|
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.”
|
