Complex characters. Shocking twists. A debut crime thriller readers can't put down.
When Maria Varela first made detective, more than a few cops called her a nepo-baby behind her back. Sure, having a legendary detective for a father hadn’t hurt her career, but he was retired, and the one closing cases was her, not him. Eventually all the arrests silenced even the loudest of the doubters.
Then a long dormant serial killer murders her brother.
Last seen in 1983, the Desert Saint killed five people. All shot twice in the head with the same gun. All with a token placed on the left hand. The best efforts of law enforcement to solve the murders had failed, and when the killings stopped, Las Vegas moved on. Now, only retired cops and the family members of the victims even remember who the Desert Saint was.
So why return now? And why kill her brother?
Capturing a killer no one else could is a hard enough task.
Figuring out why the Desert Saint came for her brother might tear Maria's life apart.
Debut author Pascarella presents a frightening view of Las Vegas, far from the glamor and glitz of the Strip. This is a world of terrified prostitutes and men who cheat on their wives and batter their mistresses. Against this dark background, Pascarella has set a hauntingly vivid cast of characters, such as Maria's father Dominic, a tough retired cop with a secret soft side. Maria's fraught relationship with the troubled Carla is beautifully handled, and leaves the reader cheering for them. The plot gets overly complex at times, and even seasoned mystery readers will have to pay attention to the time jumps, but the so-real characters ensure that they won't put down the book until the last page.
Although set up as police procedural, the book delves into far grimmer territory than most. Maria isn't hunting the merely greedy; she's facing some true psychopaths. A fight scene with one of them will leave even the most jaded readers breathless, and the denouement, especially Maria's impossible ethical choice, will leave her fans waiting for the promised sequel. But be warned: on the last page, a character sums up to Maria the horrific tragedy that's unfolded: "There’s not enough therapy for anyone to get over this one."
Takeaway: Noirish, hard-edged, and memorable Las Vegas procedural.
Comparable Titles: Faye Kellerman’s Moon Music, Leslie Wolfe’s Baxter and Holt series.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
