The Pot Thief Mysteries Series

The pot thief is going back to school, but someone on campus is trying for a different kind of degree—murder in the first—in this “smartly funny series” (Anne Hillerman).   Before making a somewhat notorious name for himself as a salvager of antiquated pottery and other desert artifacts, Hubie Schuze was an eager student at the University of New Mexico—right up until they booted him out. Now, he’s back at UNM as a pottery teacher. It should be a breeze, but campus life has changed dramatically in the past twenty-five years. From cell phones to trigger warnings to sensitivity workshops, Hubie has to get up to speed fast or risk losing control of his class.   But his dismay at the state of modern academia takes a back seat when a young beauty working as a life model is murdered—and Hubie becomes a suspect. Taking the investigation into his own hands, he soon uncovers a wide palette of sketchy suspects that includes both the self-involved student body and the quarrelsome art school faculty.   But what he doesn’t know is that the murderer has a new artistic project in the works: a headstone for the grave of Hubie Schuze . . .   The Pot Thief Who Studied Edward Abbey is the 8th book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

This Southwest-set tale about a hunt for a precious relic offers a “nice mix of comedy and mystery” from an award-winning author (Booklist). A dealer in traditional Native American pottery, Hubie Schuze scours New Mexico in search of ancient treasures. The Bureau of Land Management calls him a criminal, but Hubie knows that the real injustice would be to leave the legacies of prehistoric craftspeople buried in the dirt.   In all his travels across the state, there is one place that Hubie hasn’t been able to access: Trinity Site at the White Sands Missile Range, where the first atomic bomb was detonated. Deep within the range are ruins once occupied by the Tompiro people, whose distinctive pottery is incredibly rare and valuable. When an old associate claims to have a buyer interested in spending big money on a Tompiro pot, Hubie resolves to finally find a way into the heavily guarded military installation.   But Hubie has more on his mind than just outwitting the army’s most sophisticated security measures. He’s in love with a beautiful woman who has a few secrets of her own—and his best friend, Susannah, may have just unearthed a lost Georgia O’Keeffe painting. It’s a lot for a mild-mannered pot thief to handle, and when his associate is murdered and Tompiro pots start replicating like Russian nesting dolls, Hubie suddenly realizes he’s caught up in the most complex and dangerous mystery he’s ever faced.   The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O’Keeffe is the 7th book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

This New Mexico pottery dealer skirts the law—and solves crimes: “Very humorous and delightful . . . with a questionable hero the reader can’t help but love” (Kings River Life Magazine).   Although his work is technically illegal, Hubie Schuze has no qualms with digging up ancient Native American artifacts. The government calls him a thief, but Hubie thinks of himself as a treasure hunter—and his latest quest could be his last. After lowering himself into a cave in search of Anasazi pottery, Hubie uncovers a long-dead corpse, buried where the Anasazi would never have left a body. As he puzzles over this discovery, he hears a chilling sound: his truck, left behind on the cliff face, being driven away. Stranded in the cave, the pot thief has only a corpse to keep him company. After a narrow escape, Hubie returns with his best friend, Susannah, to try to identify the dead man. What they find instead is a mystery that takes them back not to the days before Columbus, but to the Wild West of Billy the Kid. The Pot Thief Who Studied Billy the Kid is the 6th book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

First in the lively, laugh-filled series featuring a New Mexico pottery dealer with a side job as an amateur sleuth. A dealer of ancient Native American pottery, Hubert Schuze has spent years combing the public lands of New Mexico, digging for artwork that would otherwise remain buried. According to the US government, Hubie is a thief—but no act of Congress could stop him from doing what he loves. For decades, Hubie has worn the title of pot thief proudly. Outright burglary, though, is another story. But an offer of $25,000 to lift a rare pot from a local museum proves too tempting for Hubie to refuse. When he sees how tightly the relic is guarded, he changes his mind, but the pot goes missing anyway. Soon a federal agent suspects that Hubie is the culprit. After things take a turn for the serious, Hubie knows he must find the real thief quickly, or risk cracking something more fragile than any pot—his skull. The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras is the 1st book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A Southwestern sleuth tries to retrieve some relics—and solve a murder—in a novel by an author who “knows how to hook the reader from the get-go” (Albuquerque Journal).   Pot thief Hubie Schuze is back, and this time his larceny is for a good cause. He wants to recover sacred relics lifted from San Roque, a mysterious pueblo that is closed to outsiders. Usually Hubie finds his pottery a few feet underground—but these artifacts are one hundred fifty feet above the New Mexico soil, on the top floor of the Rio Grande Lofts. Hubie will need all his deductive skills to craft the perfect plan—which is thwarted when he encounters the beautiful Stella. And then he is arrested for murder. That tends to happen when you are in the room with the body, with blood on your hands. Follow Hubie as he stays one step ahead of security toughs, one step behind Stella, and never too far from a long fall. The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy is the 2nd book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order. 

The pot thief discovers that archaeology is not nearly as cutthroat as the restaurant business A treasure hunter, pottery dealer, and occasional manufacturer of imitation American Indian artifacts, Albuquerque’s Hubie Schuze knows quite a bit about throwing clay. But ancient Native American pottery is not really intended for dining, so he is puzzled when a restaurateur comes to him asking for dinner plates. The job sounds boring, but the fee does not: $25,000 for one hundred plates for a new Austrian restaurant in Santa Fe. The owner insists Hubie relocate to the area for the duration of the job in order to soak in the restaurant atmosphere as he works. Hubie has dealt with his fair share of grave robbers, museum burglars, and cold-blooded killers, but nothing could prepare him for the infighting that goes on behind a kitchen’s doors. When the cooks start croaking, the pot thief will have to move quickly to collect his fee, save the restaurant, and escape Santa Fe alive. The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier is the 4th book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

An Albuquerque pottery dealer looking for artifacts finds murder and intrigue in this “smartly funny” series (Anne Hillerman, author of Spider Woman’s Daughter). A dealer in ancient Native American pottery, Hubert Schuze has spent years searching the public lands of New Mexico for artwork that would otherwise remain buried. According to the US government, he’s a thief, but Hubie knows the real crime would be to allow age-old traditions to die. He honors prehistoric craftspeople by resurrecting their handiwork, and nothing—not even foul play—will stop him in these three installments of the Lefty Award–winning mystery series.   The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras: Hubie accepts a $25,000 offer to lift a rare pot from a local museum but changes his mind when he discovers how tightly the exhibit is being guarded. When the pot goes missing anyway, Hubie’s sent on the hunt for the real thief—and on the run from a killer.   The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy: Hubie goes on a mission to recover stolen relics from a high-rise apartment building. Unfortunately, his perfect plan falls apart when he’s arrested for murder. That’s what happens when you get caught with blood on your hands and a dead body in the room. Now, Hubie must stay one step ahead of the law as he pursues a beautiful mystery woman in this fast-paced thriller that “hook[s] the reader from the get-go” (Albuquerque Journal).   The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein: After Hubie appraises a collection of Anasazi pots for an eccentric, reclusive collector, his $2,500 payment disappears. He suspects the man ripped him off, but soon stumbles into a bigger crime when the collector is murdered. Determined not to end up in handcuffs, Hubie sets out to solve the mystery—and finds himself pulled deeper and deeper into the dead man’s shadowy, dangerous life.  

 A shady pottery collector is murdered in sunny New Mexico in this mystery in a “winning series” (Susan Wittig Albert).  Maybe it was the chance to make an easy $2,500. Or maybe it was the opportunity to examine a treasure trove of Anasazi pots—or maybe it was just a slow day at the antiques shop that convinced Hubie Schuze to agree to a strange proposition. A reclusive collector wants a confidential appraisal, with one catch: Hubie must be blindfolded and driven to an unknown location by a chauffeur. Sure, it’s an odd setup, but what could possibly go wrong? Hubie’s nonchalance fades fast when he finds three replicas among the genuine antiquities. Worse, after returning home, he can’t seem to find the $2,500 cash that the collector gave him. Incensed at the rip-off, Hubie is determined to recoup the money, but Detective Whit Fletcher interrupts his scheme, dragging him instead to the morgue to identify a John Doe. When the sheet is pulled back, Hubie is shocked to see the body of the unknown art collector. Hubie is not a suspect—yet. But the longer he pursues this mystery, the more tangled he will become in the dead man’s shadowy life. The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein is the 3th book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Albuquerque pottery dealer/treasure hunter/sleuth Hubie Schuze is back digging up trouble—in this second collection from the “smartly funny” series (Anne Hillerman, author of Spider Woman’s Daughter).   A dealer in ancient Native American pottery, Hubert Schuze has spent years searching the public lands of New Mexico for artwork that would otherwise remain buried. According to the US government, he’s a thief, but Hubie knows the real crime would be to allow age-old traditions to die. He honors prehistoric craftspeople by resurrecting their handiwork, and nothing—not even foul play—will stop him in these three installments of the Lefty Award–winning mystery series.   The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier: When a restaurateur asks him to create one hundred dinner plates for his new Austrian eatery in Santa Fe, Hubie can’t say no to the challenge—or the $25,000 he’ll be paid. But no sooner does he start the project than the fractious kitchen staff starts turning up dead. Hubie will have to dish out some serious detective work if he’s going to collect his fee, save the restaurant, and escape Santa Fe alive.   “Funny at a very high intellectual level and deliciously delightful.” —The Baltimore Sun   The Pot Thief Who Studied D. H. Lawrence: Eighty years ago, D. H. Lawrence moved to Taos, where a neighbor welcomed him with a stew served in a handcrafted pot made by a legendary craftswoman. Now, the neighbor’s great-grandson wants Hubie to retrieve it. The pot thief agrees, but his search of the Lawrence ranch is interrupted by a blizzard that traps him and several other guests indoors. It soon becomes apparent that one of them is a killer—and Hubie finds himself facing a mystery so shocking it would make Lady Chatterley blush.   The Pot Thief Who Studied Billy the Kid: After lowering himself into a cave in search of Anasazi Indian pottery, Hubie uncovers a long-dead corpse, buried where the ancient tribe would never have left a body. As he puzzles over this discovery, he hears a chilling sound: his truck, left behind on the cliff face, being driven away. After a narrow escape, Hubie returns with his best friend, Susannah, to try to identify the dead man. What they find instead is a mystery that takes them back not to the days before Columbus, but to the Wild West of Billy the Kid . . .

A pottery mystery that’s “perfectly delightful and funny . . . full of engaging characters, fast dialogue, and tasty descriptions of the New Mexico culture” (Kings River Life Magazine).   Eighty years ago, D. H. Lawrence moved to Taos to make a home for himself in the mountains of New Mexico. To welcome the famed writer, his neighbor brought over a stew and left the container as a gift. But this was no Tupperware—it was a handcrafted pot made in the ancient tradition by one of the finest craftswomen of her generation. Decades later, the neighbor’s great-grandson wants it back, and there is no one in New Mexico better at stealing artifacts than Hubie Schuze. In exchange for three priceless pots, Hubie agrees to search the Lawrence ranch for the long-lost stew vessel. But when a blizzard descends on the estate, trapping Hubie and other guests indoors with a killer, the pot thief finds himself facing a mystery so shocking it would make Lady Chatterley blush. The Pot Thief Who Studied D. H. Lawrence is the 5th book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

This New Mexico pottery dealer skirts the law—and solves crimes: “Very humorous and delightful . . . with a questionable hero the reader can’t help but love” (Kings River Life Magazine).   Although his work is technically illegal, Hubie Schuze has no qualms with digging up ancient Native American artifacts. The government calls him a thief, but Hubie thinks of himself as a treasure hunter—and his latest quest could be his last. After lowering himself into a cave in search of Anasazi pottery, Hubie uncovers a long-dead corpse, buried where the Anasazi would never have left a body. As he puzzles over this discovery, he hears a chilling sound: his truck, left behind on the cliff face, being driven away. Stranded in the cave, the pot thief has only a corpse to keep him company. After a narrow escape, Hubie returns with his best friend, Susannah, to try to identify the dead man. What they find instead is a mystery that takes them back not to the days before Columbus, but to the Wild West of Billy the Kid. The Pot Thief Who Studied Billy the Kid is the 6th book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A Southwestern sleuth tries to retrieve some relics—and solve a murder—in a novel by an author who “knows how to hook the reader from the get-go” (Albuquerque Journal).   Pot thief Hubie Schuze is back, and this time his larceny is for a good cause. He wants to recover sacred relics lifted from San Roque, a mysterious pueblo that is closed to outsiders. Usually Hubie finds his pottery a few feet underground—but these artifacts are one hundred fifty feet above the New Mexico soil, on the top floor of the Rio Grande Lofts. Hubie will need all his deductive skills to craft the perfect plan—which is thwarted when he encounters the beautiful Stella. And then he is arrested for murder. That tends to happen when you are in the room with the body, with blood on your hands. Follow Hubie as he stays one step ahead of security toughs, one step behind Stella, and never too far from a long fall. The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy is the 2nd book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order. 

A New Mexico pottery dealer cracks a perplexing mystery in this “winning blend of humor and character development” (Publishers Weekly).   Hubert Schuze is an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and he has a fairly lucrative side gig digging up ancient relics and selling them. He also seems to have a talent for finding killers. When Hubie discovers a body outside his pottery shop, it appears the victim was stabbed in the back with something resembling a screwdriver. But the story gets a lot more mysterious when a video turns up showing the man collapsing with no one else nearby. Furthermore, a slip of paper is found in his pocket, with Hubie’s name and address on it, suggesting there may be a connection between the two men—though Hubie has no idea what it could be.   Now, the professor and pottery expert must put his sleuthing skills to work—while simultaneously managing his new role running the university’s art department—to piece together the shards of a baffling crime in this “breezy” novel from a winner of the Left Award for Best Humorous Mystery starring a “witty” amateur detective (Albuquerque Journal). “[A] winning series.” —Susan Wittig Albert, New York Times–bestselling author of the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries

 A shady pottery collector is murdered in sunny New Mexico in this mystery in a “winning series” (Susan Wittig Albert).  Maybe it was the chance to make an easy $2,500. Or maybe it was the opportunity to examine a treasure trove of Anasazi pots—or maybe it was just a slow day at the antiques shop that convinced Hubie Schuze to agree to a strange proposition. A reclusive collector wants a confidential appraisal, with one catch: Hubie must be blindfolded and driven to an unknown location by a chauffeur. Sure, it’s an odd setup, but what could possibly go wrong? Hubie’s nonchalance fades fast when he finds three replicas among the genuine antiquities. Worse, after returning home, he can’t seem to find the $2,500 cash that the collector gave him. Incensed at the rip-off, Hubie is determined to recoup the money, but Detective Whit Fletcher interrupts his scheme, dragging him instead to the morgue to identify a John Doe. When the sheet is pulled back, Hubie is shocked to see the body of the unknown art collector. Hubie is not a suspect—yet. But the longer he pursues this mystery, the more tangled he will become in the dead man’s shadowy life. The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein is the 3th book in the Pot Thief Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.