Land of Careful Shadows

When a young Hispanic woman is found dead in a reservoir, Latino homicide detective Jimmy Vega is asked to assist his small hometown police department of Lake Holly, NY. The community is still reeling from another fatality caused by an undocumented Hispanic, who was drunk driving. Vega's return home isn't off to the best start when one of the local cops initially treats him like a suspect, and his ex-wife and teenage daughter ignore his calls. As Vega digs deeper into Lake Holly's immigrant population and the deeply held prejudice against them, he finds suspects and victims in unexpected places. Chazin (The Fourth Angel) wrote this first Jimmy Vega mystery after she began working on an outreach project with immigrants in suburban New York and learned more about the lives of the undocumented. Her respect for the courage and quiet determination of this community comes through in a nuanced story about race, class, and belonging.