cover image Tequila Sunset

Tequila Sunset

Sam Hawken. Serpent’s Tail, $14.95 trade paper (368p) ISBN 978-1-84668-854-6

Despite the uninspired title, Hawken delivers on the promise of his debut, The Dead Women of Juárez, with his outstanding second character-driven crime novel set along the Texas-Mexico border. Having just finished a four-year prison stint for armed robbery, Felipe “Flip” Morales is back home in El Paso, Tex., trying to abide by the terms of his parole. A Latino gang called the Aztecas protected Flip in prison, and now he owes a debt to local gang chieftain José Martinez. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies have targeted Martinez for a massive sting intended to cripple the violent gang. Police officer Cristina Salas (a single mom with a special-needs son) leads the efforts in El Paso, while Mexican federal agent Matías Segura directs a task force against Los Aztecas in Ciudad Juárez, where the cartels have terrorized the citizens. When Flip becomes a confidential informant against Martinez, the stakes quickly get high, and it becomes clear that he may not live to marry Graciela, the beautiful girl he’s fallen for, or to see their baby born. Hawken doesn’t hit a false note. Agent: Svetlana Pironko, Author Rights Agency. (June)