.

MEDIA NOTE: For more information, graphics, or to schedule an interview with Pari Noskin Taichert, please contact Amanda Sutton at 505-272-7190 or asutton@unm.edu.