Dragon Fruit

July 4, 2016
In Keskinen’s uneven third Jaymie Zarlin mystery (after 2014’s Black Current), the Santa Barbara, Calif., PI seeks a missing toddler. Chucha Robledo, an undocumented immigrant, pays drug smugglers to transport her daughter, Rosie, from Mexico, but when Chucha arrives at the beach where their boat landed, the girl is gone. Hostile police officers warn Jaymie away from the investigation, and a homeless man connects the drug smugglers to law enforcement. When officers beat Chucha nearly to death, the quest for Rosie takes on added urgency. Keskinen excels at conveying a sense of place, and she builds a strong cast of supporting characters, such as two priests and a Roller Derby competitor entangled with shady cops. Other characters are sketchily drawn, however, leaving their motives unclear and actions implausible. Plot connections are tenuous at times. Still, Keskinen movingly highlights the plight of Chucha, who has few allies, and series fans should appreciate insights into Jaymie’s background and relationship with deputy sheriff Mike Dawson. Agent: Becca Stumpf, Prospect Agency.

September 1, 2016
Jaymie Zarlin is a very independent private investigator in Santa Barbara with a strong sense of justice. She is still grieving for her brother, a schizophrenic who died in jail, so she empathizes all the more with Chucha, an undocumented Mexican who paid drug smugglers to bring her baby daughter to California from Mexico. When she went to meet the boat, the child was not there. Jaymie's investigation leads her into the ugly underworld of human trafficking and political corruption. The local police are attempting to force her to drop the case, but Jaymie refuses to give in, especially as her investigation seems to be bringing her closer to the truth about her brother's death. This compelling story deals directly and effectively with important contemporary issues. The Santa Barbara setting and the determined, uncompromising sleuth make Dragon Fruit a perfect fit for Sue Grafton fans, but also for those who enjoy Marcia Muller and Sara Paretsky.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2016
A private eye reluctantly signs on to help a transgender Mexican immigrant look for the daughter she fathered.Although she resists the case of the missing child, PI Jaymie Zarlin allows herself to be talked into taking it by Gabi Gutierrez, her office manager and sidekick. Gabi clearly feels for the distraught mother, who in this case is also the child's biological father, Jesus Maria Robledo, known by most as Chucha. The Santa Barbara police are less understanding, and Chucha knows they aren't going to help her find Rosie, her young daughter. That's partly because of who Chucha is, partly because of the circumstances of the girl's disappearance. Rosie was living with her biological mother in Mexico until old friends hinted that she was not being well cared for. Chucha took the only action she could think of, hiring someone to smuggle Rosie over on a panga boat otherwise used to traffic drugs into the United States. When Chucha came to pick up Rosie, the girl was nowhere to be found, and Chucha thinks it possible that someone paid a higher price for her daughter. Street-smart Jaymie, nowhere near as optimistic, is pretty sure that Rosie was disposed of on the journey. Gabi is determined to manage Jaymie, however, even if that means taking on a case Jaymie isn't sure she wants to solve. With no clues to Rosie's whereabouts but some dragon fruit on the beach, Jaymie will have to use all her connections to discover the fate of Chucha's daughter. Keskinen (Black Current, 2014, etc.) seldom treats her characters with the gravity they merit, thrusting them into strange situations and making weighty decisions about their fates with little warning.

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