On a cold, gray, dreary day, two western mystery authors shared tales of crime. Manuel Ramos, a Chicano author from Denver, CO, and Lori Armstrong, a mystery and romance author from Rapid City, SD, read twice while they were at Southwest Minnesota State University on Monday, October 14th. Both were a part of the SMSU Visiting Writers Series.

Ramos’s newly published novel, Desperado, centers on Gus Corral, a guy living in the back room of his ex-wife’s thrift shop. Growing up in the same neighborhood as Ramos, the fictional character watches his North Denver area change with the times. Getting pulled into a job with an old friend; Gus soon finds he is questioned by police for a murder on top of helping his sister find a stolen skull.

Ramos also spoke about his work with Chicano writing as well as his tenants’ law textbook, written for the Denver bar, and in its fifth edition.

Armstrong’s third novel in the Mercy Gunderson series tells the tale of a female FBI agent in the hills of South Dakota. While Mercy is Armstrong’s gentler female lead, the other series the author has written is the Julie Collins series. The Private Investigator says what she wants when she wants.

Armstrong spoke on writing in two different genres, mysteries and contemporary erotic romance.

English Department Chair, Anthony Neil Smith, introduced the reading by saying, “It is a genre that is close to my heart.”