These will be the first three books in the Denise Aragon series. She is a tough, relentless Santa Fe, NM homicide detective who grew up in the sections of town the tourism board wants to keep hidden. She was the victim in her early teens of gang violence compounded by police incompetence and judicial indifference. She is haunted by the death of a boyfriend who gave his life trying to protect her, blaming herself for not saving him though there wasn't a thing she could do.
She became a cop so no one would have to experience what she lived through. The first step in keeping that promise is to make sure the bad guys don't get away. To that end, she will do whatever it takes, codes of conduct and judicial niceties be damned.
I like Denise Aragon. A lot. She's strong, bull-headed, street-smart and tireless. She carries a chip on her shoulder about how Santa Fe has changed into something she can't recognize and how its native Hispanics have not fully participated in its success. Maybe she's a bit of a redneck and sometimes too quick to let her mouth run when she's frustrated and angry.
She's a superb shot with a .40 semi-automatic and incredibly strong for her size, which is short. She's altered her appearance to fit the job to which she gives all her life's energy (I'll let you read the books to find out how).
While she may bend the rules to nail people who hurt other people, she will not play along when it means prosecuting the innocent. She hates politics, despises Santa Fe's judges, and has nothing but contempt for criminal defense lawyers, especially one named Marcy Thornton who grows into her nemesis as the series progresses.
Denise wants love, needs it, but struggles with scars from the sexual violence she suffered. An FBI agent who reminds her of her murdered boyfriend tugs at her heart. In each others arms they drive away the horrors they confront in their daily lives. But she's afraid, confused, conflicted by her feelings for this living replica of the first man she loved.
She's got a great partner, a steady, thoughtful family man as tireless as her. He's the reader in the team, spots for her when she lifts weights and tries to get her to eat something besides Blake's Lotaburgers. He's a bit afraid of her, but backs her whenever she steps over the line to get the job done.
The first book in the series follows Detective Denise Aragon as she outsmarts and outruns corrupt judges and lawyers to nail a celebrity artist who kills for his art supplies. Ironically, the case that puts her on the killer's trail is the murder of the wife of the city's leading and most ruthless criminal defense attorney. Now he must work with the police instead of against them. The biggest obstacle in his path is the killer's lawyer, his own protege, Marcy Thornton.
The title is Killer Park. I can't wait for its release so you can read the whole story with all its twists and turns and watch Denise Aragon do her job as no one else does it: mistakes, stumbles, determination and brilliance combining for an explosive ending.
Not a tidy, wrapped with a bow, sealed with duct tape, done-once-and-for-all ending. There's more to come. It is a series, remember.
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