Abella, Alex

New York. 1991. September 1991. Crown. 1st Printing. Very Good in Dustjacket. 051758509x. 1st Novel. 308 pages. hardcover. Jacket photograph by Michel Delsol. Jacket design by Corsillo/Manzone. Signed by the Author. keywords: Mystery Cuban-American. FROM THE PUBLISHER - In this first Cuban-American thriller, the genre is reinvigorated with a stunning, brutally authentic tale of commerce and witchcraft, crime and the law in Hispanic Los Angeles. A story of mysterious sin, love and redemption, THE KILLING OF THE SAINTS explores the hidden life of that great western metropolis and its strange, seductive alliances. Charlie Morell, a court-appointed private investigator, is compelled to take on the case of two Cuban 'marielitos' - followers of the voodoo-like santeria cult - accused of a particularly vicious massacre in a downtown jewelry store. But the ordinary thriller tradition is upended by the crucial role ethnic identity plays in this story. Charlie is himself Cuban, hiding in the city of angels away from his own guilty secrets - just another faceless detective. His investigation of the santeria case forces him to confront his past, exposing the real reasons Charlie abandoned his exile family, his wife, child and a flourishing law practice in south Florida. Drawn to and helped by the lusty Cuban Lucinda, who has her own cloudy past, Charlie works hard, in spite of his instincts, to try to get his clients exonerated, precipitating a series of shocking surprises and a bloody climactic battle. The language is brilliant and lush, the sex tropical, in this courtroom drama blazing with a realism seldom found in stories of the law. Here is a never-before-told tale by a new Cuban-American voice about a part of the country in the naked process of reinventing itself. inventory #25348 ISBN: 051758509x.