Audio: Land of Careful Shadows @suzannechazin #AmandoDuran @BlackstoneAudio #LoveAudiobooks

Posted December 18, 2019 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 12 Comments

Audio: Land of Careful Shadows @suzannechazin #AmandoDuran @BlackstoneAudio #LoveAudiobooksLand of Careful Shadows by Suzanne Chazin
Narrator: Armando Duran
Series: Jimmy Vega Mystery #1
Published by Blackstone Audiobooks on November 25, 2014
Genres: Mystery
Length: 11 hours, 11 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
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One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

Land of Careful Shadows by award-winning author Suzanne Chazin is a powerful mystery full of passion and secrets that deals with a clash of cultures and familial relationships, and it's full of drama, mystery, and raw emotions.

When the dead body of a Latino woman is found in a reservoir about 50 miles north of Manhattan, with a photo of a baby in her purse nearby, the police try to determine who the child is and if it is still alive. Along with the photo, they also find a disturbing note in the purse: "Go back to your country. You don't belong here."

Homicide detective Jimmy Vega is Latino too, so he knows how hard it can be for an outsider to fit into a close-knit town like Lake Holly. Vega is a highly respected officer of the law, and he is challenged and intrigued by Adele Figueroa, a passionate defender of immigrants' rights. Vega must rethink everything he believes in order to uncover the truths about his town, his family, and himself.

Land of Careful Shadows is a tour de force of literary suspense and an intimate journey into the human heart.

I found this Jimmy Vega Mystery series in a review at a friend’s blog and decided I needed to try it. I’ve been in a full on mystery / suspense/ thriller type binge.  Land of Careful Shadows is a police procedural of sorts, but so much more.

The main character is Jimmy Vega, a state homicide detective, and of Hispanic background.  His hometown, Lake Holly, New York seems to have quite a large population of immigrants and undocumented Hispanics from a variety of countries. Jimmy is of Puerto Rican heritage.

Jimmy had been a victim of racial profiling in his past, which caused him to lose a music scholarship and changed the course of his life and career.  He comes up against the prejudices and profiling as he tries to solve the death and suspected homicide of an undocumented Guatemalan woman, and hunt for her child.

It would be easy for law enforcement if another undocumented person was responsible since they wouldn’t have to look at any of their “own” people.  There are also a variety of hate crimes happening which may or may not be related. Jimmy needs information and witnesses to solve these crimes and the actual information may lie with the Hispanic community.

I was struck by the issues of immigration, what is right, and what is legal, and how difficult a line it is.  Jimmy’s past and present collide and present real dilemmas for him as he works to solve the crimes and do what is right and legal.

Narration:

The tone and accents in the narration felt very authentic, yet the voices were easy to understand and comfortable for listening.  Both male and female voices were well performed.  I enjoyed listening at my usual 1.5x speed.

Listen to a clip:

About Suzanne Chazin

Suzanne Chazin was born in Manhattan and raised in Tenafly, NJ, the only child of immigrants. Her father was born in Russia. Her mother was born and raised in England.

A former journalist, Suzanne is the award-winning author of two mystery series. Her first stars Georgia Sheehan, an FDNY firefighter-turned-fire investigator (The Fourth Angel, Flashover and Fireplay). Her second stars Jimmy Vega, an upstate NY homicide detective navigating the world of the undocumented (Land of Careful Shadows, A Blossom of Bright Light, No Witness But the Moon).

The Georgia Skeehan/FDNY series was inspired by Suzanne’s husband who is a high-ranking chief in the FDNY. The Jimmy Vega series was inspired by Suzanne’s work with Latino immigrants near her home in Westchester County, NY. A Blossom of Bright Light, book #2 in the series, was an Amazon “mystery pick of the month.” Land of Careful Shadows, book #1, was chosen among the top five mystery books of 2016 by the American Library Association.

Rating Breakdown
Plot
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Writing
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Characters
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Narration (Audio)
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Anne - Books of My Heart
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2019 Audiobooks
  • 2019 Library-Love
  • BTB 2019
  • COYER Friends

Posted December 18, 2019 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 12 Comments


12 responses to “Audio: Land of Careful Shadows