CHAOS STRIKES AT A ZEN MONASTERY BOOK REVIEW

In the mountains south of Taos, the secluded Sleeping Tiger Zen Center is readying for a silent meditation retreat with guests coming from California, Colorado, and Los Alamos. The quiet sparseness of the zendo’s eight-day program promises inner peace. What the visitors don’t know is that the center’s staff members have internecine issues like at many establishments. To make matters worse, the morning the attendees arrive, Sheriff Ulysses Walker discovers the body of a local Picuris Pueblo tribal member dead in the mountains near the remote monastery. Is there a connection? Plus a snowstorm is moving in, along with sinking temperatures. That’s the set-up for Murder at Sleeping Tiger by C.R. Koons, a former therapist who’s based in Dixon, NM.

The sun rising over the mountains brings dawn to the property as caretaker Tomás drives into the retreat center, noting that the lights are already on at Roshi Melanie’s house as the former Brooklynite-turnedBuddhist instructor prepares her spiritual program. Retreat manager Jo, who’s recovering from the stress of a paramedic career, is setting out sticks of incense and beeswax candles. When the first van pulls up with guests, Jo notices, “Roshi Astrid Berg got out of the front seat, pulled her black cashmere coat tight around her and shuddered with distaste at the cold. She left her designer bag on the seat and headed toward the zendo without a word.” Everyone here has an agenda, it seems.

Trying to maintain order, Jo helps Tomás shovel snow and salt the walkways as more snow pelts the Zen center under gun-metal skies. The next morning, havoc hits anew when another body is found frozen dead, this time in the plaza of Picuris Pueblo where wood smoke scents the air. What’s more, it’s a Sleeping Tiger staffer. This novel’s intriguing characters, palpable ambiance, and progressing plot prove irresistible, with particular insight into Northern New Mexico norms. An oasis of calm this retreat is not

By Wolf Schneider

MAY 6 TH A BENEFIT FOR ST. ELIZABETH SHELTERS & SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

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