Ditch Rider: A Neil Hamel Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Judith Van Gieson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

Neil Hammel immerses herself in the Southwest's vibrant Hispanic culture when she sets out to prove that a troubled teenage girl didn't kill the gang leader she insists she murdered. "A superior crime novel, " says "Washington Post Book World."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the eighth appearance of Albuquerque lawyer Neil Hamel (after Hotshots, 1996), Van Gieson demonstrates her deft touch with character and place as Hamel encounters the violence of teenage gangs. Neil and her Hispanic lover, the Kid, have settled into a new house in North Valley, easing into the domestic routine with each other. Neil befriends Cheyanne Moran, a troubled 13-year-old girl from the neighborhood who lives in a trailer with her mother and younger half-brother. When Cheyanne claims to have killed a teenage boy, a gang member whose body was found in one of the irrigation ditches that crisscrosses the valley, Neil is impelled to represent the girl. The police suspect Ron Cade, a member of a rival gang with a history of violence. The DA's office is also hesitant to accept Cheyanne's confession, preferring to go after a more obvious suspect. But when evidence bears out the girl's confession, they reluctantly take her into custody. Troubled by the case, Neil continues to dig on her own, eventually unearthing the truth. Suffused with melancholy, Van Gieson's moving exploration of the depredations of gang culture contributes a poignant chord to this richly characterized and atmospheric series.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Kinsey Millhone and V. I. Warshawski need not move over quite yet, but Van Gieson's Neil Hamel is certainly hot on their heels. Hamel, Albuquerque's answer to big-city private eyes, is just as smart, strong minded, independent, and outspoken as her urban rivals, and when it comes to solving tough crimes, she's top-notch. Her latest case involves 13-year-old Cheyanne Moran, who claims to have shot and killed an Albuquerque gang member. Neil begins to suspect Cheyanne has something to hide and moves into high gear, pursuing every lead. Van Gieson's deftly written story not only offers up an appealing heroine and an inventive plot, but it opens the reader's eyes to one of today's most frightening social problems--teen gangs--in a no-nonsense, informative way. A solidly entertaining mystery for medium to large collections. Emily Melton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (Mm) (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006109515X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061095153
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-written, well-told tale, November 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ditch Rider (Neil Hamel Mystery) (Hardcover)

Judith Van Gieson is one of the best writers working the genre, and in Ditch Rider she just keeps getting better. She keeps her subjects immersed in the social issues of the day -- from smuggling rare birds to wolf reintroduction, to this book's gang girls. It's a treat to read her prose -- "We stepped out of the Nissan, shutting the doors behind us very carefully and quietly. We walked in the middle of the road so as not to crunch the gravel on the shoulder and set off all the dogs in the hood. The dogs heard us anyway and began barking one after another, knocking down quiet like dominoes. 'Callesan, perritos,' whispered the Kid." As a former New Mexican, I especially love the way she brings the landscape to life. You can almost smell the damp earth by the irrigation ditch, feel the dry air on your skin. Her evocation of her neighborhood, complete with delinquent girls next door, rings just right. Can't wait to see what happens next in Neil's personal life, now that Neil's bought a house and given the Kid some closet space! Keep 'em coming!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, lucid and remarkably sensitive., October 24, 1998

By 

Kirpane Katia (france) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ditch Rider (Neil Hamel Mystery) (Hardcover)

With her eighth Neil Hamel mystery, Ditch Rider, Judith Van Gieson wins readers' hearts again. Meet Cheyanne, 13, a sweet teenage girl with a baby doll, a half brother and a cat in tow. But teenage gangs thrive in her hood as weeds along ditches. "Smile now, cry later" is their motto : life is at stake and death is next. Cheyanne is involved in the murder of a young gang member. And gang justice is on its way. For Cheyanne's sake, Neil will have to face the grisly rules of gang justice and power play until the fateful game is over. Judith Van Gieson's extraordinary power of observation and subtle treatment of a contemporary issue make the story jump off the page. Characters and setting come out perfectly right. With Ditch Rider, Van Gieson proves the same grit and passion that have come to characterize her previous mysteries. An astonishing book that should establish Van Gieson among the most innovative mystery writers today

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A universal problem, October 11, 1998

By 

Betty Parker ([e-mail]) (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ditch Rider (Neil Hamel Mystery) (Hardcover)

Young teens trapped by gang culture are the focus of this eighth Neil Hamel adventure. The story centers around Cheyanne Moran, a young girl in Neil's neighborhood who admits to the murder of a youth at a shopping mall. When Neil agrees to represent the child, she is drawn into a world where home is the gang and those who do not conform are punished. In her role as Albuquerque based attorney/sleuth, Neil reveals her sensitivity to the hopes and fears of teens, as well as her affection for the acequias and fields nearby. This book with its treatment of a universal problem should be in every middle school and high school library.