Daniel José Older
Roc
ISBN: 042527599X (ISBN13: 9780425275993)
Published January 5th, 2016
Carlos Delacruz isn’t fully alive, but he’s not completely dead, either. He’s an agent for the Council of the Dead, dealing with New York’s ghost problems.
A string of weird deaths in Von King Park gets his attention. People are dying in weird accidents far too often to be natural.
Kia works at Baba Eddie’s botánica, and thought Carlos was just one more of the weirdos that stopped by the store. An encounter with a nightmare at the park introduces Kia to Carlos’ world.
Reza drives working girls at night. One night after a drop off, her beloved Angie disappears without a trace. Reza fears Angie is dead, and whoever did it will pay.
These three Point Of View characters converge in a fast paced, action driven story that has all three of them dealing with loss in their own ways. Carlos has no memories of before he’d died, and he pines for a lost love. Kia is missing her cousin, and later, realizes her life will never be normal again. Reza has lost her beloved, and will do whatever it takes to get revenge.
A conspiracy that involves roaches, death, and enslaved child ghosts brings the three of them together to find answers, set things right, and come to terms with their own losses. This is the second in the Bone Street Rumba series, but can be read standalone (as I did).
This was a particularly fun read. Snappy dialogue, diverse and interesting characters, steady pacing and loads of action leaves you anxiously looking for the next installment. Personally, I hope to see more of Kia–afro-haloed, kickass goddess–in future Bone Street Rumba stories. She was definitely my favorite character.
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.