cover image MINOS: A Romilia Chacn Mystery

MINOS: A Romilia Chacn Mystery

, . . Justin Charles/Kate's Mystery, $24.95 (312pp) ISBN 978-1-932112-13-9

At the start of Villatoro's scintillating, densely plotted sequel to 2001's Home Killing, bilingual Nashville cop Romilia Chacón has been searching for six years for "the Whisperer," the serial killer who murdered her older sister, Catalina. Romilia's hunt for the elusive Whisperer, now calling himself Minos (after the mythical monster in Dante's Inferno), is interrupted when she finds herself in the hospital with a horrible gash on her neck, a near-fatal wound from another killer she was pursuing. Her struggle to come to terms with the large, unsightly scar she will always bear quietly wins her the reader's sympathy. During her convalescence, she discovers the Internet and an entirely new way to investigate the Whisperer. An unexpected source, however, provides the most help: drug lord Rafael Murillo, a creepy yet alluring figure also known by the Mayan name Tekún Umán. Romilia inadvertently saved his life when she was wounded, and in return Tekún steals FBI files on the Whisperer and sends them to her. There's something appealing, in spite of his nature, in Tekún's devotion to Romilia. In addition, the contrast of a palpably present, ambiguous antagonist, Tekún, and the evil Whisperer creates a compelling, dramatic balance. The ending resolves beautifully, but that is really secondary considering how well the story works as a whole. (Sept. 15)

Forecast:Blurbs from C.J. Box and T. Jefferson Parker and an author tour will boost the book's profile. As the host of "Shelf Life," a weekly interview program on Pacifica radio, Villator, a graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, is well positioned to cover his local market of Los Angeles.