Review by Kistune -- Desert Sanctuary by Fred G. Baker
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Kistune
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Review by Kistune -- Desert Sanctuary by Fred G. Baker
[Following is a volunteer review of "Desert Sanctuary" by Fred G. Baker.]
Desert Sanctuary by Fred G. Baker is the second novel within the Detective Sanchez and Father Montero Mystery Series, a pair whom I have grown to love throughout the story. It is not necessary to have read the first novel before reading Desert Sanctuary and this story can be regarded as a standalone novel. The plot started out strong with Detective Sanchez and her colleagues of Phoenix Police Department hiding out to ambush a drug deal. The situation quickly turned south with both the police and the infamous Westside Gang opening fire at each other. Among the rain of bullets, Sanchez went after Police Captain Ronald Gurvy after seeing him leave with the gang boss Roberto Gomez, towards the junkyard. The junkyard was dark within and Sanchez was unable to make out what truly transacted between Gurvy and Gomez. It was only while she was chasing after footfalls within the junkyard did she stumble upon the body of the two men who were shot dead at the scene. This placed Sanchez as the first person to have found the bodies of Gurvy and Gomez, and the most likely suspect of their murders. Her situation was worsened when she found herself framed and marked by the gang units. The story then brings us through the very fast-paced journey of Sanchez's attempt at exonerating herself with the help of her friends.
I love how the action-packed first chapter was able to quickly draw in my attention, detailing the process of the takedown and building up quickly towards the main mystery of the story, which were the deaths of Gurvy and Gomez. The Southwestern setting of the book was also portrayed nicely by the author with appropriate peppering of harsh words and on occasional a vulgarity to fully bring out the feel of the Southwest. As such, this book is probably not suitable for younger audiences due to the vulgarities used within the text. However, its usage was not distasteful and I found them to be rather appropriate within the plot.
What I liked most about the story is reading about the friendships Sanchez has and the lengths in which her friends were willing to go to help her. Friendship is a recurring theme within the plot, with only very slight touches on romance. It focuses solely on solving the mystery. This is a major plus point for me. Along the process, I have also grown to care deeply about the characters, not only Sanchez and Montero, but also her other friends. As the story wrapped up neatly at the end, it left me a sense of satisfaction and within me the eagerness to read more about their life and the cases. I also love that the author touches on the topic of legal immigrants of Latin America and the meaning of sanctuary by making use of the story to educate the readers on the difference between illegal and legal refugees. Their plights were highlighted within the story, allowing the readers to learn about their situation and hopefully is able to resolve any stigma present against them.
The element that I disliked the most in the story would be the predictability of the plots. There were no surprises within the reveals. Nonetheless, the journey through the plot was still rather engaging for me and that is why I am willing to rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I have enjoyed the journey with Sanchez and her friends and am also excited to read the other books in this installment. In fact, I will likely search for the first book in this series right after writing this review.
There are no spelling errors within the story but rather errors with using the wrong word. It appears that the writing has gone through a computer spellcheck but has not been read by an editor. The errors are however, minor and does not greatly affect the interpretation of the story.
I would recommend this book to those who love a classic detective story with action-packed scenes. If you do not mind the predictability of the story but instead focuses on the enjoyment of the reading journey, this book will be suitable for you. If being able to predict the plot twists give you a short ego boost, this book will be suitable for you as well.
******
Desert Sanctuary
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Desert Sanctuary by Fred G. Baker is the second novel within the Detective Sanchez and Father Montero Mystery Series, a pair whom I have grown to love throughout the story. It is not necessary to have read the first novel before reading Desert Sanctuary and this story can be regarded as a standalone novel. The plot started out strong with Detective Sanchez and her colleagues of Phoenix Police Department hiding out to ambush a drug deal. The situation quickly turned south with both the police and the infamous Westside Gang opening fire at each other. Among the rain of bullets, Sanchez went after Police Captain Ronald Gurvy after seeing him leave with the gang boss Roberto Gomez, towards the junkyard. The junkyard was dark within and Sanchez was unable to make out what truly transacted between Gurvy and Gomez. It was only while she was chasing after footfalls within the junkyard did she stumble upon the body of the two men who were shot dead at the scene. This placed Sanchez as the first person to have found the bodies of Gurvy and Gomez, and the most likely suspect of their murders. Her situation was worsened when she found herself framed and marked by the gang units. The story then brings us through the very fast-paced journey of Sanchez's attempt at exonerating herself with the help of her friends.
I love how the action-packed first chapter was able to quickly draw in my attention, detailing the process of the takedown and building up quickly towards the main mystery of the story, which were the deaths of Gurvy and Gomez. The Southwestern setting of the book was also portrayed nicely by the author with appropriate peppering of harsh words and on occasional a vulgarity to fully bring out the feel of the Southwest. As such, this book is probably not suitable for younger audiences due to the vulgarities used within the text. However, its usage was not distasteful and I found them to be rather appropriate within the plot.
What I liked most about the story is reading about the friendships Sanchez has and the lengths in which her friends were willing to go to help her. Friendship is a recurring theme within the plot, with only very slight touches on romance. It focuses solely on solving the mystery. This is a major plus point for me. Along the process, I have also grown to care deeply about the characters, not only Sanchez and Montero, but also her other friends. As the story wrapped up neatly at the end, it left me a sense of satisfaction and within me the eagerness to read more about their life and the cases. I also love that the author touches on the topic of legal immigrants of Latin America and the meaning of sanctuary by making use of the story to educate the readers on the difference between illegal and legal refugees. Their plights were highlighted within the story, allowing the readers to learn about their situation and hopefully is able to resolve any stigma present against them.
The element that I disliked the most in the story would be the predictability of the plots. There were no surprises within the reveals. Nonetheless, the journey through the plot was still rather engaging for me and that is why I am willing to rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I have enjoyed the journey with Sanchez and her friends and am also excited to read the other books in this installment. In fact, I will likely search for the first book in this series right after writing this review.
There are no spelling errors within the story but rather errors with using the wrong word. It appears that the writing has gone through a computer spellcheck but has not been read by an editor. The errors are however, minor and does not greatly affect the interpretation of the story.
I would recommend this book to those who love a classic detective story with action-packed scenes. If you do not mind the predictability of the story but instead focuses on the enjoyment of the reading journey, this book will be suitable for you. If being able to predict the plot twists give you a short ego boost, this book will be suitable for you as well.
******
Desert Sanctuary
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Desert Sanctuary by Fred G. Baker
