The Vagabond Virgins by Ken Kuhlken
In 1979, a Holy Virgin appears in Mexico, issuing prophecy and warning the campesinos to vote the corrupt and tyrannical Partido Revolucionario Institutional out of power. A week before the election, a woman comes to San Diego private investigator Alvaro Hickey, claiming she's the Virgin's sister and offering him a chance to help reform the country of his birth."The Vagabond Virgins delivers a story in the tradition of Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory and B. Traven's Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Kuhlken knows the brutal reality of border Mexico," -- Gene Riehl, author of Quantico Rules and Sleeper
". . . features the same original plots and memorable characters that make Kuhlken's series so outstanding." -- Library Journal
". . . a fast-moving adventure that effectively combines mainstream historical fiction with the conventions of the hard-boiled detective novel. Kuhlken has another winner." -- Booklist
"Kuhlken's engaging fifth novel featuring the eccentric Hickey family . . . easily blends adventure with a classic PI staple: the appearance of an alluring woman, full of secrets." -- Publishers Weekly
Ken Kuhlken’s stories have appeared in Esquire and dozens of other magazines, been honorably mentioned in Best American Short Stories, and earned a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Ken’s previous novels are Midheaven chosen as finalist for the Ernest Hemingway Award for best first novel, The Loud Adios (Private Eye Writers of America/St. Martin’s Press Best First Mystery Novel, 1989), The Venus Deal and The Angel Gang, all Tom Hickey mysteries, and The Do-Re-Mi, a Tom and Clifford Hickey mystery honored as January Magazine best book of 2006 and as a finalist for the 2006 Shamus Award. 

