The Devil Riding - Softcover

Wesley, Valerie W

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0380732084 ISBN 13: 9780380732081

Publisher: Avon, 2002

Synopsis

Tamara Hayle is never going to be as rich as the Desmonds, one of Newark, New Jersey's most affluent and influential black families. But the struggling p.i. wouldn't want their troubles either, now that their rebellious daughter Gabriella has run off to Atlantic City, where a serial killer is prowling the streets. For a substantial fee, however, Tamara's willing to join the hunt for the missing African-American heiress -- expecially after Gabriella's last known roommate joins the ranks of the murdered. Somwhere in the twilight zone that separates the poor and the wealthy of color -- in the terrifying shadow of a deadly criminal kingpin -- are shocking secrets that Tamara needs to uncover. And suddenly the Desmonds' woes -- lethal and devastating -- have become Tamara's own.

About this title

Review:

Tamara Hayle is one of the genre's most interesting PIs, a hard-working single mother with a no-nonsense approach to her work and a soft spot for kids. In The Devil Riding, the sixth outing for her series' heroine, Valerie Wilson Wesley turns in what may be her breakout book.

Tamara is working undercover in Atlantic City, looking for a missing teenager whose wealthy parents seem to have ambivalent feelings about finding her, and as Tamara gets closer to the action and more pretty young girls keep turning up dead, she begins to understand why. Gabriella Desmond is the stepdaughter of a wealthy businessman who's something of a hero in the African American community, and there are a few skeletons in the Desmond background he doesn't want exposed, regardless of his wife's concerns about Gabriella. And Gabriella's real father is a right-wing firebrand whose anti-abortion politics are as central to the plot as the Desmond family secrets. Amid the gaudy glitter of the casinos, Tamara befriends a scared girl who may know what happened to Gabriella, and she snags a lead to the other killings that are clearly tied into Gabriella's disappearance. She also runs into Basil Dupre, who she last saw lying in a pool of blood on a balcony in Jamaica. This fascinating, sexy, strong-willed man has the ability to bring Tamara's passion to life unlike anyone else. He may not be someone a girl can count on for the long haul, but before this well-written story is finished, you'll understand why he's worth it. If The Devil Riding is your first encounter with Tamara Hayle, you'll soon be searching for Wesley's backlist, starting with When Death Comes Stealing. --Jane Adams

About the Author:

Valerie Wilson Wesley is the author of the novels Always True to You in My Fashion and Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do, winner of the 2000 Best Fiction Award of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, as well as the nationally bestselling Tamara Hayle mystery series. A contributing editor at Essence magazine, her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Ms. and the New York Times. She lives in New Jersey.

About this edition

• Publisher: Avon
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0380732084
• ISBN 13: 9780380732081
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304