Patricia A Bonn
Authors do not choose a story to write, the story chooses us. - Richard P. Denney
Patricia A Bonn
– An e-Short Story Of Suspense
ICE agent Daniel Candelaria knows trouble when he sees it in Auggie Miranda, an intense Latina whose oh-dark-thirty call for help draws him into the dangerous world of human smuggling in the southern Arizona desert. Shadow Wolves, Native American trackers, guide Daniel and Auggie across the unforgiving desert of the Tohono O’odham Reservation in the hope of finding an innocent American kidnapping victim in time.
What Will You Discover
Stories of Murder & Mayhem
Tried and True
Caroline and Madeline are twin bestselling mystery authors, both 95 years old and widowed and they hate each other.
Never Left Behind
Mike Murphy grabbed at his vibrating smartphone as it danced across the night stand.
SoWest: Wrong Turn
George Watkins’ windshield displayed the same view he’d seen for hours. Rough country.Saguaro cactus. Desert shrub
Sowest: Danger Awaits
The 2025 Desert Sleuths anthology will feature Desert Sleuths member-written and edited mystery and crime short stories with a theme of Danger Awaits!
Patricia’s stories often include characters who are active military, veterans, and their loved ones. . . and there always seems to be a dog.
25+
Books Published
4K+
Happy Readers
10+
Words of Praise from the Writing Community
So West: Love Kills
“Love Kills, kills. An exploration of love under the hot desert sun that often goes wrong in the most delicious ways. If you like your love emanating from a dark heart, you’ll love Love Kills!” Review by Matt Coyle, author the Anthony, Shamus and Lefty Award-winning Rick Cahill series.
So West: Love Kills: Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter Anthology (Volume 9, 2021)
Never Left Behind
Praise for “Never Left Behind,” a short story by Patricia A Bonn.
“Superb offering . . .entertains with a surprise rescue by an unusual group of people.” Review by Mark P. Sadler, author of “Kettle of Vultures,” Suspense Magazine.
Part of So West: So Deadly: Sisters in Crime Desert
Sleuths Chapter Anthology (Volume 6, 2015)
BEST ANTHLOGY 2016 FINALIST AWARD ~New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards~
SoWest: Wrong Turn
“You’ll roast in desert heat, plunge down canyons, bump along desolate roads and gritty city streets alike, and chew your nails reading this collection of Southwestern short crime fiction. No wrong turn here, the Desert Sleuths present suspenseful armchair travel at its best.” Review by Edith Maxwell, Agatha Award winning author of cozy and historical mysteries, both short and long.
So West: Wrong Turn: Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter Anthology (Volume 10, 2023)
Bad JuJu,
A short story by Patricia A Bonn
U.S. Deputy Marshal JT Knight had the recurring dream of danger hidden behind a distant door. His sixth sense had served him well as a Marine Scout Sniper in Iraq, saving his team and civilians. As a member of the Fugitive Task Force, he hunted bad guys as his day job. The dream remained in a mental compartment for JT while he did the job and carried on his life as husband and father of four young girls. When an alert about a dangerous fugitive landed in his in-box, JT’s foreboding had taken physical form and he had to rely on his sniper ability and sixth sense to outwit the violent criminal.
Works in Progress
Patricia is shopping a short story, Like a Thief Stealing Time, to magazines. CIA agent Gabe Reagan seeks solace in a tiny town in the southwestern Colorado Rockies only to be tracked down by his sister . . . and a terrorist looking for revenge.
Her history manuscript, A Foregone Conclusion: The Execution of Simplicio Torrez, is in the penultimate edit before it’s sent out to university presses for publication. The study of the Arizona criminal justice system in 1920 reveals how local racist beliefs influenced the court sentencing for a young, troubled Mexican sheepherder.
A work in progress: Blast to the Past: The Revolutionary War, a middle school manuscript about two 12-year-old boys swept up into the American Revolution and they have to figure out why they’re there as well as avoid the British army and loyalists to the crown. Patricia is collaborating with her grandson, TJ Henry.