Romilia Chacon, 28-year-old Latina detective, has just moved to Tennessee as a member of the Nashville PD. Her first case involves investigating the brutal murder of Diego Saenz, a reporter for the Cumberland Journal. Although it looks at first as though Saenz committed suicide, Chacon finds several possible clues that prove otherwise.
Then, while reviewing the evidence, she notices one clue that ties Saenz's death to the previous serial murders of Benny Bitan, who was incarcerated at the time of Saenz's murder. Now working with partner, Jerry Wilson (the primary from the Bitan case), Chacon wades through drug dealers, illegal immigration falsifiers, and alleged Guatemalan death squad militia. Weaving the clues together, Chacon solves the case. This novel is compelling, suspenseful and includes historical information about El Salvador. Furthermore, Villatoro paints a vivid picture of Latino communities in the U.S. and their culture, language and education. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80% Misc. Murder Plotlets - Big focus on forensic evidence - Killer purposely leaves clues Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 60 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes City? Yes Misc setting - prison Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies Unusual forms of death - perforation--swords/knives Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |