From Publishers Weekly
Life looks good to Luis Montez, the Chicano lawyer introduced in The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz, who has just scored a surprising courtroom victory. Denver police and prosecutors thought they had an easy case against drug suspect Jimmy Esch, but Montez discovers an unconstitutional search and seizure that allows his client to walk. Within hours, though, Montez's outlook sours. Esch is murdered, and Montez, who find the body, quickly becomes the prime suspect of resentful cops. His only alibi is Esch's enigmatic sister Lisa, who had invited Montez to have a drink on the evening of the murder. When Lisa disappears, the lawyer realizes that he must uncover his own exculpating evidence. After hitchhiking west to question a cop involved in the Esch arrest, Montez returns to Denver to dodge police and smoke out Esch's killer. All the while, he and his family are strained by his elderly father's illness. Denver Legal Aid attorney Ramos's finely crafted tales contribute a welcome Hispanic voice to the mystery genre. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Luis Montez, lawyer, activist, and one of the last honest men left in Denver, Colorado, has taken on the defense of Jimmy Esch, a spoiled rich kid who's been picked up once too often on drug charges. The case is a disaster from the beginning: key evidence is disallowed by the court; the arresting cop dies in a mysterious accident; and several other key witnesses disappear. Then the biggest disaster of all hits: Jimmy is found murdered, and Luis is fingered as the killer. Plenty more goes wrong, but with the encouragement of his family and the ex-wife he's never stopped loving, Luis decides to fight, going undercover to discover who really killed Jimmy. In an adventure that takes him from Colorado to California and from the moneyed ranks of high society to the depraved lives of prostitutes and drug addicts, Luis finally wins back his good name and more. Ramos tells a gripping story with panache and humor, offering an inventive plot, a cast of appealingly oddball characters, and a refreshing and likable hero. Emily Melton

From Kirkus Reviews
It's a great day for Denver attorney Luis Montez when his well-connected client Jimmy Esch, charged with cocaine possession, walks on a technicality--arresting officer Thomas Strayhorn changes his account of the bust on the stand--and Luis, still recovering from his secretary/lover Evangelina's defection, lets Jimmy's sister Lisa talk him into bed. But the next day is not so good, with Strayhorn killed in an accident, Jimmy stabbed to death, Lisa vanished, and the cops, who figure that Luis suborned Strayhorn's perjury on the stand and is now covering his tracks after Jimmy panicked, looking for Luis with warrants for homicide and kidnapping. Naturally, Luis does just what any stand-up guy would do in his situation: jumps bail, wrestles a gun from the trucker who offers him a ride out of town, steals said truck, and takes it on the lam to San Diego and an unrevealing conversation with Strayhorn's partner, bad cop Ben Martinez. But if Martinez isn't after Jimmy's share of the Esch family fortune, and Luis, despite what the cops think, isn't either, then who is? More urgently, how do the crimes Luis is unjustly accused of compare to the ones he's actually committed? Ramos trades the intensity of Luis's first two cases (The Ballad of Gato Guerrero, 1994, etc.) for nonstop, pleasantly incredible action. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"Ramos's finely crafted tales contribute a welcome Hispanic voice to the mystery genre."
--Publishers Weekly


Book Description
Hard-luck attorney Luis Montez has hit the big-time at last. He's successfully defended Jimmy Esch, the good-for-nothing son of a powerful Denver family. No small bonus, Jimmy's attractive sister Lisa is, as the saying goes, appreciative. It's enough to make a man quit moping about a lost love.

What a difference a day makes. Inside of twenty-four hours, a cop rumored to have received bribes from Montez takes a header off a mountain, Jimmy Esch is found butchered, and the cops consider the attorney their top suspect. Lisa -- Montez's alibi -- has conveniently disappeared. As if all that wasn't enough, Montez must also cope with the news his father is in the hospital.

Distracted by family strife and a media circus, Montez broods on the latest wrong turns in his life. Then he decides to act. Jumping bail, he heads across the Rockies to the barrios of San Diego. It's not easy to unravel the perfect set-up when you're down to your last cent. But Montez pursues the truths that will clear his name, and ultimately confronts the powerful force that is Family.


About the Author
Manuel Ramos is an attorney and part-time professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. His debut novel, The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz (Northwestern, 2004), was nominated for an Edgar. His other awards include the 1994 Colorado Book Award for Fiction and the 1991 Chicano/Latino Literary Award. Two of his other Montez novels-The Last Client of Luis Montez (2004) and The Ballad of Gato Guerrero (2004)-are also published by Northwestern University Press. Brown-on-Brown (New Mexico, 2003) is the latest novel in the Luis Montez series. Ramos lives in Denver, Colorado.

ANNOTATION

Family ties turn deadly in this richly suspenseful mystery by the Edgar-nominated author of The Ballad of Gato Guerrero. When Chicano lawyer and former activist Luis Montez is framed for murder, he follows a trail from the Colorado Rockies to the seaside barrios of San Diego to try and clear his name.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Hard-luck attorney Luis Montez has hit the big time at last. He's successfully defended Jimmy Esch, the good-for-nothing son of a powerful Denver family, and Jimmy's attractive sister Lisa is, as they say, appreciative. But inside of twenty-four hours a cop rumoured to have received bribes from Montez takes a header off a mountain, and Jimmy is found butchered. Montez is the prime suspect. Lisa - his alibi - has conveniently disappeared. Down to his last cent, Montez jumps bail and heads for the barrios of San Diego. As he pursues the truths that will clear his name, Montez must confront the powerful force that is family.

SYNOPSIS

Luis Montez goes from rags to riches to railroaded. Celebrating the successful acquittal of his latest client, Chicano lawyer and former activist Luis Montez is stunned when the client is killed the following day, an event that results in Luis's own arrest for murder. Ramos tells a gripping story with panache and humor, offering an inventive plot, a cast of appealingly oddball characters, and a refreshing and likable hero, steeped in Hispanic culture.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Life looks good to Luis Montez, the Chicano lawyer introduced in The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz, who has just scored a surprising courtroom victory. Denver police and prosecutors thought they had an easy case against drug suspect Jimmy Esch, but Montez discovers an unconstitutional search and seizure that allows his client to walk. Within hours, though, Montez's outlook sours. Esch is murdered, and Montez, who find the body, quickly becomes the prime suspect of resentful cops. His only alibi is Esch's enigmatic sister Lisa, who had invited Montez to have a drink on the evening of the murder. When Lisa disappears, the lawyer realizes that he must uncover his own exculpating evidence. After hitchhiking west to question a cop involved in the Esch arrest, Montez returns to Denver to dodge police and smoke out Esch's killer. All the while, he and his family are strained by his elderly father's illness. Denver Legal Aid attorney Ramos's finely crafted tales contribute a welcome Hispanic voice to the mystery genre. (Mar.)

Kirkus Reviews

It's a great day for Denver attorney Luis Montez when his well-connected client Jimmy Esch, charged with cocaine possession, walks on a technicality—arresting officer Thomas Strayhorn changes his account of the bust on the stand—and Luis, still recovering from his secretary/lover Evangelina's defection, lets Jimmy's sister Lisa talk him into bed. But the next day is not so good, with Strayhorn killed in an accident, Jimmy stabbed to death, Lisa vanished, and the cops, who figure that Luis suborned Strayhorn's perjury on the stand and is now covering his tracks after Jimmy panicked, looking for Luis with warrants for homicide and kidnapping. Naturally, Luis does just what any stand-up guy would do in his situation: jumps bail, wrestles a gun from the trucker who offers him a ride out of town, steals said truck, and takes it on the lam to San Diego and an unrevealing conversation with Strayhorn's partner, bad cop Ben Martinez. But if Martinez isn't after Jimmy's share of the Esch family fortune, and Luis, despite what the cops think, isn't either, then who is? More urgently, how do the crimes Luis is unjustly accused of compare to the ones he's actually committed?

Ramos trades the intensity of Luis's first two cases (The Ballad of Gato Guerrero, 1994, etc.) for nonstop, pleasantly incredible action.