Enriched by its splendid setting in the Cuban section of Los Angeles, this atmospheric thriller explores witchcraft and courtroom procedures.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Latin American magical realism makes further inroads into mainstream American fiction with this unusual courtroom thriller set in the milieu of the Los Angeles Cuban refugee community of practitioners of the Santeria cult. The book centers on the murder trial of two cult members who are charged with murdering six people in the course of robbing a jewelry store. The narrator, himself a Cuban with a tormented past, is appointed by the court as an investigator for one of the defendants. Rich in gritty local detail, exemplified by a wonderful series of graffiti that runs through the entire book, Abella's book joins Madison Smartt Bell's The Washington Square Ensemble ( LJ 2/15/83), among others, in the ranks of excellent novels exploring the refugee experience and the fringes of religiosity. A worthwhile purchase for general fiction collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/91.
-David Dodd, Benicia P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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