Lives of Desperation in a Land of Hope

LAND OF CAREFUL SHADOWS
Suzanne Chazin
Kensington Books
November 2014


It is not every day that I pick up a mystery novel that not only keeps me on the edge of my seat but expands my understanding of a very current issue. In the case of Land of Careful Shadows, the issue is that of illegal immigration. The novel is set in a small upstate New York town, a town torn apart by racial tensions resulting from an influx of undocumented workers from Latin America. Jimmy Vega, a detective of Puerto Rican descent on the Lake Holly force is called when a body is pulled from the local reservoir. The body is that of a young woman, obviously a Latina. Even worse, on the body is a picture of the victim with a small child and a note telling her to "go back to her own country". Who is she, who could have killed her; and where is the child?

Before those questions are answered, Jimmy gets a very personal look at the lives of undocumented workers. Having survived the brutal journey north, they arrive in a country that is entirely unwelcoming. Hampered by a lack of language skills and a lack of documentation, they live lives of despair. They are exploited by the very people who hire them to do the jobs that are "beneath them" and even worse, by those who arrived with proper documentation. The victim is only one of the immigrants whose story is told in Land of Careful Shadows. I was especially affected by the story of Rodrigo who survived not one but two journeys north. Rodrigo is a man of honor, a man with flaws, but one who only wishes to provide a better life for his family back in Guatemala. Rodrigo suffers abuse, backbreaking work, hunger and suspicion without breaking, retaining his dignity no matter the cost. Whatever your political stance on illegal immigration, I fail to see how anyone could not be affected by his struggle

Land of Careful Shadows also illuminates the personal journey of Jimmy Vega. Born in the Bronx, he went to school and grew up in Lake Holly. He has lost touch with his heritage, but the case and his acquaintance with an immigration activist bring him "home" again. The solution to the case is much closer to him than he could ever have imagined. I highly recommend Land of Careful Shadows. I look forward to A Blossom of Bright Light, coming in October from Kensington Books.

RATING- 4.5 Stars