From Barbara

Murray, Yxta Maya. King's Gold (Harper $15 Signed). "When a stranger approaches Lola Sanchez, a Long Beach, Calif., bookshop owner and the daughter of legendary archeologist and old-fashioned pulp hero Tomas de la Rosa, with a centuries-old letter offering clues to the location of Montezuma's lost gold, she can't resist the lure—especially when told that her father died while searching for the treasure. Assisted by her half-sister, fiancé, mother and stepfather, Lola follows the clues in a suicidal treasure hunt that leads across Italy and to some of history's most iconic sites. The characters are unique and memorable, the action fast-

paced, the plot serpentine and the riddles challenging in this entertaining adventure. In heroine Sanchez, Murray has created a perfect counterweight to the traditi

onal macho hero," says PW.

Adding, "Law professor Murray continues her Red Lion series begun in Queen Jade ($14 June) with a death-defying treasure hunt that transforms her sedentary, word-mad bibliophile heroine into a genuine biblio-adventurer."
Conquest ($13), a Modern First 2002 Pick, features Sara Gonzales, a

rare-book restorer at the Getty.