Mamacita Murders by Debra Mares

Synopsis:  When Laura, a seventeen year old key witness goes missing during trial, Assistant Prosecutor Gaby Ruiz is called to action. Ruiz investigates the sexual assault on Laura, who is left for dead in a motel in a drug- and gang-ridden community. Did Clown, Laura’s boyfriend, try to kill her when she tried to leave the Lincoln Gang’s prostitution ring or – did a random assailant ransack Laura’s room and assault her or – or did law enforcement try to kill Laura to protect one of their own?  The investigation twists from the backwoods in Tuckford County to the back rooms of law enforcement buildings all the way to the Walled City.

Gabriela Ruiz is a sex crimes prosecutor in Tuckford County and runs The Mamacita Club, a community outreach effort from her chrome Vintage Airstream motorhome. She travels with her girlfriends around the county to reach at-risk women. Women affected by drugs, gang and domestic violence, sex crimes, and broken homes–they’re all in The Mamacita Club. Gaby has spent all of her professional life seeking justice for others. But it is not until Laura goes missing, that Gaby is able to start searching for justice for herself and begin to fix her own guilt-ridden past for not protecting her mom from an abusive relationship–this time to save her own life and seek closure over her own mother’s death.

Review:  The Mamacita Murders  by Debra Mares is an excellent read, that I highly recommend.  The author is a lawyer so, the book seems true-to-life in many aspects of this crime story.  I really like lead character Gaby.  Despite and perhaps because of, tragic events in her past Gaby who is a prosecutor makes it her life mission to help at-risk women.  Because of this passion she is drawn into a case that endangers her life and those of the members of the Mamacita Club.  Gaby has a lot of character and sass and is the kind of friend I'd love to have in real life.  Gaby's friends - the other leaders of the Mamacita Club - are excellent secondary characters and play a strong role in helping Gaby uncover truths about herself and find her own path.  Ms. Mares is an excellent writer and I will be looking for future books penned by her.