Lion’s Pride
Debbie Jordan
Outskirts Press, 2008
ISBN: 1432703307
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com, 03/09
5 stars
More than a mystery…
The setting is the early 1900s. Arizona was still a territory. Hispanic Sheriff Paco Alaniz found keeping peace in Moon Valley an easy job until Don Santiago Castillo de Leon was murdered. The wealthy man was not well liked. Any number of citizens could have committed the crime. Suddenly, Sheriff Alaniz had his hands full: A priest offering “comfort” to the widow, Mormon polygamists, a gambler, and a mountain lion.
Lion’s Pride is so much more than a mystery. The question of who murdered Don Santiago Castillo de Leon is almost secondary to the relationships in this book. Jordan’s book is character-driven. One of the issues addressed in this novel is obsessive religion. Jordan researched and studied various religious traditions. This book offers a look at faith and gender issues. The reader will find these issues relevant to our current society. Debbie Jordan, author of Lion’s Pride, is also the author of The World I Imagine. ( )

Occasionally I like to step outside my comfort-genre-zone. Many times this will backfire and I beat a hasty retreat back to 16th-century Europe, but other times I am pleasantly surprised and rewarded for my efforts. Lion's Pride, by Debbie Jordon, turned out to be a reward.

It's 1911 and the Arizona territory is on the brink of statehood. In the small town of Moon Valley, sheriff Paco Alaniz keeps watch over his sleepy town which, like the territory, is riding the winds of change. When a local wealthy cattleman turns up murdered, the good-hearted sheriff is suddenly faced with more than he bargained for: a murder that needs solving, a beautiful widow, a randy local priest, a sect of rogue Mormons with a couple dozen wives, and a mysterious stranger who just blew into town. And the icing on the cake? There's a blood-thirsty puma on the loose and threatening everyone.

Debbie Jordan draws the reader in within the first few pages and doesn't let go until the (pleasing) end. Characters, no matter how brief their appearance, are well-rounded and provided ample motivation for their actions. The whodunit portion isn't too difficult to figure out, but that doesn't detract from the story. This is a wonderful piece of regional fiction and a nice change from your typical western.

Even if westerns aren't normally your cup of tea can of beans, I'd be willing to bet you'd like this novel. It's not your typical shoot-'em-up, head-out-on-the-trail-and-herd-cattle kind of book. It's got mystery, detective work, religious history and some romance thrown in for good measure. Nothing too gritty or explicit (thank you, Debbie!), which is a nice change from some of the shock-value writing that is so common these days. Sometimes, clean and well-written make for a delightful read. ( )