Publisher's Weekly Review
Julia Rodriguez, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, works as a barista in a Miami café, in bestseller Grippando's timely 16th Jack Swyteck novel (after 2018's A Death in Live Oaks). When she refuses the sexual advances of her boss, he reports her to ICE, and she's soon arrested by ICE agents, but her daughter, Beatriz, a ninth grader, avoids capture. Attorney Swyteck takes on the challenging task of securing Julia's release from detention and reuniting her with Beatriz. Julia had fled to America to escape her abusive, gangmember husband, Jorge, but he soon followed her to Miami and will stop at nothing to get her back. Grippando keeps the narrative moving forward at a steady clip, expertly interweaving each character's point of view into the plot. He brings to life the fear undocumented immigrants face every day, as well as the complicated legalities they confront when arrested. Still, he never forgets that this is a thriller, and Jorge's ruthless momentum keeps the tension building to a heartracing climax. Agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
A woman living in Florida illegally is turned in to the immigration department by a man bearing a grudge. The woman is put into a detention center; her teenage daughter barely escapes and hides out at her aunt's house; Jack Swyteck, the lawyer who's toplined Grippando's series of smartly written legal thrillers, hears about the situation from his grandmother and signs on, free of charge, to help get the girl's mother released. But here's the problem: the mother is making accusations that are very hard to prove, against people who have very strong reasons for wanting certain secrets to stay buried, and Jack's own safety, not to mention his family's, is soon in jeopardy. Grippando, a former attorney, has the legal stuff down cold, and his writing style is impeccable (he won the 2017 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction for Gone Again, a Jack Swyteck novel). This would be a perfect time for legal-thriller fans who haven't yet checked out this series to join the crowd.--David Pitt Copyright 2018 Booklist
Kirkus Review
Miami attorney Jack Swyteck battles to save an undocumented Salvadorian immigrant caught between the abusive husband she fled and the majesty of the U.S. government.Barista Julia Rodriguez's job at Caf de Caribe ends the moment she emphatically rejects the advances of cafe manager Duncan McBride, who promptly dimes her out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Only Julia's heroism and quick thinking prevent her 14-year-old daughter, Beatriz, from being swept up along with her. Brought to Jack's attention by her aunt, Cecelia Varga, and Jack's grandmother, Beatriz only wants to be reunited with her mother. But that's one tall order, as Jack (A Death in Live Oak, 2018, etc.) quickly learns. Julia's not eligible for asylum because she was charged with a felony back in El Salvador: aborting the baby who was the product of one of the many rapes she suffered at the hands of her husband, brutal gangster Jorge Rodriguez. Flexing his muscles in court, Jack gets Julia released from detention just in time for her to discover Duncan McBride's corpse in her bathtub. Small wonder that Beatriz, faced with her mother's reimprisonment, withdraws into a life-threatening case of resignation syndrome, leading to an ugly paradox: an immigration judge orders Julia released until Beatriz's health improves, but as soon as it does, Julia's detained again even though the price will be Beatriz's relapse. Working with his old buddy Theo Knight, Jack makes two trips to El Salvador, but what he learns there just deepens his client's peril, which turns on another paradox. There's every indication that Jorge Rodriguez has followed Julia to the U.S., but his presence there, if he really is there, undermines her case for asylum, which depends on the argument that she'd face imminent danger back in El Salvador, even as it puts her in clear and present danger here and now.Grippando is equally skillful at ratcheting up the tension and plucking at your heartstrings. Only the ending, which acknowledges just how intractable the plight of undocumented immigrants has become, is a letdown. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
In Grippando's latest "Jack Swyteck" thriller (after A Death in Live Oak), the Miami attorney is asked by his beloved abuela to defend Julia Rodriguez, a less-than-forthcoming immigrant from El Salvador who's facing deportation after she entered the United States illegally to escape an abusive husband. The case is complicated by a hardline U.S. attorney, Rodriguez's troubled teenage daughter and unsympathetic sister, and several murders that implicate them all. Grippando weaves immigration law and policy, domestic abuse, and other current social issues into a story that will quickly capture and keep the attention of readers who may be compelled to read this plot-driven legal thriller in one sitting. VERDICT A solid addition for fans of Swyteck that works well as a stand-alone for those unfamiliar with the series. It will also appeal to admirers of Phillip Margolin, Alafair Burke, and William Bernhardt. [See Prepub Alert, 8/10/18.]-George Lichman, Rocky River, OH © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
