Review: Sugar Skull

Eve Diamond is an L. A. Times reporter. One Sat. she is in the downtown office taking her rotation. In comes Vincent Chevalier frantically asking for her help to find his fifteen-year-old daughter Isabel. After doing some checks to make sure he is legit, she goes with him. He takes her to an abandoned building that he says his daughter comes to because her boyfriend, Finch, who is a squatter, lives there. Unfortunately they find her dead.

The police arrest Finch, but after talking to some of Isabel’s friends, she isn’t so sure he did it. They tell her about Scout, another squatter who lived in the building. When she finds her, she ends up taking Scout home with her and tries to help her as well as get information from her. Seems Scout not only stole from Eve, she left something behind.

Venus Dellaviglia Langdon is found dead in her pool. Her husband Carter Langdon, III, was running for mayor. Eve had recently spoke to their son as he was a friend of Isabel’s. So Eve went out to their house to try to get more information on her death. She sneaks around the press line but gets caught. But before she is, she sees something that later everyone denies.

Ruben Aguilar is gunned down in front of his home. Eve ends up meeting with his brother Silvio doing a story about an amphitheater they run for Mexican music. He takes her to hear some bands. Eventually their relationship becomes more than friends. Is this a good thing?

As Even delves deeper into Isabel’s life and those around her, she begins to find how things are connected. Can she put it all together without putting herself in danger?

This was the first book I’ve read by this author. I found it to be interesting and entertaining. I like Eve. She is a warm, hard-working character. It made her seem believable and real.

The story line is well written and the author definitely knows the newspaper trade as well as L.A. She has a real sense of the places she puts her characters.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Dawn Dowdle

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.

Book Review: Sugar Skull

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.