Valley of Shadows, Rudy Ruiz
Valley of Shadows, Rudy Ruiz
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Valley of Shadows
A Novel

Author: Rudy Ruiz

Narrator: Gary Tiedemann

Unabridged: 10 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/20/2022

Synopsis

Winner of the Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book of FictionA visionary neo-Western blend of magical realism, mystery, and horror, Valley of Shadows sheds light on the dark past of injustice, isolation, and suffering along the US-Mexico border.Solitario Cisneros thought his life was over long ago. He lost his wife, his family, even his country in the late 1870s when the Rio Grande shifted course, stranding the Mexican town of Olvido on the Texas side of the border. He’d made his brooding peace with retiring his gun and badge, hiding out on his ranch, and communing with horses and ghosts. But when a gruesome string of murders and kidnappings ravages the town, pushing its volatile mix of Anglo, Mexican, and Apache settlers to the brink of self-destruction, he feels reluctantly compelled to confront both life, and the much more likely possibility of death, yet again.As Solitario struggles to overcome not only the evil forces that threaten the town but also his own inner demons, he finds an unlikely source of inspiration and support in Onawa, a gifted and enchanting Apache-Mexican seer who champions his cause, daring him to open his heart and question his destiny.As we follow Solitario and Onawa into the desert, we join them in facing haunting questions about the human condition that are as relevant today as they were back then: Can we rewrite our own history and shape our own future? What does it mean to belong to a place, or for a place to belong to a people? And, as lonely and defeated as we might feel, are we ever truly alone?Through luminous prose and soul-searching reflections, Rudy Ruiz transports readers to a distant time and a remote place where the immortal forces of good and evil dance amidst the shadows of magic and mountains.A New York Times Book Review Paperback Row Selection

About Rudy Ruiz

Rudy Ruiz is an award-winning author. His novel, The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez, received two Gold Medals at the 2021 International Latino Book Awards. It was also a finalist for the Western Writers of America Silver Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel. His short-story collection Seven for the Revolution captured four International Latino Book Awards, including the Mariposa Prize for Best First Book. In 2017, he garnered the Gulf Coast Prize in Fiction. A bilingual native of the US-Mexico border, he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Harvard and now resides in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and children. Visit his website at RudyRuiz.com.

About Gary Tiedemann

Gary Tiedemann is a Florida and New York-based narrator, but learned how to act in Chicago's improv, sketch-comedy, and theater scene. He came to audiobook narration after voicing countless commercials and videos over a twenty-year voice-over career. Gary has also appeared in hundreds of improv and sketch performances at Chicago's Annoyance Theatre, iO, The Second City, and in dozens of theater roles as a cofounder of The New Colony Theatre. When Gary is not in a booth, he is probably outside wondering if there is time to go camping.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ilaria 🌸

Really appreciated the first of this series one of my western re read second is nice this is a lot of fillers and description historically accurate but boring. Callum and bonnie story come in second row and not always well done trope 2 stars......more

Goodreads review by Earlene

Calum and Bonnie Calum was an officer in the Union army and Bonnie was a young woman that had been abandoned by her abusive husband after causing the death of her unborn child. Bonnie two you get brothers joined the military under Calum. She heads west with her friends family and discovers adventure......more

Goodreads review by Linda Johns

I have read her books, they are very good. This is a new author for me, I have read all three 'Western Wives' books. I really enjoyed reading them. I will be looking for more of her books to read.......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth West

Western Women Valley of Shadows is book two in this series. It's a wonderful book and keeps you turning the pages. The romance between Callum and Bonnie has some heat.......more

Quotes

“Ruiz’s engaging tale, peppered generously with Spanish words and smoldering with racial tension and classism, is immersive and atmospheric and features an interesting cast of characters with rich backstories. Ruiz deftly combines elements of romance, historical mystery, horror, and magical realism to deliver a richly satisfying adventure.” Booklist (starred review)

“Ruiz offers an engrossing blend of historical fiction, ghost story, and mystery…He employs elements of magic realism to haunting effect, and the depictions of human cruelty and injustice are unflinching…This has its rewards.” Publishers Weekly

“Ruiz writes with the ache of the lonely and the audacity of the hopeful. His prose is unforgiving and his characters unrelenting. Valley of Shadows contains a sharpness of vision that is exceedingly rare; and through this tale of redemption and rediscovery, Ruiz certifies his voice—as well as his philosophy of togetherness—as a ferociously necessary addition to American letters.”  James Wade, award-winning author of All Things Left Wild

“Rudy Ruiz’s Valley of Shadows haunts with its trenchant historical accuracy woven dazzlingly with magical real elements that make this borderland Western horror leap off the page. Indeed, this powerful story wriggled into my heart and gut, like a snake seeking shelter in the scorched desert earth. Unsettling and uplifting, both. Filled with ghosts both literal and metaphorical in a desolate place overflowing with unforgettable characters whose stories are woven by a masterful storyteller, Ruiz’s Valley of Shadows is searing, incisive, and, at times, utterly terrifying.” Jennifer Givhan, author of River Woman, River Demon

“Rudy Ruiz’s imagination is second to none! I knew I’d be up all night as soon as I picked up his latest book. Valley of Shadows does not disappoint. The characters jump off the page, vying to tell their stories—the curse, the love, the loss, the friendships, the historical context, the mystery—compelling us to see through the veil to know their end. Alas, it is over way too soon!” Nora de Hoyos Comstock, PhD, founder of Las Comadres Para Las Americas

“The most gratifying thing about Rudy Ruiz’s latest novel, Valley of Shadows, is the story itself, and Ruiz keeps the reader turning pages until the very end. Ruiz skillfully blends genres, adding elements of Westerns, crime stories, magical realism, and horror to create a world in which anything is possible…A satisfying and unpredictable read.” Southern Review of Books

Awards

  • Publishers Weekly Pick
  • Gizmodo Pick
  • BuzzFeed Books Pick
  • Tor.com Pick
  • Register-Herald Pick
  • Nerdist Pick
  • Transfer Orbit Pick
  • Locus Magazine Pick
  • CrimeReads Pick
  • Goodreads Pick
  • Texas Highways Magazine Pick
  • Deep South Magazine
  • Reading the West Book Award
  • Jesse H. Jones Award
  • Los Angeles Times Pick
  • New York Times Book Review pick
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