Verónica Gutiérrez

It's great that more mystery and thrillers with a diverse cast are being published, and I keep finding wonderful new authors and characters to follow. Yolanda Avila, a LA PI, as written by Veronica Gutierrez is one. Yolanda is still laboring with the guilt she feels over her mother's recent death and is reluctant to see the bad dreams she has as anything but dreams when her godson is kidnapped. A former LAPD officer, forced to quit the force, she can ask questions and go places that the cops can't go, and they're not very happy that she seems to get the answers before them!

Great characterization and insight into the world of labor and unions in LA, I look forward to more stories starring Yolanda.

Thanks to Bella Books for access to a digital ARC via NetGalley.… (more)

This mystery introduces Yolanda Avila. She a former LAPD cop who left because of harassment since she's a competent woman, Hispanic, and a Lesbian. None of those traits endeared her to her fellow officers. Now, she's trying to build a new career as a private investigator.

Yolanda receives a panicked call for her best friend who tells her that her six-year-old son Joey has been kidnapped. Her friend Carmen first suspects her estranged husband since they have been arguing about custody. But Luis is as baffled as Carmen and as innocent.

As Yolanda investigates, she finds herself looking into unions and construction projects that could be the cause of the child's disappearance. Yolanda has a psychic gift that she isn't willing to trust. After all, trusting it may have led to the death of her mother in a road rage accident perpetrated by the person Yolanda was looking for because she looked in the wrong place based on her visions. Despite getting psychic clues, Yolanda is determined to find her godson using traditional detective skills.

The child is found but problems don't end. Yolanda's investigation has led to something that the criminals want hidden. Yolanda is assaulted and her ER Doctor wife Sydney is threatened before the case can be solved.

I enjoyed this story despite the large amount of untranslated Spanish that was interspersed. It showed me a place and culture that was unfamiliar to me. I liked the relationship between Yoland and Sydney and the acceptance they get from both their families.

The mystery was well-done and filled with intriguing plot twists.… (more)