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Show Page B8 THE DAILY HKRALD. Provo, Utah, Mondav. March 17, 1997 'Selena's Secret' threatens the star's Musician offers 'swinging' book By ANN B. NIENDORF Special to The Daily Herald . "Wood Chips: The Loves of R.T. "Windy" Wood, A Personal Collection," published by Windy Wood. Western Swing, a type of music blending countrywestern sounds with American jazz, developed in the Texas Panhandle in the 1930s. After its heyday in the 40s and 50s, it began to fade in popularity. R.T. "Windy" Wood, born in 1920 near Shamrock, Texas, caught the swing fever while growing up on his family's cotton farm. In the late 30s, he left the farm and his father's offer to "set him up with a good West Texas spread" to pursue his music career. Concerned about the demise of Western Swing, Wood began making recordings in the 1970s to preserve the music. In 1991, he was inducted into the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame. Wood has published two other books: "The End of an Era: The Pioneer Family of William Henry Wood" and "My 50 Years in Western Swing." Lest you think "Wood Chips: The Loves of R.T. Wood" is a tale of romantic encounters on the road, Wood quickly tells you his loves are "his Lord, his family, his music, his friends." The book is largely a collec image squeaky-clea- n tion of stories, poems and songs mat nave meaning to wood. Some of them are personal reminiscences; others are simply things he's heard over the years that he likes. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish which are his before the premiere of "Selena," a Hollywood biopic celebrating the life and music. A new book about the murder of singer's "What is the problem with this Tejano pop star Selena has outwoman (Arraras)?" says Quin-- i raged her family by threatening to tanilla. "Why is she so determined sully her squeaky-clea- n image. slander to my daughter's image?! Written by Spanish TV anchor-woma- n What is her motivation for taking! Maria Celeste Arraras, the side of a criminal, a murderer?; "Selena's Secret: The Revealing ,1 call it i dirty money." Story Behind Her Tragic Death" who says she is donat- Arraras, (Simon & Shuster) attempts to ing all profits from the book to; shed light on the mystery suris accustomed to Quin-- ; charity, rounding the 995 shooting of the tanilla's rages. x singer by the "He's upset, but he's upset with; founder of her fan club. every single book on Selena that Published in English and SpanX has come out," says Arraras. ish, "Selena's Secret" deals mosthe thought! Quintanilla says ly with Arraras' coverage of the .1 murder and the trial of Yolanda Saldivar, who is serving a life term despite her contention the shooting was accidental. But the book also hints at a dark about suing but denies threatening! side to the clean-livin- g role model any legal action. A call to his San: whose untimely demise transAntonio, Tex,, lawyers revealed! formed her into a pop culture icon that no litigation is pending at this and posthumous money-makin- g i time. machine. Selena Quintanilla Perez was Despite intimations that the shot in a Texas motel on March 31., married Selena was having an 1995, by Saldivar, the former fan; affair and planning to ditch her club president who was in charge husband and possibly her music of Selena's boutiques. career Arraras insists the book The official story had Saldivar! shies away from sensationalism. about to be fired for embezzling "There is not one sentence that funds, and Selena going to Sal-- t puts a shadow over her memory," divar's Corpus Christi motel room of "Primer to retrieve missing bank docusays Arraras, d newsments. Impacto," ' a A hysterical, desperate Saldivar magazine broadcast in the U,S. and Latin America on the Uni vision about to lose her livelihood and network. best friend shot Selena in a pan-- . and ic, the "Selena is so ; story goes. such a delicate subject was hanYet Arraras, who got an exclu- dled with the utmost diplomacy sive jailhouse interview with Sal-- ; and class possible. It would be like divar for "Primer Impacto" in late trying to take down an idol, and I 1995, raises several troubling I would never do that." questions about the seemingly '; Selena's father vehemently discase: agrees. What was the true nature of An angry Abraham Quintanilla Selena's relationship with Ramon I says the book not only demeans Martinez, an older Mexican doctor Selena and sympathizes with Salwho had become her close friend divar, but portrays him as a money-hungr- y and financial adviser? c control freak who was. driArraras believes Selena wanted f ving his disillusioned daughter to "break away from her family and go to Mexico, and Martinez I: away from the music business. book hits weeks The stores two may have been an element in that. By ROBERT DOMINGUEZ New York Daily News Book Ocviciv own and which are others' thoughts. There are some amusg ing stories, some words, and some rather trite passages. The book concludes by reprinting a collection of articles about Wood, from reviews of his albums to personality profiles. Obviously much of the material in this section is redundant, as each writer often reviews the same key events in his life. But it is interesting to read about his thought-provokin- 1 Tex-Me- Dosli Dogfal life. "Wood Chips" will probably most appeal to fans of Western Swing music and especially fans of Windy Wood who want to get their hands on everything published about the genre or the man. Others who aren't so enthused about Wood might find his collection of stories a bit tedious to sift through, but the articles will no doubt spark an interest in learning more about his unique form of cover courtesy of Windy Wood "Wood Chips: The Loves of R.T. Wood" is largely a collection of sto- ries, poems and songs that have meaning to the author. music. top-rate- Sleuths show it's not the same old story By ROBERTA ALEXANDER Knight-Ridde- r Newspapers In keeping with the continuing specialization of the mystery field, these days we see plenty of aging, or even elderly, sleuths. Not that we haven't seen them before. Agatha Christie had two famous elderly detectives, the eccentric Hercule Poirot and the disarming Miss Marple. Both were of unspecified retirement age. But Christie's books, while quirky and sometime even charming, would be unlikely to cut it in today's market. Her characters are less the fully realized people we expect protagonists to be and more a collection of recognizable mannerisms and so we have Poirot's "little grey 18MAZ1 38 cells" and Marple's predictable parallels to life in St. Mary Mead. Today's mature sleuths are a more varied lot: "Death in Lovers' Lane," by Carolyn G. Hart. (Avon, $20, 275 pages.) Henrietta Collins, once intrepid reporter Henrie O, is teaching journaiism at a Midwestern college when one of her students several decides to old mysterious deaths: a couple killed on lovers' lane, a dean who disappeared and a man shot to death. When the student is killed. Henrie O, horrified that her instructions on how to pursue the story may have contributed to the young woman's death, takes on the investigation. The good news here is that Henrie O, in her late 60s. is not a cute little old lady but sharp and resourceful. She still grieves for her late husband, but has an active social life. Her friendships and conversations with sources are realistically rendered and she comes across as a bright and interesting person, with the true journalist's need to balance professional and personal issues. The fact that Henrie O manages to solve all the old cases, as well as her student's murder, is a bit much. Still, Hart's such a good storyteller that it's easy to go along for the ride. "Rx for Murder." by Renee B. Horowitz. (Avon. S5.50. 209 pages.) Ruthie Morris is a pharmacist in her 50s, widowed and living in Scottsdale, Ariz., where she is the pharmacy manager in a large store. A wealthy elderly man. one of her regular customers, dies, and his death may be suspicious. He has a young and pretty wife and greedy adult children. What's more, his neighbor, a woman with several secrets, is Ruthie's good friend. To complicate matters, a former classmate and turns up in a prominent role. The curious lab technician and the grumpy assistant pharmacist are part of the mix. This first outing for Ruthie combines a lot of information on drug interactions, a look at how a pharmacy works and a cozy domestic story in which Ruthie tells us every day what's she's wearing and eating. Still, she seems like a nice lady and the Arizona locale is a plus. "The Geezer Factory Murders." by Corinne Holt Sawver. (Donald I. Fine Books. $2 '95. 232 pages.) Two elderly residents of a San Diego area retirement home, get involved in another murder. Orlando Sentinel "The Partner, " by John Double (lav Grisham: killing himself, million dollars, ing." stealing ninety and disappear- The case, in another county, involves murder and corruption trail of accusations, and a lies and double-dealinThe facts, when they emerge, are horrifying and believable. Even better is the evolution of Mario and Ruthie's relationship, which rings true. If this is your introduction to blue-collthe Mario, you've got a dozen earlier books to catch up on. 17-ye- ar g. plain-talkin- ar g, d, open-and-sh- ut Utah County Association of Bejilt drug-sniffin- 100-plu- rs fly off So thinks Patrick's old pal McDermott. who becomes Sandy ($26.5. 366 pages) Patrick's lawyer after the fugig Unlike several other thrillers of the moment. John tive is apprehended in Brazil by Grisham's "The Partner" is not a private firm hired by the client about airplanes. Still, one can whose money Patrick stole. Its henchmen crudely torture the expect "The Partner" to fly otf American to try to find the missthe shelves because Grisham is ing funds before turning him entertainthe master of ment. Just put your seat back, over to the FBI. Brought back to Biloxi. relax and enjoy the ride. It's a quick trip as the narra- Patrick faces multiple federal tive jets from a small town in and state charges stemming from Brazil to Washington, D.C.. to the theft and the faking of his Biloxi, Miss., as well as to sever- death, including capital murder if the state can identify the al Caribbean banks and Euroremains found in his charred pean cities. The story itself is burned-ou- t Blazer. In addition. a of for something departure Grisham, with few courtroom Patrick's avaricious wife. Trudy, is suing him for divorce and tons scenes. It's more of a caper of a one money because she's being although pretty cynical centering on Biloxi lawyer sued by the insurance companies who paid out at Patrick's prePatrick Lanigan. "Some men crack up when sumed death. Actually, Trudy would prefer Patrick dead. Perthey near forty. The midlife crisis drives them to a new wife, or haps her longtime low-lif- e back to college. Not old Patrick. boyfriend. Lance, can take care He celebrated his angst by of that. best-sellin- le behind-the-scen- Expect The Partner' to By NANCY PATE Angela Benbow and Caledonia Wingate differ from characters in other series because they (a) never worked and so have no careers to fall back on, (b) are both the widows of admirals, one of the aspects, and (c) are described stereotypically. I lost count of the number of times Angela "turns up her little nose" at something or Caledonia "settles her bulk." Earth to author: It is possible for an interested reader to remember what a character looks like without constant repetition. The plot involves a competing senior facility, referred to as "the geezer factory." And when a g police dog is dragged into a subplot and does his sniff routine, none of the characters pays attention for another s pages. This is pretty much on the order of the stupid teen-agewho insist on checking out the funny noises in the basement despite the pile of mutilated corpses they have seen. "Family Values." by K.C. Constantine. (Mysterious Press. $22. 216 pages.) Fans of Mario Balzic, chief of police of Rocksburg. Penn., will be glad to know that retirement hasn't slowed him down. He's also the only sleuth in this batch who isn't widowed. Mario takes a job as a special investigator for the state attorney general's office partly for the money and partly because he and his wife are having trouble dealing with his retirement (and constant presence in the house). In this story, we have a chance to observe a character we've known for a long time deal with changed circumstances. The process makes tor a richer, more layered book. well-love- Give Your Home A Pooh Review Grisham himself cleverly unfolds the story of a clever The writing is work- plan-sca- manlike, although the bad guys tend to ".snarl" or ".sneer" instead of just talking, and the story could do without portentous sentences like "It would prove disastrous." As for the characters. Grisham again gets most of them from Central Casting, which saves on any emotional involvement. The ending has a twist that cynics may well anticipate. But these are small bumps on an otherwise smooth flight. What, we're there already? Facelift David O. McKay Events Center, UVSC 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, March 21 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. March. 22 Saturday, SEE THE LATEST IN HOME REMODELING AND HOME DECORATING IDEAS the shelves Everyone else wants Patrick to show them the money, but he can't. 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