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Death in Precinct Puerto Rico by Steven Torres β€” book cover

Death in Precinct Puerto Rico

by Steven Torres
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Overview


Angustias, Puerto Rico, 1990.
Even a tropical paradise can have its little murders.

Luis Gonzalo, sheriff of the small town of Angustias in Puerto Rico's central mountains, knows all there is to know about the people he has worked to protect for more than two decades. He knows that Elena Maldonado was beaten as a child. He knows that she was beaten as a wife. But when she winds up dead on the same day that she brings her newborn home from the hospital, he doesn’t know who has killed her.

Elena's drunken husband seems like the obvious culprit, but after a grisly attack in front of the Angustias police station, potential suspects come out of the woodwork and multiply. The case is further complicated when someone breaks into the crime scene, but no one can figure out what, if anything, was taken.

Before the case is solved, Gonzalo and his deputies will be hard pressed to be certain that justice has been served, and the town of Angustias will be changed forever. A man will die in Gonzalo's arms, a trusted friend will be brutalized, and a fortune worth millions will change hands. Throughout all the turmoil, Gonzalo will keep two special people in mind: Elena Maldonado, the young woman whose life of constant abuse the sheriff had been unable to salvage, and her child, so soon left motherless.

Synopsis

Angustias, Puerto Rico, 1990.
Even a tropical paradise can have its little murders.

Luis Gonzalo, sheriff of the small town of Angustias in Puerto Rico's central mountains, knows all there is to know about the people he has worked to protect for more than two decades. He knows that Elena Maldonado was beaten as a child. He knows that she was beaten as a wife. But when she winds up dead on the same day that she brings her newborn home from the hospital, he doesn't know who has killed her.

Elena's drunken husband seems like the obvious culprit, but after a grisly attack in front of the Angustias police station, potential suspects come out of the woodwork and multiply. The case is further complicated when someone breaks into the crime scene, but no one can figure out what, if anything, was taken.

Before the case is solved, Gonzalo and his deputies will be hard pressed to be certain that justice has been served, and the town of Angustias will be changed forever. A man will die in Gonzalo's arms, a trusted friend will be brutalized, and a fortune worth millions will change hands. Throughout all the turmoil, Gonzalo will keep two special people in mind: Elena Maldonado, the young woman whose life of constant abuse the sheriff had been unable to salvage, and her child, so soon left motherless.

About the Author, Steven Torres


Steven Torres was born in the Bronx, New York, but lived part of his childhood in a small town in Puerto Rico. He is a graduate of the City University of New York Graduate Center. Steven teaches English at Utica College in Utica, New York, where he lives with his wife, Damaris, and their small, but courageous dog, Fluffy.

Reviews

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

In Burning Precinct Puerto Rico: Book Three: A Luis Gonzalo Novel, a fair-to-middling mystery by Steven Torres, Sheriff Luis Gonzalo investigates a fatal fire involving a drug cartel that will stop at nothing. A perfunctory setting, uneven pacing and opaque characters other than Gonzalo suggest that Torres has a ways to go before he can join the ranks of such established regional authors as Tony Hillerman. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Instead of celebrating 25 years as a policeman, Luis Gonzalo (Precinct Puerto Rico), sheriff of Augustias, rushes to the scene of a house fire. He soon uncovers arson, drug smuggling, and murder. A fine police procedural. Torres lives in Utica, NY. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Missing drug money sends thugs on a rampage and small-town police on a dangerous manhunt. In the sleepy seaside community of Angustias, an Eden increasingly attractive to the criminal element, upstanding farmer Pedro Ortiz brazenly tells two gunmen that he's burned their supply of cocaine and refuses to disclose the location of their stash of cash. After some sadistic torture, the pair burn down Pedro's house, fatally injuring his wife and young daughter in the process, and cut a wide swath through Angustias in search of the loot. Their nemesis Sheriff Luis Gonzalo, marking his 25th anniversary on the job, has to deal with a contentious relationship with new mayor Primavera and his smarmy sidekick, Belen, and the need to rebuild his department after a horrific shootout left him a couple of deputies short (Death in Precinct Puerto Rico: Book Two, 2003). Veterans Iris Calderon and Hector Paredo are proving their value as they drift into an awkward romance, but Gonzalo has doubts about the rookies. Federal police, headed by officious Detective Montalvo, try to shove Gonzalo and the locals off the investigation. The twisty and extended pursuit involves a handful of other colorful series regulars: salty retired deputy Emilio Collazo, tough lawyer Maria Garcia, and intrepid reporter Lucy Aponte. The rich characters overshadow the shaggy plot. The result should please Torres's fans, but newcomers to the series may find it confusing.

Book Details

Published
April 1, 2007
Publisher
St. Martin's Press
Pages
256
ISBN
9781429981873

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