Del Rio by Jane Rosenthal is about a middle-age District Attorney named Callie. Callie has a sister named Mia, and a brother named Mike. This family is very dysfunctional, and the spouses of Mia and Mike are both into something they should not be.
After a child's arm is found by migrant workers, Callie McCall finds herself embroiled in uncovering a family secret and a murder investigation. She has to decide what to do, or if she should do anything. When she finds out that things are happening on both sides of the border, she decides she must find out what is going on, even if that means destroying everything she has worked for.
This novel was not bad to start with, although there were some things I was uncomfortable with (as someone who was raised in California), but I will address these things later. The story starts off interesting with Callie dealing with her horrible ex-husband, Sam, and her equally horrible brother-in-law, Jim Fletcher. The readers find out that Jim Fletcher is involved in something unsavory, involving children, but it takes a bit to find out what that unsavory thing is, and in the end there are several things. Callie travels to Mexico and back to her inherited orchard in California, hoping to find the answers to the death of the child, and trying to figure out what her brother-in-law, husband, sister, and brother might be into.
About halfway through the book it becomes a little bit disjointed as another character, Nathan, is added. It seemed very unnecessary for him to be inserted into the novel, and a lot of his chapters seemed like non-sequiturs. Then in the end I was not sure why he was there. I would have liked more into his character, and why he was important, but to me it seemed like he was in the novel to move some parts of the story along, when he wasn't really needed, or possibly when the author didn't know what exactly to do.
I was a little disappointed in the ending of the novel as well. A few of the bad characters really did "get what they had coming to them," but since at least two of the characters who did not deserve the endings they got (Mia and Mike), which meant it was not satisfactory. Callie was a bit of a disappointment to me as well. She seemed so strong in the beginning, but she continually discusses how much her political future means, and that makes her feel as if she cares, but does not really care, about the migrant workers or the death of the child whose arm was found.
One thing that really bothered me was the town, and how the Hispanics were described. Most seem like stereotypes, as someone from California, and that bothered me. Also the description of the town as a place filled with run-down Dollar stores, a place where you drive through with the windows up and the doors locked. I feel that this is a stereotype when in reality places with orchards, vineyards, and farms, with migrants working are usually peaceful, with high end stores and tourist destinations near them. This may be my own issue.
I'd say this is an interesting read, and you should give it a chance.
After a child's arm is found by migrant workers, Callie McCall finds herself embroiled in uncovering a family secret and a murder investigation. She has to decide what to do, or if she should do anything. When she finds out that things are happening on both sides of the border, she decides she must find out what is going on, even if that means destroying everything she has worked for.
This novel was not bad to start with, although there were some things I was uncomfortable with (as someone who was raised in California), but I will address these things later. The story starts off interesting with Callie dealing with her horrible ex-husband, Sam, and her equally horrible brother-in-law, Jim Fletcher. The readers find out that Jim Fletcher is involved in something unsavory, involving children, but it takes a bit to find out what that unsavory thing is, and in the end there are several things. Callie travels to Mexico and back to her inherited orchard in California, hoping to find the answers to the death of the child, and trying to figure out what her brother-in-law, husband, sister, and brother might be into.
About halfway through the book it becomes a little bit disjointed as another character, Nathan, is added. It seemed very unnecessary for him to be inserted into the novel, and a lot of his chapters seemed like non-sequiturs. Then in the end I was not sure why he was there. I would have liked more into his character, and why he was important, but to me it seemed like he was in the novel to move some parts of the story along, when he wasn't really needed, or possibly when the author didn't know what exactly to do.
I was a little disappointed in the ending of the novel as well. A few of the bad characters really did "get what they had coming to them," but since at least two of the characters who did not deserve the endings they got (Mia and Mike), which meant it was not satisfactory. Callie was a bit of a disappointment to me as well. She seemed so strong in the beginning, but she continually discusses how much her political future means, and that makes her feel as if she cares, but does not really care, about the migrant workers or the death of the child whose arm was found.
One thing that really bothered me was the town, and how the Hispanics were described. Most seem like stereotypes, as someone from California, and that bothered me. Also the description of the town as a place filled with run-down Dollar stores, a place where you drive through with the windows up and the doors locked. I feel that this is a stereotype when in reality places with orchards, vineyards, and farms, with migrants working are usually peaceful, with high end stores and tourist destinations near them. This may be my own issue.
I'd say this is an interesting read, and you should give it a chance.
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