June 6, 1929. I’ve never tried to keep a diary before. There didn’t seem to be much point. Every day was the same – placid, pleasant, predictable. I went off in the morning to work at the library and came home at night to dinner on the table, just Mother and me. Friday nights at the speakeasy with “good old Wally,” dancing to our favorite jazz bands and sipping a little joy juice.
Now, ever since I boarded the train in Chicago to come west to New Mexico, I finally have something to write about. I have met so many interesting people. On the train, I made the acquaintance of Sally Johnson, a Harvey Girl from the Midwest; Mary Howard, who runs a dude ranch just for women with her friend in Colorado; Jerry Begay, the Navajo teacher who stole my heart. In Las Vegas, New Mexico, at the Castañeda Hotel Harvey House, I got to know Clara Morgan, who became as close as a sister to me, and Harvey Girls Anne, Maria, and Martha, whose brother was so tragically murdered. The less said about Liz Kearney, the better.
This morning, I started a new adventure, a Fred Harvey Indian Detour. I spent the day in a HarveyCar with ten other Detourists. Two are from Germany and one is from Australia! Our driver took us along the new US Route 66 from Las Vegas to Santa Fe and our Courier (that’s what they call the guides) was full of information about the history and geology of the areas we passed through. We explored the ancient ruins at Pecos, passed through the Civil War Battlefield of Glorieta, ate lunch at the historic Apache Inn at Valley Ranch, and are spending tonight and tomorrow night here in the luxurious La Fonda at the Plaza Harvey House in Santa Fe. According to the itinerary, tomorrow we’ll enjoy an al fresco lunch under the cottonwoods on the banks of the Rio Grande! Even more thrilling – tomorrow and the next day, we’ll visit Pueblos that have been inhabited for hundreds of years and purchase handmade pottery and jewelry from the artisans themselves, made using their traditional techniques! The tour ends on the third day at the Fred Harvey Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque, where we can watch Indians practicing their native crafts in the Indian Building attached to the hotel. And, of course, we’ll enjoy gourmet meals in the Harvey House restaurants.
My dream is to be accepted into the Courier training program in Santa Fe. I’ve spent the past six months reading everything I could about the history of New Mexico. I hope to demonstrate my knowledge of the area and my skill at dealing with people (that I learned as a librarian) so that our Courier will write a recommendation for me. And I want to immerse myself in this vast, enthralling, dare I say, enchanting, New Mexican landscape and its history and culture.
FRENCH TOAST A LA SANTA FE
Genre: Historical Mystery 1920s
Release: October 2026
Format: Print
Purchase Link
In 1929 New Mexico, Prudence Bates joins ten other Detourists, their Courier, and driver, on the three-day Fred Harvey Indian Detour from Las Vegas through Santa Fe and to Albuquerque. During the trip small, valuable items belonging to the Detourists begin disappearing, and a retired Australian school teacher falls into a kiva. Or was she pushed? Prudence begins to suspect that someone is trying to kill her fellow traveler and wonders where the flapper from Kansas City disappears to at every stop. Or is La Llorona haunting the Detour? And what secrets are the two German men hiding? Prudence is determined to solve the mysteries and uncover the truth.
Meet the author
After 20 years as a librarian and 20 as a professor of library science and library historian, Suzanne Stauffer has moved on to a third career as a mystery novelist. She currently lives in Albuquerque with her Australian husband and brown and white spotted rat terrier dogter, Treme. Her debut novel, Fried Chicken Castañeda (Artemesia Publishing, May 2025), won the CIPA EVVY Bronze Medal in Mystery/Crime/Detection and the New Mexico Book Award for Cozy Mystery. Her second novel, French Toast à la Santa Fe, was released on October 13, 2026. She can be found online at her blog Couriers Series and her monthly newsletter, Amuse-Bouche, is available at smstauffer.substack.com.