Thicker Than Blood (Rachel Chavez Mysteries, 1) - Hardcover

Rudolph, Penny

3.18

17 ratings by Goodreads

9781590581483: Thicker Than Blood (Rachel Chavez Mysteries, 1)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1590581482 ISBN 13: 9781590581483

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2005

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"Rudolph provides a well-crafted plot and satisfying levels of suspense, but what stands out most is Rachel herself―one of the most refreshing new series heroines to wander into the crime genre in quite a while." ―Booklist STARRED review

For Rachel Chavez, every day is a battle with her demons. She only wants to stay sober and keep her recently inherited parking lot in downtown LA financially afloat. But it's a nearly 24/7 job. Then an executive from the nearby water agency is killed by a hit-and-run driver and Rachel spots the car that did the deed in her garage. A few days later her stand-in employee dies of peculiar causes. And Rachel unknowingly becomes tangled in the conniving cross-purposes of California water politics.

When she uncovers evidence of a crime ring, Rachel believes the mystery of the two deaths is solved. But another official is killed, her own father disappears, and it becomes agonizingly clear that the killer is closing in on Rachel.

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About the Author:

Penny Rudolph has worked as a bartender, truck driver, chili picker, science writer, and medical writer. She's taught high school and college English, creative writing, and journalism.

Review:

The history of Los Angeles is the history of how humans diverted the scarcest of desert resources - water - to allow a large metropolis to thrive
and expand. The history of Los Angeles, indeed of all of Southern California, is also the history of conflict between urban planners, farmers
and ranchers, and environmentalists.

Rachel Chavez has no intention of getting involved in this particular tug of war. Devoted to maintaining her own sobriety, she lives in a small apartment
carved out of a large parking garage left to her by her grandfather. The garage also provides her livelihood, but eventually places her smack in the
middle of a great deal of trouble. A large environmental testing firm specializing in water purity rents parking spaces from her on a monthly basis.

When Rachel observes body damage to one of the cars owned by the testing firm, and when she learns that an employee of that firm has died in a hit and run accident, her suspicions are aroused. Other sinister events follow in short order and when her safety and the safety of her family and friends is threatened, Rachel perseveres to uncover the truth. 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. Whether her reluctance to consult with police (based on unhappy experiences during the
years she abused alcohol) is a believable thread in the story is for the reader to decide. Rudolph develops her characters well, and the final
unmasking of the villain at the heart of the matter caught me by surprise. -- Woodstock, CrimeSpreeMagazine, June 2005

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