Review
“Coyote Cowgirl is one of my favorite books. . . . I envy those of you who will be reading it for the first time.”—Charles de Lint
Book Description
Jeanne Les Flambeaux-you know, the famous Flambeaux clan, the great chefs and restaurateurs of the Southwest-is the black sheep of her very accomplished family. She has a few problems. Like, for one, she can't cook. And she hears voices for another. And she screws up everything she touches for a third. No one, including herself, ever expected her to amount to anything, so she hasn't; she thinks of herself as an idiot savant--if you drop the savant part.
When her parents take a much-needed vacation, leaving her in charge of the family's ancient, prized possessions--a crystal skull and a priceless ruby scepter--she wakes up the next morning to find that her lover, Johnny (what is she doing with that loser?), has stolen the scepter. This propels her on a wild and wacky journey across the Great American Southwest, trying to catch up to Johnny and the scepter.
To complicate matters, single women start mysteriously disappearing throughout the southwestern. The police and the FBI have few clues--and Jeanne, as she stalks Johnny, is herself being stalked by someone or something. Fortunately--or unfortunately, Jeanne can't quite figure it out--she's aided in her impossible task by the crystal skull . . . now a talking crystal skull, which, of course, speaks only to her. The crystal skull, who calls himself Crane, leads Jeanne (who is rapidly becoming an actual heroine) through the casinos of Las Vegas, the mysteries of Kitt Peak, desert cults in Arizona, and finally to a wild climax that outdoes Tom Robbins . . . and maybe even gives Carlos Castaneda a run for his pesos.
Light and sexy, filled with imaginative characters and situations, and some of the hottest secret recipes from the Flambeaux recipe drawer, Coyote Cowgirl will leave you laughing and begging for a sequel.
About the Author
Kim Antieau received her M.L.S. degree from the University of Arizona in 1987, and has both B.A and M.A. degrees in English from Eastern University. She is the author of three novels and more than twenty stories. She lives in Washington State.
Coyote Cowgirl FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Jeanne Les Flambeaux - you know, the famous Flambeaux clan, the great chefs and restaurateurs of the Southwest? - is the black sheep of her very accomplished family. She has a few problems. Like, for one, she can't cook...And she hears voices, for another...And she screws up everything she touches, for a third. No one, including herself, ever expected her to amount to anything, so she hasn't; she thinks of herself as an idiot savant - if you drop the savant part." "When her parents take a much-needed vacation, leaving her in charge of the family's ancient, prized possessions - a crystal skull and a priceless ruby scepter - she wakes up the next morning to find that her lover, Johnny (what is she doing with that loser?), has stolen the scepter. This propels her on a wild and wacky journey across the Great American Southwest, trying to catch up to Johnny and the scepter." To complicate matters, women (and then men) start mysteriously disappearing throughout the southwestern U.S. The police and the FBI have few clues - and Jeanne, as she stalks Johnny, is herself being stalked by someone or something. Fortunately - or unfortunately, Jeanne can't quite figure it out - she's aided in her impossible task by the crystal skull...now a talking crystal skull, which, of course, speaks only to her. The crystal skull, who calls himself Crane, leads Jeanne (who is rapidly becoming an actual heroine) through the casinos of Las Vegas, the mysteries of the Goddess Temple, the family's skeletal closet in Mexico, and finally to a wild climax that outdoes Tom Robbins...and maybe even gives Carlos Castaneda a run for his money.
FROM THE CRITICS
KLIATT - Francisca Goldsmith
In her mid-twenties, Jeanne remains the baby of her restaurateur family: never trusted with anything serious, ignorant of family events before her birth. One evening, she neglects to lock away a couple of family treasures—a bejeweled scepter and a crystal skull—and in the light of morning, she discovers the scepter has been stolen by her ne'er-do-well cousin. Following his trail to Las Vegas, Jeanne embarks on an adventure that nicely mixes humor-laced suspense, heartwarming romance, enticing cooking, and well-managed magical realism. The crystal skull turns out to be quite talkative, and free with his advice about recipes, which is a darn good thing for Jeanne, who has no personal cooking history and finds herself trying to "buy back" the scepter through sweat equity as a chef in a rural restaurant. Along the way, Jeanne uncovers a variety of family secrets, including her mother's involvement with antinuclear protests, her father's real ancestry, and the identity of the crystal skull's voice. Antieau floats a lot of high concepts as lightly through this plot as cream on a custard. A fine partner to Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate. Recipes included. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2003, Tor, 284p., Ages 15 to adult.
Kirkus Reviews
Antieau again trips the light fantastic as in The Jigsaw Woman (1996), in which Victor, from three corpses, assembled a woman who was lifted to goddesshood. Jeanne Les Flambeaux, who hears voices much as did her namesake Jeanne dﾽArc, is the daughter of southwestern restaurateurs who offer a mixed French/Mexican cuisine at their Scottsdale eatery Oui and Si. Generations of Flambeaux have owned a prized and priceless ruby scepter and a crystal skull (whose talks with Jeanne she alone can hear). During a Day of the Dead celebration just before her parents, Jacques and Anita, close the restaurant and leave on a Hawaiian vacation, Jeanneﾽs lover/cousin Johnny, a gambler, steals the scepter from the safe after a night of love. Jeanne takes off for Las Vegas with the talking skull (it has vibes for the scepter), looking for Johnny, who is dangerously in debt. What does he mean to do with the scepter? The very old skull, meanwhile, carries on witty conversations with Jeanne as it displays its long view of history. Once in Vegas, Jeanne--by forced coincidence--finds Johnny in her hallway. He says his mother has the scepter, and sheﾽs staying out of town. But when they visit the mother, he finally admits that he lost the scepter in a poker game. When Jeanne drives off, her car breaks down--coincidentally--in the driveway of Bear Morrison, an old family friend who has built a temple in his backyard to the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, Madre del Mundo, the Virgin of Guadalupe, and other goddesses. Meanwhile, WIJ (as the moviemakers call "Women In Jeopardy") are disappearing throughout the Southwest, and the police and FBI are at a loss. Pursuit of the scepter takes Jeanne to Kitts Peak and on to Arizonacults and even has her flying like Carlos Castaneda, with other splashes of magic-realism, before she learns the real truth about her parents--and the scepter. Fun, often gripping.
Art & Photography
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