James L'Etoile

Recently on my blog, Aubrey Nye Hamilton reviewed Face of Greed: A Detective Emily Hunter Mystery by James L’Etoile. If you have read her review, you know she liked it a lot. After setting up her review, I went looking for it at my local library with no luck. I went looking at NetGalley where I remembered seeing it recently offered. Oceanview Publishing still had it listed and so I requested it. Thankfully, it was instantaneously available with no gatekeeper delay, and I was soon hooked.

Detective Emily Hunter and Detective Javier Medina are working in Sacramento, California. In recent years she has been assigned to the Detective Bureau of the Sacramento Police Department. She is on call one evening when Lieutenant Ford, Watch Commander, calls her with an assignment. One is dead, one is injured, at what according to the initial report, is some sort of home invasion gone very wrong.

If that was not enough, both the Mayor and Chief of Police are already on scene. That means politics, powerful people, and probably pressure to get results quickly and quietly from on high. It is a cold evening this night in April and the neighborhood is clearly upscale where a murder just does not happen. But, it did this night, and Rodger Townsend is very much dead.

The deceased was fairly wealthy and had donated a considerable sum of money to Mayor Stone’s last campaign. Not only that, but Ridger Townsend was also the campaign manager. Those facts at least partially explain why the Mayor is involved. The Mayor makes it clear from the start he expects how the investigation is to be done and that includes leaving the widow, Lori Richardson, alone.

Something Detective Hunter is not willing to do as she follows the evidence and believes that Lori is involved all the way up to her beautiful face and then some. That puts her and her partner on a repeated collision course with the Mayor and her own internal police chain of command. She enjoys poking the bear with people of power and intends to do it regardless of how much it could cost her professionally or how it reflects on her partner.

At the same time, she is dealing with a serious issue at home as her elderly mother has dementia. Connie Hunter is 74 and slowly getting worse. How Emily Hunt will help her mother and whether she can or not she can is a major secondary storyline in the book.

An entertaining read, Face of Greed: A Detective Emily Hunter Mystery by James L’Etoile is a good police procedural. As Aubrey pointed out in hew review, it relies significantly on the trope of a smart good cop beset by incompetent supervisors. A hallmark of police procedurals and one that is long familiar to readers.

Despite that issue, the overall read is fast moving and highly entertaining. According to the note in the beginning of the digital ARC, there is a second one coming in the pipeline. I very much look forward to the read.

As noted in the review, my reading copy came from the publisher, OceanView Publishing, by way of a NetGalley ARC.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023… (meer)

Author James L’Etoile began his long tenure in corrections as a probation officer in a juvenile facility. He subsequently became a correctional counselor and was promoted to the position of associate warden of a maximum-security prison. His career culminated with a stint as the director of the Division of Adult Parole Operations with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

His duties included drafting release reports for judges. One day, after retiring, it occurred to him that he wrote crime stories throughout his career. Drawing on his experience and knowledge, he decided to pursue a new career writing fiction. Black Label, his first published novel is a stand-alone psychological thriller dealing with big pharma and featuring a female protagonist. He next launched his Detective Nathan Parker series with Dead Drop, set in the Southwest and dealing with the immigration crisis and those caught in the middle of it. Devil Within is the second installment in the series.

Face of Greed is the first offering in a new series. Inspiration for the story came from one of the first murder investigations in which L’Etoile participated. Three gang members broke into a home and forced the homeowner to open a safe before executing him. The perpetrators claimed the homeowner “was a drug dealer and was rumored to keep large quantities of product and cash in his safe” and owed them money, L’Etoile recalls. The jury rejected their proffered defense. The shooter was sentenced to death and the other two criminals received long prison sentences. L’Etoile says that case “always stuck with me” and prompted him to pen a story in which he “asks what if there was more going on in that home invasion?”

Face of Greed introduces readers to Emily Hunter. She has been a Detective with the Sacramento Police Department for five years. When asked why he opted to craft the series around another female protagonist, L’Etoile reveals that it puts him “on edge” and prevents him from making assumptions, permitting him to “get into [the story] a little more.” Crafting a believable female law enforcement professional also makes him work harder. “You can’t just put the character in a dress,” he notes. L’Etoile, whose own daughter is in law enforcement in addition to being one of his beta readers, believes that women in what is still a male-dominated profession don’t yet receive the recognition they deserve. “They still have to work harder than men to be recognized” and are often expected, like their male peers, to conceal their feelings while performing duties that frequently invoke strong emotional reactions. L’Etoile acknowledges that law enforcement is evolving and more resources are being offered to employees to help them cope with job stressors.

Emily is single and committed to her job. She is also a loving daughter, devoted to ensuring that her seventy-year-old mother, Connie, is safe and well cared for. Connie, a retired teacher, is afflicted with early onset Alzheimer’s disease and no longer able to live independently so four months ago, Emily insisted that Connie move in with her. She has enlisted a caregiver, Sheila, to watch over Connie while she works, but her schedule is anything but predictable and she often works long hours, so the logistics have thus far proven challenging. Indeed, as the book opens, she arrives at home to find that Connie has wandered off again, prompting Sheila to suggest that Emily consider relocating Connie to a secure facility where she can receive a higher level of care. But Emily has no time to debate the subject with Sheila because she is immediately called back to work by the Watch Commander. It’s a high-profile case in which the Chief of Police and Mayor are taking a personal interest and the unusual step of responding to the scene.

Emily and her partner of six months, Detective Javier Medina, arrive at a stylish home on 46th Street in the heart of one of Sacramento’s most prestigious neighborhoods, known as the “Fabulous Forties.” Roger Townsend, a fifty-year-old power player in California political circles, has been murdered in his home, “his throat slit from ear to ear.” His glamorous wife, Lori, interrupted what appears to have been a home invasion robbery and suffered minor injuries. The floor safe in Townsend’s home office is open but there is no evidence suggesting that it was forced open. Lori insists that only her husband knew the combination to the safe and he kept only a modest amount of cash and some papers in it. A small amount of light-colored powder is visible on the bottom of the now empty safe. Lori quickly retreats to the Townsend estate in Granite Bay, and the coroner’s examination soon reveals that Townsend was also shot in the back . . . and was terminally ill.

As Emily and Javier begin investigating, their efforts are thwarted by Lori’s close friendship with the Mayor. Their interview with the Managing Partner and In-House Counsel of Townsend and Associates leads to more questions about the nature of Townsend’s business dealings and holdings, as well as why a sleazy criminal attorney operating out of a J Street storefront was Townsend’s personal lawyer. They follow clues that will hopefully provide insight into the motivation for Townsend’s killing, but more crimes, including another murder, yield more suspects and complicate their efforts. The Chief is anxious to wrap up the investigation, claiming that the case has been solved and the killer taken into custody. Emily risks an insubordination charge as she seeks to avoid a confrontation with him and the Mayor because “[o]nce politics infects a case, common sense disappears.” But it becomes increasingly apparent that politics are impeding Emily and Javier’s efforts to unravel a mystery that grows increasingly complex and convoluted, involving another detective, ex-convicts who served time in Pelican Bay (one of California’s most dangerous and notorious prisons), members of the Aryan Brotherhood, and even an Assistant United States Attorney.

Emily is a compelling character. She is a competent and determined detective, savvy and respected by colleagues who are willing to aid her efforts with leads and tips. She is willing to take risks to uncover the truth, and skates dangerously close to derailing her career when she refuses to capitulate to the political machinations of her superiors and the interference of the Mayor in her investigation. Her partnership with Javier is both collegial and affectionate, characterized by often hilarious and believable bickering and teasing. It is evident that Javier, the junior member of the team, is not threatened by Emily or in any way uncomfortable being subordinate to a female detective. On the contrary, they have a great deal in common, not the least of which is their love for and appreciation of their mothers.

L’Etoile’s riveting story is both fast-paced and cleverly plotted. As the investigation proceeds, each piece of evidence uncovered seems to inspire more questions rather than provide answers, and lead Emily and Javier in unexpected directions. L’Etoile deftly keeps readers guessing about whether and in what configuration all the various threads of the mystery will eventually pull together, but Lori repeatedly emerges as the common denominator. She is demonstrably connected to and involved with a vast group of intriguing supporting characters, some of whom are quite dastardly and mercenary. Is she innocent? Or did she play a role in her husband’s demise? If so, what would motivate her to harm the man who, by all outward appearances, afforded her a lifestyle and access to power she could not have achieved on her own?

The procedural and political aspects of the story are both credible and plausible, the latter providing dramatic tension and frustrations that inspire Emily to forge ahead despite the obstacles erected by her powerful superiors and potential adverse consequences for her career. L’Etoile expertly utilizes the setting — the city of Sacramento and surrounding areas — to maximum effect. His familiarity with the region is evident as his characters visit landmarks like the famed Renaissance Tower. Housing the fictional Townsend and Associates, the downtown behemoth is known as the “Darth Vader” building because of its modernistic design that is at odds with the structures surrounding it, including California’s beloved domed Capitol. They also proceed to the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building, another architectural oddity; the county jail; and the aforementioned “Fabulous Forties” and J Street. L’Etoile provides descriptions and wry commentary that transform the city into an integral character in the tale, illustrating its incohesive and contradictory nature for readers who are unacquainted with it. “Such was Sacramento, a city in search of an identity” with a fictional mayor intent on transforming it into a cultural center and travel destination.

Face of Greed is an absorbing, entertaining, and uniquely creative mystery, at the heart of which is the empathetic and relatable Emily. She is determined to simultaneously be the best detective, daughter, and partner she can be. Thus, she is both comfortably familiar and endearing. Readers will find themselves quickly invested in her success and moved by her relationship with her mother. She is keenly aware that their time together is limited, as Connie’s memories and cognitive abilities fade. And there is a black cat who is not hers, but keeps showing up expecting to be fed so Emily accedes to its demands. Hopefully, L’Etoile will further explore the various challenges that make Emily such a fascinating protagonist in subsequent volumes, while providing her with more mystifying cases to solve in California’s River City.

Thanks to NetGalley for an electronic Advance Readers Copy of the book and to Oceanview Publishing for a paperback Advance Readers Copy.… (meer)

crime-fiction, Alzheimer-victim, California, family-drama, family-dynamics, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, multiple-murder, political-corruption, politics, procedural, working-partners, suspense, wealthy, attitude-of-entitlement, new-series, first-in-series, police-detectives, prison-gangs, undercover, theft, unputdownable, battery, fast-pace, home-invasion, lawyers, coercion*****

It's tough enough to work a complicated case, but when crooked politicians ( especially the mayor) tell the police chief how to manage the case and the detectives working it there is so much more. It isn't as though Detective Emily Hunter doesn't have enough problems at home with her mother's AD worsening. Fortunately her partner Detective Javier Medina's mother is great help. The case would be a nightmare even without the political hindrances, but the due diligence and a few helpful connections do help. A great read that will make an addictive series.
I requested and received an EARC from Oceanview Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!… (meer)

In Dead Drop, author James L’Etoile introduced readers to Nathan Parker, a detective with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona. He and his partner, Josh McMillan, were assigned to patrol a road near the United States-Mexico border to interrupt the flow of undocumented immigrants accessing it to bypass Immigration and Customs Enforcement checkpoints. McMillan was brutally murdered by Esteban Castaneda, a vicious leader in the Los Muertos gang, and Nathan blames himself, convinced that had he responded faster to McMillan’s radio call, he might have saved his partner. And apprehended Castaneda who, five years later, remains at large.

Following the harrowing events described in Dead Drop, Nathan officially became Miguel’s foster father. Now approaching his eighteenth birthday and planning his future, Miguel was journeying across the border from San Salvador all by himself when Nathan encountered him while on a dangerous undercover mission. Miguel’s older brother was killed by a gang and Miguel fled because he knew he would also be killed for his refusal to join. Miguel’s parents were also deceased, and no one was waiting for him in America. He had no particular destination in mind, intent only on escaping the unrelenting dangers in his homeland and going to school. After Nathan and Miguel survived their ordeal together, Nathan was moved to give Miguel a stable home, unconditional support, and a bright future. As Devil Within opens, Miguel and Nathan have settled into a father-son relationship, and Miguel has graduated from high school and commenced classes at the community college, proving himself to be an excellent student with myriad opportunities awaiting him after he completes his education. Nathan is still single, focused only on his career and caring for Miguel.

L’Etoile pulls readers into the fast-paced thriller from the very first sentence: “Nia Saldana didn’t think today would be the day she died.” But unfortunately, she is involved in a fatal, high-speed accident on the freeway as she is traveling home from her job as a housekeeper. Her employer, Roger Jessup, a prominent and wealthy local attorney, appeared to have been in his own vehicle and chasing Nia’s car when he was killed in the same collision. But why was he in pursuit of Nia? It is quickly determined that the crash was no accident. Rather, it was again the work of the Sun Valley Sniper, who has been claiming victims at a frightening rate.

Nathan is assigned to head up the investigation and immediately begins the search for a connection between the victims. It appears that the crimes are motivated by hate and the sniper is a dishonorably discharged veteran and registered sex offender with a criminal record in which he is identified as a White Pride sympathizer (a small extremist offshoot of the Aryan Nation). When the suspect is apprehended, the Sheriff is politically motivated to announce that the case has been wrapped up and assure the public they are again safe from the sniper’s unpredictable attacks. Parker is not convinced.

Nathan is alarmed and appalled when he is notified by Deputy Linda Marsh that Miguel has been detained after participating in a protest against the current administration’s immigration policies sponsored by the Immigrant Coalition. The demonstration got out of hand when some of the protestors blocked an onramp to Interstate 10. Marsh has convinced the arresting deputy to release Miguel with only a warning, but Nathan cannot hide his shock when he learns that Miguel has been affiliated with the organization without his knowledge. Given his own experiences, Miguel is fiercely dedicated to the group’s cause. “People need to know what’s happening. The families, the conditions, and this government are forcing innocent people into the hands of the cartels. You’re the one who told me there are over two thousand people who died making the crossing, and they never identify most of them,” he tells Nathan.

Not surprisingly, Billie Carson is also a member of the group. Billie lives in a dilapidated travel trailer, surviving by scouring the desert for lost and abandoned items she sells to recycling yards. She and Nathan met several years ago when she was facing a trespassing charge and began regularly reporting minor disturbances in the desert to him. She became embroiled in an investigation when she happened upon four fifty-gallon drums, pried the lid off one of the barrels, and discovered the decomposing body of a man inside. It was the beginning of the unforgettable journey depicted in Dead Drop that forever changed both Nathan and Billie, and brought Miguel into their lives. A former coyote, Billie was familiar with the routes across the border that kept Miguel alive, and they formed an extremely close bond.

No sooner does Nathan get Miguel safely home, but Billie arrives at their home. She is as nervous as the day she discovered those drums in the desert and afraid she might be followed. With good reason. Nathan’s blood runs cold when Billie declares, “He’s back. Esteban Castaneda. He’s back, and I saw him.” Nathan has wanted to bring Castaneda to justice since the day McMillan died and is determined not to let him slip away again.

The story’s pace never slows as Nathan continues the investigation into the sniper killings and soon finds that all of the victims were associated with the Immigrant Coalition in various capacities. In fact, an attempt is made on the life of Tim Brunell, the Coalition’s Vice Chair, who is launching his campaign for the state Senate. Nia Saldana’s sister turns a thumb drive over to Nathan. That Nia was in possession of it struck her sister as highly unusual, given that Nia did not own or use a computer. Did she steal it from Jessup? If so, why? Nathan is unable to decipher the spreadsheets he finds on the drum, and enlists assistance from forensics specialists while he attempts to unravel the workings of the Coalition and its leaders, extracting some helpful information from the organization’s legal counsel, Isa Sanchez. She reveals the extent of the threats regularly made against the Coalition and its members by various anti-immigrant factions. When two young men with leadership roles within the Coalition — Miguel’s friends and associates — are abducted, it becomes clear that Miguel is also in danger and Nathan must protect him. Is Castaneda the source of the threat to Miguel? Are his interests somehow entangled with those of the Coalition and its leaders?

As with Dead Drop, L’Etoile has crafted an intricately woven tale featuring many familiar faces, including Nathan’s colleagues and former love intrest, FBI Agent Lynnette Finch. They did not part on good terms, but she is willing to help. L’Etoile introduces numerous intriguing new characters, some of whom have nefarious intentions and scandalous backgrounds. At least one has gone to great lengths to prevent their true identity from being revealed in order to evade detection and execute a plan to become both powerful and wealthy. At whose expense and by what means? Surprising alliances, interconnected pasts, and hidden motives come to light as Nathan’s investigation proceeds, often resulting in more questions than pat answers. Other characters, particularly those who are vulnerable, marginalized, and subject to abuse and manipulation, are quite sympathetic and heartbreaking, their experiences a mirror reflection of the real-life struggles related by too many of America’s undocumented population.

The crisp dialogue and procedural aspects of the story are credible and believable, and L’Etoile deftly unveils clues at well-timed junctures. Readers are kept guessing as L’Etoile proves numerous theories wrong with additional revelations. He expertly ramps up the dramatic tension as the tale proceeds, and Nathan, aided by Billie, risks his own well-being in order to save the precious boy he loves unconditionally and considers his son. But the body count grows and time is running out. For Miguel, along with many others.

Devil Within is highly entertaining, but also richly moving and deeply thought-provoking. Nathan and Miguel have become a family, and Nathan shoulders his responsibility to protect Miguel at all costs. He carries the guilt he feels about not being able to save his partner and knows that letting Miguel down will finally and irrevocably break him. Eccentric, quirky, but endearing Billie, who has a mysterious past, is also a beloved member of their little family, a trusted and loyal confidante who blames herself for the predicament in which they find themselves. Once again, she and Nathan make a formidable team who refuse to be deterred from achieving their goal, no matter what personal sacrifices they might have to make.

Once again, L’Etoile uses his story to pose timely questions about the humanitarian considerations at the heart of the ongoing debate about events unfolding daily that are the topic of many news reports. Would-be immigrants flock to the border seeking refuge and opportunities. What immigration policies should be enacted and enforced, considering the dangers those individuals journeying north confront both along the way and when they finally reach the border? How can they be protected from further victimization once they arrive on American soil? Who profits from maintaining the status quo and what will it take to enact real reforms? L’Etoile does not provide ready or preachy answers. Rather, through his characters he invites readers to consider those difficult questions and formulate their own opinions, invoking a deep emotional response to his characters’ experiences in the process. And leaving significant plot points unresolved and ripe for exploration in the third installment in the series.

Thanks to the author for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book via Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.… (meer)