"when I hear anyone talk of culture, I reach for my revolver."
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THICKER THAN BLOOD
Jenny McLarin, Booklist: *STARRED REVIEW* “.... One of the delightful aspects of this story is the eclectic band of misfits and outsiders who help Rachel solve the crime – from homeless fortuneteller Irene to night‑shift office cleaner Goldie. Rudolph provides a well‑crafted plot and satisfying levels of suspense, but what stands out most is Rachel herself – one of the most satisfying new series heroines to wander into the crime genre in quite a while. Let’s hope Rachel’s garage remains a dangerous place.”
Publishers Weekly An intrigue centered on the water politics of Southern California promises high tension and high stakes....The unusual heroine—parking‑garage proprietor Rachel Chavez—has many customers from InterUrban, a major water company across the street in downtown L.A. Soon after Rachel hears that Jason Karl, an InterUrban executive, has been killed in a hit‑and‑run, she notices that a company car has a suspicious dent. As she looks into this and other troubling facts, she's joined by two other loners: Hank Sullivan, an appealing, quiet guy who works for InterUrban, and Goldie, a tough‑talking gal who runs a cleaning business that services InterUrban.
Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune “Imagine the basic theme of "Chinatown"‑‑the plundering of an area's water rights‑‑with a troubled modern woman who runs a parking garage in downtown Los Angeles instead of a Jack Nicholson private eye, and you'll have some idea of the powerful mixture of ingredients in Penny Rudolph's fascinating new mystery, Thicker Than Blood....Rudolph gets it all right: the daily dirty work of running a small garage, the conflicting emotions of a woman trying to stay afloat and alive, the mixed motives of everyone from activists to bureaucrats. Water is what makes "Thicker Than Blood" an important social document....”
Dick Lochte, Booksmart, OC Metro Magazine, Orange County, CA “....the tough but vulnerable protagonist...lives and works in a downtown Los Angeles parking garage ... Rudolph has a talent for creating likable characters .... as (Rachel Chavez) moves from her lonely day‑to‑day struggle to stay sober and solvent...to a pro‑active, unstoppable search for a multiple murderer, she exhibits enough determination and strength of will ... to satisfy any mystery fan. Then there is her ragtag support group that includes her raffish, gambling‑addict father, the aforementioned Hank, trying to wean himself from workaholic behavior and a failed but not dissolved marriage, Goldie, the big‑hearted leader of the late‑night InterUrban cleaning crew and Irene, a fortune‑telling bag lady....The plot is strong....And the author is particularly adept at crafting scenes of breathless action and situations of barely bearable suspense....
Midwest Book Review “...Readers will take immense delight in the latest Southern California water war mystery. The story line is character driven...as Rachel ponders the ethical question of telling the authorities knowing that means trouble for her... What makes the novel, she does not turn into super amateur sleuth, but instead is dragged along the way and learns the truth when the culprit decides to cleanse her...”
Woodstock, CrimeSpree Magazine “Rachel Chavez...lives in a small apartment carved out of a large parking garage left to her by her grandfather....When she discovers body damage to a car owned by a large water agency and learns an employee of the firm has died in a hit and run accident, her suspicions are aroused. As she follows the chain of events, she finds herself involved in the classic three way struggle over the best way to manage water resources. Rachel is a gutsy young woman, determined to act on her own... Rudolph develops her characters well, and the final unmasking of the villain at the heart of the matter caught me by surprise.”
Larry Karp, author of Ragtime Kid, First Do No Harm, etc., DorothyL “...pages turn at an alarming rate... The characters, minor as well as major, are fully developed and sympathetic. The plotting is complex and thorough ‑‑ no loose ends or false teasers, and the various elements come together at the end with a large bang....”
Robert Mayer, The New Mexican Magazine ...One strength... the originality of the protagonist... a recovering addict and alcoholic named Rachel Chavez who owns a multistory parking garage in downtown Los Angeles. When she gets caught up in a murder mystery, she enlists as her partner in crime‑solving a woman called Goldie who heads a cleaning crew of mentally handicapped workers in the office building across the street ‑‑ another original concept. A strong second point is the writing. It's always clear and fast‑moving....Give the author points...for using the mystery to help illuminate a serious problem throughout the water‑deprived Southwest ....she writes that there is "More political intrigue over water than anything else you could name. Eighty percent of the people in the state never think about it. For the other twenty percent, it's like a religion. Fire, brimstone....
Denise Hamilton, author of Eve Diamnod Series "A fast‑moving contemporary noir tale about California water politics featuring a highly original female sleuth who owns a downtown LA parking garage. If Barbara Seranella's Munch Mancini were plunked down in the movie Chinatown the result might read like Thicker Than Blood.”
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