Book Review: In Desperation by Rick Mofina

In Desperation
Rick Mofina
Mira, 2011
ISBN No. 978-0778329480
Mass Market Paperback

Jack Gannon is working on a story in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.  Jack is a journalist employed by Word Press Alliance.    Jack and Isabel Luna, a crime reporter for El Heralda, a family owned newspaper in Juarez, have just discovered a mother cradling her dead son in her arms.  The boy was only 16 and the third child that Paula Chavez had lost to the drug wars raging in Mexico.

Jack has also lost his family.   His sister, Cora, left home when she was just a teen-ager.  Jack’s parents are deceased.  Prior to their death, they had done everything possible to locate Cora but they were not successful in their search.    Members of a drug cartel had murdered Isabel’s father.  Isabel confided in Jack that she had actually witnessed her father’s death and had seen his murderer.

Meanwhile in Phoenix, Arizona a mother named Cora Martin is terrified.  Her eleven year-old daughter, Tilly, has been kidnapped.  The men who took Cora said that her boss, who was also her boyfriend, Lyle Galviera had stolen money from them.  Lyle owns Quick Draw Courier and had been using his company to launder money for the drug cartel.  The kidnappers’ state that Tilly will not be returned until the money is recovered.  Cora is told if she wants to see her daughter, she must find Lyle and make sure he returns their money.

The kidnappers have left Cora tied up but she was finally able to free herself.  She knows Lyle is out of town on business but when she tries to make contact, she cannot reach him.

Back in Juarez, Jack has just heard from Isabel that a power struggle is about to explode within one of the major cartels and assassins might be used.  Jack assures Isabel that he will be there. However, that promise to Isabel is one that Jack was unable to keep.

When Jack opens his email, he eyes are drawn to a subject line that says “Your sister Cora Needs Your Help Now”.  Jack has not heard from Cora for twenty years but he still cannot turn his back on her.  His next step is to fly to Phoenix to help Cora deal with the kidnappers and attempt to get Tilly back alive.

Jack’s emotions are playing leapfrog as he tries to help Cora.  At times, she is the sister that he had known so many years ago.  Other times he feels that she is a stranger who is holding back details of her life that might have a bearing on the current situation.  The World Press Alliance wants the scoop on the story but Jack is not able to feed them any inside information.  Even the authorities are not open with Jack because of his work as a journalist.

Rick Mofina has written another exciting story that will keep readers holding their breath.  This is the third in the Jack Gannon series.  It is not necessary to read the first two in the series to enjoy this book.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, February 2011.

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August 11, 2011  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Full Reviews

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