In the Heat
By Ian Vasquez
(Minotaur Books, Hardcover, 9780312378097, 256pp.)
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Other Editions of This Title: Google eBook
Categories: Mystery & Detective - General
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Boxer Miles Young thinks he’s got one more shot in him before it’s time to hang up the gloves for good. He may be the only one who thinks so. The truth is, he enjoys the recognition his career has brought him at home, in the small Latin American country of Belize, and he’s worried about how he’ll support his daughter once it’s over. So when his promoter comes to him with a proposition that includes one last big fight, he listens.
Isabelle Gilmore wants Miles to find her daughter, who’s run off with some of her mother’s money and her no-good boyfriend. Isabelle’s afraid Rian’s going to marry the kid, the only son of corrupt ex--police chief Marlon Tablada, and she wants Rian---and the money---found. In return, Miles gets put on a fight card with a $30,000 payday.
He’s reluctant, but Isabelle thinks a hometown hero can get people to talk in ways a private investigator can’t. Trouble is, before he can find Rian, he learns that there’s much more to Isabelle, her daughter, and Marlon than Isabelle let on.
Clearly at home in the world of hardboiled crime writing, debut novelist Ian Vasquez is a bright new talent who infuses In the Heat with a steamy, exotic voice all his own.
Ian Vasquez, an avid boxing fan and a copy editor at the St. Petersburg Times, received his MFA while working on a psychiatric ward and counseling at-risk high school students. Raised in Belize, he lives near Tampa Bay, Florida, with his family. This is his first novel.
Advance Praise for In the Heat
“In the Heat is a raw, muscular first novel with a serious punch. Set in an exotic part of the world that Ian Vasquez knows intimately, this is a sinewy, sweat-soaked story about an honest man struggling to uncover the truth in a tangle of lies and treachery. Miles Young is a cool dude, a man you can trust with your secrets, your cash, and your loved ones, and a hero I’d love to see more of.”
---James W. Hall, author of Hell’s Bay
“Ian Vasquez is an excellent writer, and In the Heat is a terrific debut. Smart plotting, excellent dialogue, and a natural gift for storytelling. Read it, and you’ll understand what I mean.”
---James Swain, author of Midnight Rambler
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