The Pot Thief Who Studied Billy the Kid

Hubie Schuze is a pottery geek. He loves digging in the desert for ancient ceramics and crafting copies of artifacts with his own hands. When he’s not engaged with clay, Hubie is usually absorbed in reading a book, often a classic. His sidekick in sleuthing is Susannah Inchaustigui, a descendant of one of New Mexico’s Basque ranching families. She’s two decades younger than Hubie and everything he is not—brash, garrulous, and unrestrained. Their bond is based on a mutual appreciation of margaritas, good food, old movies, and the fact that they both have relationship issues.
In the six colorful and engrossing Pot Thief Mysteries, Hubie and Susannah tackle the desert’s toughest cases. Hubie’s involvement with ancient pottery invariably connects him with a crime, he is thrust into uncomfortable situations that provide humor and surprises, and he finds ideas in his esoteric readings that help solve the case. The novels are set predominantly in Albuquerque’s Old Town, home to eateries, galleries, studios, and shops, including Spirits in Clay—whose proprietor is one Hubert Schuze.