Hollow beasts

In this strong action-packed thriller and series launch from bestseller Valdés (The Dirty Girls Social Club), widow Jodi Luna, "a celebrated poet and academic in Boston," returns to her home state of New Mexico, which she left at 18 and where her family has lived for generations, because she believes the change will be good for her and her 14-year-old daughter, Mila. There, at age 45, she becomes the state's oldest game warden in training. Jodi's arrest of a poacher, with the aid of her 75-year-old game warden uncle who's about to retire, makes her and Mila targets of a white supremacist group that has been kidnapping young women of color. The local sheriff refuses to help, so Jodi teams up with ambitious deputy Ashley Romero to investigate the terrorists. Credible characters and a deep knowledge of Hispanic culture enhance the solid plot. Poetry became Jodi's career, but her family taught her how to shoot, hunt, and survive off the land, and she passes on those same skills to her plucky daughter. Readers will look forward to seeing a lot more of this tough, smart heroine. Agent: Alicia Brooks, JVNLA. (Apr.)

A New Mexico game warden finds herself in a race war that threatens to get personal. After her husband dies in a climbing accident, Officer Jodi Luna decides to leave Boston and her life in the academy to return to her familial roots. She even arranges to take her uncle Eloy Atencio's position as Rio Truchas County's game warden as he prepares to retire. Jodi is idealistic and proud to be working in an area that's meant so much to her family. Though Eloy is jaded about the land and its inhabitants, Jodi's surprised when one of the first guys she pulls over tries to give her a hard time about her use of Spanish. But then, what do you expect from gringos? While Jodi is smart enough to educate Travis Lee on the ways New Mexico laws support the use of Spanish, it's less clear that she's wise enough to avoid trouble. Her argument with Travis leads him to make threats he just might be willing to carry out, including stalking Jodi and her teenage daughter, Mila, at their home. While Jodi sees Travis as a racist pest, the truth may be even bleaker: The Zebulon Boys, a White pride militant group that lives out in the woods, has been kidnapping brown girls--and worse. Could Travis be involved? When Jodi attempts to bring the group to justice, things rapidly head south, and she's left wondering what she really believes when it comes to justice. Packed to bursting with big questions for readers who can navigate the stress. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this strong action-packed thriller and series launch from bestseller Valdés (The Dirty Girls Social Club), widow Jodi Luna, "a celebrated poet and academic in Boston," returns to her home state of New Mexico, which she left at 18 and where her family has lived for generations, because she believes the change will be good for her and her 14-year-old daughter, Mila. There, at age 45, she becomes the state's oldest game warden in training. Jodi's arrest of a poacher, with the aid of her 75-year-old game warden uncle who's about to retire, makes her and Mila targets of a white supremacist group that has been kidnapping young women of color. The local sheriff refuses to help, so Jodi teams up with ambitious deputy Ashley Romero to investigate the terrorists. Credible characters and a deep knowledge of Hispanic culture enhance the solid plot. Poetry became Jodi's career, but her family taught her how to shoot, hunt, and survive off the land, and she passes on those same skills to her plucky daughter. Readers will look forward to seeing a lot more of this tough, smart heroine. Agent: Alicia Brooks, JVNLA. (Apr.)