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Mud Blood by Joan Del Monte iUniverse
book review by Lisette Alonso
"This was the kind of terror that would wake me up at two o'clock in the morning... the kind of terror that courage couldn't dent..."
Mystery writer Vera Moonachie is at an impasse with her latest novel. She doesn’t know the identity of her story's villain. After months of collaboration, her co-author, criminal lawyer Fulton Yee, has disappeared and taken with him the plot's most pivotal detail along with any hope Vera has of completing her book.
Up against a looming publication deadline and mounting pressure from her literary agent, Vera sets out to locate the missing attorney. Instead, she stumbles upon a collection of peculiar characters, each with their own hidden agenda and sinister secret. From the struggling actor, who is hungry for a book deal, to the overconfident chef, who is desperate to open his own restaurant, to Fulton's exceedingly difficult trio of jilted lovers, each plays a role in uncovering Fulton's whereabouts.
Embroiled in a complex web of greed, rivalry, and malice, Vera must juggle her responsibility to her publisher along with her obligations to her aging and increasingly befuddled mother. It is not until her own life is threatened that Vera learns there is more at stake than her novel.
Del Monte's tale of murder in the Sacramento Delta is expertly woven, naturally blending humor, intrigue, and suspense into classic page-turner. The author does an excellent job detailing the lush history of the area and introduces a colorful host of eccentric characters that breathe life in to this already smart mystery. Laced with subtle indictments on local ethnic inequities, Del Monte's Mud Blood is ultimately a satisfying and thought-provoking read.