Customer Reviews

Home Killings

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Home Killings is a good mystery with some interesting elements. The main character is a Hispanic homicide detective in Nashville. The Spanish language and Hispanic culture add depth to the story. After finishing the book, I wanted to read the next one in the series but I guess I have to wait for the author the write it.

I love the three Romilia Chacon novels I've read and wish Marcos McPeek Villatoro would hurry and publish some more. There are refreshingly few stereotypes of Latinos in his work. His plots are suspenseful and unpredictable, and his Salvadoreña heroine is a fascinating mix of a single mother, a policewoman, a latina who was raised in the southern US. I can't think of an author with whom to compare Marcos Villatoro; I just know I want more!

What made this different than the usual murder mystery was the character, Romilia Chacon. Villatoro does a great job in building a character of a young detective, a rookie who has a chip on her shoulder, but nonetheless, can't shake off the values that have been instilled in her by her mother. She is young and in a new place that is both culturally different from her hometown and a challenge for her career. What she lacks in experience is offset by her good insights as she doggedly pursues the crafty drug dealer, who tries to win her over. Because of her youth and naivete, she falters on several levels. Her character is not that of a superwoman, but a human struggling to make the right choices in a bad situtation. The story moves along at a good pace, and has some surprising twists. I can't wait to read the next Romilia Chacon mystery.

While I found the plot a little weak, I very much enjoyed the character of Romilia, a rookie detective and Latina living with her son and mother. She's smart, interesting and fully dimensional. The writing is solid and I enjoyed the aspects of Latin culture incorporated into the characters and the story. All in all, it's a good first effort.

This book fails on several fronts. One, the main character, a Latina detective, has enough of a chip on her shoulder -- several, in fact -- that reading about them grows tiresome and overshadows all else. The story moves along at a decent pace, but the plot strains and finally breaks from lack of credible motives and interesting characters. There's also a lack of research. One of the victims is portrayed as a good guy, ethical and hard-working. But the story reveals he flashed a fake badge to get access to documents -- both highly unethical and a felony -- facts oblivious to the writer. The newsroom settings and references ring untrue to this former newsroom worker.