Sharon Buchbinder: An Obsession with the Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

An Obsession with the Treasure of the Sierra Madre

When I began researching Chihuahua, Mexico for a setting for my paranormal romantic suspense, Obsession, my primary intent was to find a location to build my villain's refuge. Lucky for me, the rugged terrain of the Sierra Madre, and specifically, Copper Canyon, were perfect for a hidden compound for a crazed cult leader. This part of the world is remote, beautiful, and sparsely populated.

Upon further digging, I discovered this is the part of Mexico where the classic Humphrey Bogart movie about greed and addiction to gold, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, took place. By the way, this is the same movie that gave us, "Badges? Badges? We don' need no stinkin' badges!" However, even before the desperate gold rush portrayed in this 1948 movie, legends of gold buried in them thar hills circulated for centuries. These legends still told over and again, are based in history.

In 1767, King Charles III of Spain worried about the wealth, power, and influence of thousands of Jesuit priests in Mexico. The King sent sealed orders to his military commanders, with a command to keep the orders sealed until a certain time. On that date, the military was to expel the entire order and seize all their assets. However, when the solders carried out the orders at the appointed hour, the Jesuit treasures were gone. Legends say the gold, silver and jewels were buried near the Jesuit missions, leading to recurrent ransacking and digging expeditions around the region (Klein, 2003).

Needless to say, once discovered, I had to weave this legend into Obsession.

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OBSESSION Blurb

A year after a barbaric childbirth, complete with a near-death experience and an encounter with her guardian angel, Angie Edmonds is just happy she and her son, Jake, are alive. She's finally in a good place: clean, sober, and employed as a defense attorney. But at the end of a long work day, she finds herself in a parent's worst nightmare: Jake has been kidnapped and taken across the Mexican border by a cult leader who believes the child is the "Chosen One."

Stymied by the US and Mexican legal systems, Angie is forced to ask the head of a Mexican crime syndicate for help. Much to her chagrin, she must work with Alejandro Torres, a dangerously attractive criminal and the drug lord's right-hand man. Little does she know Alejandro is an undercover federal agent, equally terrified of blowing his cover—and falling in love with her.

ISBN Print: ISBN 978-1-61217-867-7
ISBN Digital: ISBN 978-1-61217-868-4

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Excerpt:

“Who are you? Who is that giant? What did you say to him?”

The pony-tailed man flashed a grin, the smile reaching his sky-blue colored eyes, giving him an appealing boyish look. “The big guy’s name is Tio. I told Tio to truss Raul up like the pig he is and to bring him to Isabel Ramirez. She’ll know exactly what to do with him.”

“Who are you?”

The movie-star-handsome man stopped, bent down until he was eye-to-eye with Angie.

“I found your passport tossed onto Raul’s desk, Angela Edmonds from the U.S. of A. I like that name. You look like an angel.”

She shook her head and the street twirled. “I’m no angel.” She steadied herself on his well muscled, naked arm. Rather than creeping her out, the skin on skin contact with her rescuer reassured her that he was a real human and not an angel conjured up in fevered religious delusion and desperation. “You sound like an American. You haven’t answered my question. What’s your name?”

“Torres.” Still holding her ID, he strode to the driver’s side of the car, hopped in and flashed a dazzling grin. “You could call me your hero because I’m taking you to see the woman who can help you find your son. My name is Alejandro Espinosa Santoyo Torres. But most people just call me Alejandro.”