The Treasure of the Santa Ritas

About the Book

Seventeen-year-old Matt Bowden is convinced that his uncle didn't commit suicide.  Matt believes his favorite uncle's murder has something to do with the book he was writing about Southwest mines and treasures.  Matt is determined to find out who killed Uncle Jonas and why.

Matt returns to his uncle's house and searches for a clue.  He copies all of his uncle's computer files on the new book he was writing and also finds a phone message from a man named Art Fogle, a university history professor.  Matt soon learns that Fogle was killed in a hit-and-run accident, only hours before Matt found his murdered uncle.  Just a coincidence, or is there a connection between Art Fogle's and Uncle Jonas' deaths?

Matt asks the soon-to-retire homicide detective, John Pawlowski, for help.  From his uncle's files, Matt learns that Uncle Jonas borrowed a valuable Spanish document--alluding to a fortune in gold and silver--from a Mrs. Garcia.  Matt goes to see the Mexican woman and meets her granddaughter, Susan Martinez.  With his uncle dead and the Spanish document missing, Matt agrees to help Susan find her grandmother's treasure document.

The trail leads Matt and Susan to a man named Phil Simpson, a local authority on Southwest mines and treasures.  After their visit, Simpson dies mysteriously, when his house burns down.  Detective John Pawlowski is now convinced that all three deaths are tied to the missing Spanish document.

All Matt, Susan and John have to do now is stay one step ahead of the killer and find the Spanish treasure before anyone else is murdered.

About the Author

Michael M. Alvarez wrote and published several fiction books for the Tucson Adult Literacy Volunteers, an organization created for the education of illiterate adults. The books are still in use by TALV students across the United States and Canada. He is also the author of SCENE OF THE CRIME: A HANDBOOK FOR MYSTERY WRITERS. His short story, "The Human Element," was included in the 1994 anthology, COMPUTER LEGENDS, LIES AND LORE. His stories and articles have appeared in the Arizona Daily Star and Writer's Digest. His Nick Madrid mystery, THE LAST PLACE GOD MADE, is available at the Xlibris bookstore. He teaches writing classes at Pima Community College and is a member of The Society of Southwestern Authors He lives in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife and two daughters.