Customer Reviews

The Killing of the Saints (Mask Noir)

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Alex Abella pulled off an impressive trick with his first novel "Killing of the Saints". He manages to write both a good courtroom thriller in the style of John Grisham, and a interesting ethnic novel that makes us question our narrow views on Hispanics, and Cubans in particular. Abella has certainly taught me that here. In this rich, and delightly noir novel, Charlie Morrel is a disgraced former lawyer who ran away to Los Angeles to escape his past, abandoning a wife and child in Miami where he almost was disbarred. Charlie then finds himself drawn into a complex legal case involving two known killers who may not have been responsible for the carnage they inflicted in a jewelry store robbery gone bad. Abella weaves the courtroom scenes with cynical judges and crusading prosecutors with the darker scenes with the believers of Santeria, a mix of Catholic and West African religion. All of this leads to a surprising climax where the supernatural unexpectly shows up.