Guest Blogger Tomorrow

There will be no book review today, but I will say I am reading Double Cross by James Patterson and enjoying it. I recently started reading his books again after reading I, Alex a year or so ago, and I admire his ability to keep a reader engaged. It's true that Alex Cross is a bit over the top sometimes, but so is James Bond. They are fictional super-heroes so they have to be bigger than life.

Whoops, this is almost a review isn't it.

What I intended to do this morning was introduce you to John Desjarlais, a fellow mystery author. Granted he is not as well-known as James Patterson, but he weaves a good tale. John is the author of Bleeder and Viper, both books of mystery that blend  Aztec myth and Mexican Catholicism. He will share a bit about how he studied to get the characterization of the Latina protagonist in Viper just right.
         
A former producer with Wisconsin Public Radio, Desjarlais teaches journalism and English at Kishwaukee College in Malta, Ill. A member of Mystery Writers of America, Desjarlais is listed in Who’s Who in Entertainment and Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.


About the Book:

            On All Souls Day, Selena De La Cruz’s name is entered in her parish church's “Book of the Deceased.” The problem is, she's not dead. And someone thinks she should be.

            John Desjarlais’ latest mystery, Viper, the sequel to 2009’s Bleeder, brings back fiery Latina insurance agent Selena De La Cruz. Working against time, prejudice, and her own Latino community’s suspicions, she reluctantly re-joins her old DEA colleagues to hunt a deadly drug dealer who is out of jail and systematically killing everyone who ever crossed him. Can they stop him before he reaches her name on the gruesome hit list?

            As in  the first book, Desjarlais sets the tale in the colorful small-town settings of “Sinnissippi County” of northern Illinois, this time expanding to Chicago to explore issues of immigration and bi-cultural identity against a rich backdrop of Aztec mythology and Mexican Catholicism.

            His historical novels and mysteries are available at Amazon.com.

                   For more information, visit www.johndesjarlais.com