The Night Charter

September 7, 2015
Camaro Espinoza, the intense and capable heroine of a series of novellas from Hawken (Camaro Run, etc.), makes her full-length debut in this hard-boiled thriller. A former army medic with two tours in the Middle East, Camaro (whose father was into cars) now skippers a deep sea charter fishing boat out of Miami. Parker Story initially tells her that he wants to hire her for some night fishing, but his true purpose is to smuggle a dissident out of Cuba. Camaro agrees, but the plan goes awry when the leader of the operation goes rogue and attempts to blackmail the Cuban exile group financing it for a higher payout. Not part of the blackmail plot, Parker fears that his 14-year-old daughter, Lauren, is in danger from his inadvertent involvement and asks Camaro for help. Fortunately, Camaro has an ironclad sense of justice that includes meting out violence against the bad guys when necessary. Hawken delivers a potent climax that winds its way through an unremitting firefight to a satisfying conclusion. Agent: Oli Munson, A.M. Heath (U.K.).

September 15, 2015
A beautiful former combat medic takes on Miami's bad guys in Hawken's (Tequila Sunset, 2014, etc.) tale of honor, betrayal, and international intrigue. Camaro Espinoza fled New York after killing five evil men (we never learn any more about this; maybe in a later volume?) and ended up in Miami, where she's built a business as a charter boat operator. She takes the Annabel-a 50-foot fishing boat-out in the deep seas around the port city for fishing groups by day or by night. When Parker Story, a down-on-his-luck ex-con who's trying to lift himself and his 14-year-old daughter, Lauren, out of poverty, shows up with a proposition, Camaro is sure there's a catch, and she's right: Story's acting as frontman for the mean-spirited Matt, another former convict. Matt and his cronies have been hired to smuggle a man out of Cuba. Only problem is that Matt, who was involved in a pawnshop robbery in which three men died, is being watched by a Miami Police detective. Although she has misgivings, Camaro decides to go through with the pickup in order to help Story, but when she does, everything goes sideways, and she soon finds herself on the run with a teenager in tow and both the police and bad guys on her trail. Hawken's a good writer, and, except for an occasional creative verb, he keeps his prose lean. And Camaro is a worthy protagonist, someone who will resonate with readers over many volumes. However, there are some stumbles in the plotting. For example, Camaro seems much too smart to get involved with Story's scheme, and her violent nature is somewhat puzzling. It's also implausible that the powerful men who hire Matt and his crew would resort to a two-bit criminal rather than simply doing it themselves. A well-written novel, but the intricate plot teeters precariously on a rash of bad decisions made by otherwise street-smart people.

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December 1, 2015

Camaro Espinoza, a car aficionado and former army medic, is now a charter boat captain in Miami. After a slight dust-up in New York, she is content to take clients out to fish, finding it conducive to a peaceful mind. Then Camaro is hired to transport a man out of Cuba. Never a smart move, especially when the crew that employs you resembles the Keystone Kops. Everybody ends up dead, and Camaro is on the run with $40,000 and the 14-year-old daughter of one of the crooks. How is she going to get out of Miami and keep the girl safe? And who are the true villains here: Cuban exiles trying to overthrow Fidel Castro, or the hard-line communists attempting to hold onto power? VERDICT The author of the "Border Trilogy" launches a new series with a tough-minded, compellingly drawn female protagonist. The fascinating political background and gritty dialog help propel this fast-paced, entertaining mystery. Sure to attract fans of Jon Land's "Caitlin Strong" books.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2015
Camaro Espinoza is a charter-boat captain living a quiet life, taking south Florida tourists deep-sea fishing. Parker Story is an ex-con who is trying to do the right thing but just keeps getting kicked to the curb, so he acquiesces when his old prison cellmate offers him the job of chartering a boat. Story asks Camaro to smuggle a political dissident out of Cuba and offers her a large sum for her services, but it is not the money she's interested init's Parker Story. He desperately needs her help with this job, as well as making her promise to get his young daughter to his brother in Texas should anything go wrong. Camaro was a combat medic and still has those skills, which stand her in good stead as nothing goes as planned with the Cuban passenger. This is a fast-moving story with lots of action, some interesting twists, and the deadliest female protagonist since Jon Land's Caitlin Strong and Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)