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Set in pre-Katrina New Orleans, this is the first in a series of thrillers that follows the life of Assistant District Attorney Ryan Murphy. GUMBO JUSTICE has her dealing with disturbing nightmares, demons from her past, and a psychopath determined to ruin her life before he kills her. Ryan Murphy is not a perfect heroine, but she is an engaging character -- she smokes, bites her nails, doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut, likes her tequila cold and her cops hot. Petite and sexy, she's also smart and ambitious, and isn't afraid to use her looks or her feisty attitude to get what she wants. And what she wants is her rightful place on the District Attorney's elite Strike Force, a position she seems destined for. With a series of murders in the poverty-stricken St Thomas Housing Development kicking off her week of crime scene duty, Ryan finds herself identifying the bodies of former defendants she unsuccessfully prosecuted. Is someone trying to further her career or end it? When her connection to the victims is discovered, her Strike Force post is put in jeopardy. As more bodies pile up, Ryan learns that a psychotic killer may be closer to her than she thinks. As a prosecutor, Ryan isn't technically supposed to be investigating the crimes, a fact of which she constantly needs to be reminded. Her father, Captain Kelly Murphy, her brother, Detective Sean Murphy, and her brother's best friend, Detective Anthony "Shep" Chapetti, will stop at nothing to keep Ryan safe. Still, Ryan is smart enough to put the pieces together herself. When she works out who the killer really is, it puts her in more danger than ever before, and she has to rely on her own resourcefulness to stop a maniac before she becomes his next victim. Castillo's characters are well drawn, with good development and diversity, and though it seems to hover more in the background than it should, the city of New Orleans provides an excellent setting for this fast-paced, edgy and suspenseful thriller.
Reviewed by J.B. Thompson, October 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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