The Desert Saint: A Maria Varela Mystery (Maria Varela Mysteries Book 1)

Two bullets. One token. A lifetime of secrets.Detective Maria Varela has spent her career fighting whispers that she only made detective because of her father — a now retired Las Vegas legend. But her arrests speak for themselves, and her reputation as one of the city’s best homicide detectives is hard-earned.Then her brother is murdered.The killer is someone the city thought was gone forever: the Desert Saint, a serial killer who terrorized Las Vegas in the early ’80s before vanishing without a trace. Five victims. Two bullets each. One haunting calling card.Now he’s back. And he’s chosen Maria’s family to target.As Maria hunts through decades-old case files and long-buried evidence, she uncovers a web of secrets connecting the past to the present — and discovers that her brother’s death may be part of something far more sinister.To catch the killer, Maria will have to decide how deep she wants to dig. Because in Las Vegas, some crimes are best left unsolved.Fans of Michael Connelly, Tana French, and Lisa Gardner will love this gritty, emotionally charged female detective thriller set in the dark underbelly of Las Vegas.“Noirish, hard-edged, and memorable.” — Booklife
“An emotionally charged, brilliantly written crime thriller.” — BestThrillers.comThe Desert Saint — a pulse-pounding mystery with complex characters, shocking twists, and a detective you’ll root for to the last page.__________________________________________★★★★★ “As much of a page-turner as anything I’ve read in recent memory. I raced through this book in two days.”
★★★★★ “Non-stop action, tight pacing, and great characters.”
★★★★★ “First surprise from this genre in a long time”