Precinct Puerto Rico: Book One (Luis Gonzalo)

Want to miss sleep? You'd better if you start reading this book. It pulls you right into the small town in Puerto Rico with its Mayberry RFD of police officers. Before you can reach for a coconut, you follow Sheriff Luis Gonzalo to the nearby town's beach where bodies have a tendency to wash up. Luis follows up on what appears to be a murder victim amidst the bodies coming from a ship of potential immigrants from the Dominican Republic. As he noses around, he gets threats from several directions. But he's the kind of guy that can't let murders go free - no matter what it costs him. My expectations were high after reading Steven Torres's terrific book "Concrete Maze." This gem didn't disappoint. I'm looking forward to the other books in this series and watching for more of Mr. Torres's work. We'll see Steven Torres in movie credits at some point.

The first Precinct Puerto Rico novel is a dark and brutal picture of a small town and an even smaller police force. Torres makes the reader painfully aware of the consequences of evil acts. Can't wait to read the rest.

Luis Gonzalo, long-time sheriff of the Puerto Rican hillside town of Angustias, visits his wife's relatives in seaside Rincon. That night, a ship with refugees from the Dominican Republic brakes up off the coast and Gonzalo hurries to help. He notices that one of the dead did not die naturally, but was murdered. As he tries to investigate this murder he runs into a wall of corrupt police who will do anything to keep their secret. Diversionary maneuvers include a bloody bank robbery and manhandling of the Gonzalo family.This is not the kind of book where the good guys suffer no lasting damage. It is written with a great deal of realism, and with feeling for the people of Puerto Rico. It is a wonderful book, well written with fully rounded characters.

Desperate for work, Marcos agrees to sail from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico with nine illegal immigrants on board. However, a wary and worried Marcos leaves his small hometown with twenty-two passengers in his hold and not much of his prepayment. They reach their destination with everyone, including Marcos, is dead, their bodies washing ashore.Luis Gonzalo, Sheriff of Angustias since the early 1970s, knows that recently the drug traffickers discovered his seaside town forcing the mayor to double the staff from three to six. Near retirement veteran Emilio Collazo and rookie Rosa Almodovar form one team. Computer guru Iris Calderon and wild man Hector Paredo are paired. Luis and San Juan transfer Abel Fernandez form the third squad. However, instead of just dealing with druggies and the occasional murder of passion (seven homicides since Luis joined the force in the sixties), the six cops finds themselves investigating a mass murder of illegal immigrants. The inquiry is further complicated by seemingly every other law enforcement organization preferring the case washed out to the sea rather than solved.PRECINCT PUERTO RICO BOOK ONE is a powerful opening police procedural that will remind the audience of the 87th Precinct novels. The story line is loaded with action as the three police teams investigate the major homicide case as well as what now appears to them as minor crimes. The deep personalities of the characters enable the audience to delineate each member of the sheriff's office and several prime secondary players too. Steven Torres provides a strong debut of a new series that sub-genre readers will welcome.Harriet Klausner