A Blossom of Bright Light

September 14, 2015
Immigration issues loom large in Chazin’s well-paced second Jimmy Vega mystery, just as they did in the series opener, 2014’s Land of Careful Shadows. Vega’s job as a detective with the Lake Holly, N.Y., police puts him at odds with his girlfriend, Adele Figueroa, a Harvard-educated lawyer and founder of La Casa, the town’s Latino community center, which shields undocumented immigrants. One morning, day laborers discover a dead newborn in the woods behind La Casa. Adele and Vega feel they might have prevented the death if Vega hadn’t pressured Adele not to respond to a call she received from the center the previous evening. Meanwhile, an item of clothing on the body of a teenage girl found in the woods near a strip mall links Vega’s college-age daughter, Joy, to the victim. Vega can’t help investigating, despite his superior’s warning not to become involved. Readers will hope to see a lot more of the fascinating, multidimensional lead characters. Agent: Stephany Evans, FinePrint Literary Management.

August 15, 2015
A feeling of guilt spurs on a detective in a murder case. Detective Jimmy Vega is in a relationship with Adele Figueroa, a Harvard-trained attorney who gave up the law to run La Casa, a Latino community center. Always on call, they have to steal moments to be together. So when Adele gets a call that well-known alcoholic Zambo claims to have seen the baby Jesus in the arms of the Virgin Mary near La Casa, Jimmy talks her out of checking the unlikely story. Soon enough, a dead baby is found in the woods behind La Casa. Vega catches the case and works with the Lake Holly department in the search for the baby's mother, who's soon found equally dead wearing a hoodie that belonged to Vega's daughter, Joy, who lives with her mother and wealthy stepfather. Meanwhile, Adele's been offered a wonderful job in Washington, D.C., with a congressional candidate. Ambivalent about the offer, she hasn't told Vega about it, and he's devastated when he finds out on his own. Caught up in the case of a Mexican widower with three young children who's about to be deported, Adele soon sees how ugly politics can be when her candidate refuses to help because it might lose him votes. Vega, certain that his daughter is no baby killer, digs deeper into the Latino community's secrets and the nasty world of politics. The answers to his questions will rock the community and put Adele in danger. Chazin's latest (Land of Careful Shadows, 2014) again deftly weaves some difficult and topical subjects into a police procedural.

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Starred review from November 1, 2015

Chazin's sophomore outing after her acclaimed Land of Careful Shadows is a gripping, emotionally charged story that examines not only a crime but also the challenges faced by undocumented immigrants in Lake Holly, NY. When a newborn baby is found dead outside of a Latino community center, homicide detective Jimmy Vega and his girlfriend, Adele Figueroa, are drawn into the mystery on both professional and personal levels. Even as his relationship with Adele is thrown into jeopardy by this case, Vega's investigation reveals troubling connections between the murdered infant and Lake Holly's most powerful citizens. Chazin's thoughtful prose ratchets up the tension with each chapter, and she has a gift for creating three-dimensional characters whom readers will care about--from a Latino family whose father is in danger of being deported to a successful local activist considering a leap to the national stage. The book's thrilling final chapters will keep readers eagerly awaiting Vega's next adventure. VERDICT Chazin's novel about murder, power, and secrets in a Latino immigrant community will engross fans of police procedurals and mysteries, especially those by Michael Connelly. [See Kristi Chadwick's Mystery Spotlight, "Not Your Usual Suspects," LJ 4/15/15.]--Amy Hoseth, Colorado State Univ. Lib., Fort Collins

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