Moony's Road to Hell [Hardcover]

Manuel Ramos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 16, 2002

It all starts with the murder of INS agent Kiko Vigil, shot by an unknown gunman in a Larimer Street bar in Denver where he was drinking with the wife of Elias Garza, a major smuggler of illegal immigrants. Private investigator Danny Mora, known to his oldest friends as Moony, is hired by a colleague of Vigil�s to look into the shooting. Did Vigil make the fatal error of sleeping with Garza�s beautiful wife, or is that just a cover story? Was the INS on the verge of ruining Garza�s business? Moony�s quest for the truth leads first to his old nemesis, Garza�s sleazy attorney Victor Delgado. Soon the sleaze factor is surpassed by blood as the bodies begin to pile up. Like Manuel Ramos�s earlier series of crime novels featuring Luis Montez, Moony�s Road is populated by aging idealists who remember the glory days of Chicano activism in the 1970s. This noir thriller tinged with sharp social commentary will attract new fans to an author known as a founder of the Chicano/Latino mystery genre.

For more information on Manuel Ramos, visit his web site at www.manuelramos.com

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Noir fans won't want to miss Moony's Road to Hell, by Denver attorney Manuel Ramos (Blues for the Buffalo and three other books in his Luis Montez series). The murder of an INS agent sends Denver PI Danny "Moony" Mora on a body-strewn quest that involves Mora's old enemy, lawyer Victor Delgado, and reaches back to the 1970s, when Chicano activism was at its peak.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Noir fans won't want to miss Moony's Road to Hell by Denver attorney Manuel Ramos." (Publishers Weekly )

"This is a fascinating detective story." (Multicultural Review )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 205 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press (July 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826329497
• ISBN-13: 978-0826329493
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,774,246 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 Beautiful Find, October 2, 2002

By 

Jennifer "Editor, EXPLETIVE DELETED" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moony's Road to Hell (Hardcover)

A beautiful, fluid and masterfully written novel. It takes what seems to be a simple act of murder in a dive bar called La Tortuga and builds, nuance by nuance, a group of characters and a series of events that are utterly real. We look through the eyes of Kiko Vigil, as he is viciously murdered while sitting across from his lover, Lorraine Garza, the wife of a crime lord. Only a drifter, in a wheelchair, knocked over by the killer as he runs to his car with a struggling woman slung over his shoulder, has the answers everyone is looking for. Danny Mora, or Moony as only his oldest friend knows him, is hired by Vigil's colleague to investigate the murder when the INS decides it would be better for time to swallow it hole. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the further he gets from the drifter and closer to a killer that puts all he knows and loves into mortal danger.

This book is a stand alone to Ramos' other books in his Luis Montez series. It's ending left me in shock, slack jawed at what had just happened. You could not find a higher standard of writing than the one found in this definitive work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Road to Hell a trip I am glad I took...., March 7, 2003

By 

J. Jordan "Editor of Crimespree Magazine" (milwaukee, wi United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moony's Road to Hell (Hardcover)

My sister recommended this book to me. I was intrigued, so when I read it this last weekend I was pretty excited. Wow, what a great book!!! I loved the characters and Ramos talks about the city like someone who loves it.

I was drawn into the lives of the characters right off. They come across as very realistic and natural. I want to read more about them.

Ramos also managed to surprise me with the ending which happens less and less lately.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Was Left Slack-jawed., September 24, 2002

By 

Jennifer "Editor, EXPLETIVE DELETED" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Moony's Road to Hell (Hardcover)

A beautiful, fluid and masterfully written novel. It takes what seems to be a simple act of murder in a dive bar called La Tortuga and builds, nuance by nuance, a group of characters and a series of events that are utterly real. We look through the eyes of Kiko Vigil, as he is viciously murdered while sitting across from his lover, Lorraine Garza, the wife of a crime lord. Only a drifter in wheelchair, knocked over by the killer as he runs to his car with a struggling woman slung over his shoulder, has the answers everyone is looking for. Danny Mora, or Moony as only his oldest friend knows him, is hired by Vigil's colleague to investigate the murder when the INS decides it would be better for time to swallow it hole. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the further he gets from the drifter and closer to a killer that puts all he knows and loves into mortal danger.

This book is a stand alone to Ramos' other books in his Luis Montez series. It's ending left me in shock, slack jawed at what had just happened. You could not find a higher standard of writing than the one found in this definitive work.