 There is an Esmeralda County in Nevada, but it is the least populated county in Nevada.Other geographic references in the book, such as the Phoenix airport, seem to indicate the book takes place in Arizona.The title phrase, "A Purple Place for Dying" is not mentioned verbatim, but on page 150 of the first edition, the book reads, "As I stood in the dusty road and pointed at the place they would find the bodies, I saw that the purple look had faded away.