I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Hollow Beasts
by Alisa Lynn Valdes
Series: Jodi Luna #1
Series Rating:
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on April 1, 2023
Genres: Crime Thriller
Pages: 253
Format: Kindle
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dirty Girls Social Club comes a wilderness thriller featuring Jodi Luna, a rookie game warden who takes on a terrorist group in rugged New Mexico.
After a long stint in academia, Jodi Luna leaves Boston for the wilds of New Mexico to start a new life as a game warden. Jodi is no stranger to the wilderness; her family has lived here for generations. Determined to protect her homeland, she nabs a poacher in her first week on the job.
But when he retaliates by stalking Jodi and her teenage daughter, a cat and mouse game leads Jodi to a white supremacist group deep in the mountains. She learns that new recruits are kidnapping women of color to prove their mettle to the organization’s leader.
When the local sheriff refuses to assist, Jodi joins up with young deputy Ashley Romero. Together, they set out to take down a terrorist network that will test not just their skills as investigators but also their knowledge of the land and commitment to its people.
But will Jodi’s fierce resolve to protect the voiceless put her loved ones in harm’s way?
Hollow Beasts by Alisa Lynn Valdes has a female game warden who doesn’t take anything for granted.
Can Jodi save her fellow citizens from harm?
Jodilynn “Jodi” Luna was born and raised in her small hometown in New Mexico until she left for college and never looked back. She has lived a hard life up to the start of the book and is trying to make things easier for her teenage daughter after being uprooted to move back to her hometown. Jodi seems like a good mother and could be a good game warden. There were just some things that I wouldn’t let slide as she did. Then again, different circumstances and outlooks on life. I tried to like Jodi, but I couldn’t connect to her like I wanted to be able to. However, I’m sure that some can relate to her better than I can.
The Mystery
Things were fine in Rio Truchas County, New Mexico, until recently, when body parts started to materialize in different parts of the county. Also, the body parts were female and of Mexican/Spanish origin. Jodi finds the first body part, and after a while, another character named Deputy Ashley Romero finds the other one, and they team up to take down whoever is doing this. I have to say that this mystery/story wasn’t for me. It definitely is for a mature audience.
Three Stars
I am giving Hollow Beasts by Alisa Lynn Valdes three stars. I wanted to try out this new author and see if I would like her story of a female Latina New Mexico Game Warden, but sadly it wasn’t for me. I think I was looking for something like a female Joe Pickett, yet I understand that isn’t possible as the differences in gender and ethnicity are immeasurable. Ms. Valdes is good at telling the story and had me outraged at the things that happened in the book. Although, I feel that some of these things could be true. I hope that they are not.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Hollow Beasts by Alisa Lynn Valdes.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Alisa Lynn Valdes
Alisa holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she majored in jazz performance on the tenor saxophone. Her master’s in journalism comes from Columbia University in New York City.
For twenty years, Alisa was a fitness professional, an educator for the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. After 15 years away from her native New Mexico, Alisa returned, to write novels. When she’s not writing, Alisa enjoys hiking, camping, fly fishing, kayaking and photography. A deeply spiritual person, Alisa was raised as an atheist but changed her view after a profound near-death experience in which she crossed over for a while.
Alisa once owned her own boutique scone bakery and is now working on her keto and paleo baking skills. She’s a volunteer with New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors. If she got to start over again, she’d choose to be a game warden instead of a writer. So now she’s doing the next best thing, and writing novels about Jodi Luna, a fictional New Mexico game warden. The first Jodi Luna book, HOLLOW BEASTS, will be published by Thomas & Mercer April 11, 2023. It’s available for pre-orders now.
Bio is taken from Author’s website!
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2023 Cloak and Dagger
- 2023 Goodreads RC
