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    White Tombs
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    White Tombs
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    White Tombs
    Ebook392 pages5 hours

    White Tombs

    By Christopher Valen

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    When a prominent leader of St. Paul's close-knit Hispanic community is murdered, Detective John Santana promises the widow he will bring down the killer. Despite the snow and bitter cold, the case heats up quickly-suspects are killed before they can be questioned; his alcoholic partner's trigger finger draws the attention of Internal Affairs; a sexually explicit photo of a murder victim surfaces in an unlikely place; a snow plow becomes a deadly weapon; and police brass threaten to pull Santana off the case. Hunted by an assassin out for revenge and haunted by his violent Colombian past and the younger sister he left behind, Santana's simple vow to a dead man's wife becomes an oath that could cost him his life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChristopher Valen
    Release dateFeb 8, 2012
    ISBN9781465703125
    Unavailable
    White Tombs
    Author

    Christopher Valen

    Christopher Valen is the author of eight works of fiction featuring Colombian born St. Paul Homicide Detective John Santana, White Tombs (2008), The Black Minute (2009), Bad Weeds Never Die (2011), Bone Shadows (2012), Death's Way (2014), The Darkness Hunter (2015), Speak For The Dead (2017), and The Price Of Life (2021).Bone Shadows won the Midwest Independent Publisher's Award for Best Mystery/Thriller.Christopher is also the author of the historical noir murder mystery City Of Stones (2019) along with author Dan Cohen.Christopher is a graduate of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Citizen Academy and has many contacts and resources in the law enforcement community. He lives in Minnesota and Arizona with his Colombian born wife, Martha.

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    Reviews for White Tombs

    4/5

    6 ratings2 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Great first mystery novel by Christopher Valen. Mystery takes place in St. Paul, Minnesota. Interesting characters and background of Hispanic community in St. Paul. Central character is Detective John Santana, who grew up in Columbia. Can't wait for the next installment
    • 4/5
      White Tombs by Christopher Valen is a great new crime novel introducing John Santana, homicide detective for the St. Paul Police Department. Originally from Columbia, Santana is a smooth, tough and somewhat mysterious detective that we slowly get to know better over the course of the book. In White Tombs he becomes embroiled in the investigation of three murders - of three members of St. Paul's close-knit Hispanic community - that are connected. But only Santana suspects what the true connection between them might be.Santana's investigation, set in the snowy, icy cold of a St. Paul winter, takes on increasing complexity as he digs deeper into the lives of those murdered, and those that knew them. The hard, unforgiving edge of winter complements the solitary path John Santana must take in his investigation, and the cold penetrates the novel even as it surrounds his life. The flavor of Hispanic culture also infuses the book, with the occasional Spanish phrases and detail adding to the authenticity; deftly woven into the story without detracting to the non-Spanish reader.Christopher Valen's direct prose and detailed description is softened with elegant metaphors that elevate his writing above that of a simple dime detective novel. We also get to know detective Santana slowly, his story unfolding over time, which lends a richness and depth to his character that leaves the reader wanting to know more about him. Many of the characters in the book are the kind that one expects in a crime novel - the beautiful woman suspect, the cop you love to hate, the old flame - but they're described nicely and written in believably, and after all - isn't that why we love crime dramas? Occasionally Valen's writing style is a little too choppy, especially at the beginning of the novel - sentences too short, more detail than necessary slowing the flow of the narrative - but on the whole the style works, and makes it a crisp, believable story. This is a solid start to what could be a terrific series of books. There is plenty to mine in Santana's story for future use, and the Hispanic viewpoint presents a fresh way to approach this genre.