Angustias, Puerto Rico, 1982Even a tropical paradise can have its little murders... In the early morning hours, a neighbor named Tomas Villareal knocks on the door of the home of Luis Gonzalo, the sheriff of Angustias, a small town in the mountains of Puerto Rico. Tomas reports that his son is missing, and the sheriff agrees to help search for the boy. Gonzalo is certain there is a simple explanation--that the child has just wandered off to visit a friend or fallen asleep in a field. But then a second child is reported missing, and there are no clues to her whereabouts either. Soon the sheriff, the parents, and the entire town are searching frantically, but the horrors have only just begun. Gonzalo begins to suspect an organized plot to harm the children of Angustias, and he races against the clock to prevent the town's children from disappearing one by one.

Blackout in Precinct Puerto Rico is the fifth installment in Stephen Torres' highly acclaimed Precinct Puerto Rico series It's Friday night when sixteen-year-old Luisa Ferré stumbles into Sheriff Luis Gonzalo' path--naked, battered, and so traumatized she won't say a word. Between partygoers and out of towners, it isn't long before the list of suspects begins to grow. "Searing... Fans of downbeat slice-of-life mysteries will be most rewarded." - Publishers Weekly

A celebration of people and pride! Explore the achievements and contributions of Latinos in the United States with this illuminating history. Latinos in the United States are a vibrant mix of people and multiple identities, each unique, varied, and accomplished. Beginning with the Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century, Latinos have been an important part of American society. They’ve fought the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and all wars in between and since, and in the last decade, their businesses have grown at twice the pace of the overall U.S. economy. The most complete and affordable single-volume reference on Latino history available today, Latino Almanac: From Columbus to Corporate America honors the history and the impact of Latinos on the United States. This hefty tome is a fascinating mix of biographies, little-known or misunderstood historical facts, and enlightening essays on significant legislation, movements, current issues, and achievements across a variety of fields, including business, labor, politics, the military, music, sports, law, media, religion, art, literature, theater, film, science, technology, and medicine. A large collection of 650 biographies includes both celebrated and lesser-known Latino stars, such as Dolores Fernández Huerta, labor leader Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court justice Juan Felipe Herrera, U.S. poet laureate Roberto C. Goizueta, businessperson, former CEO of Coca-Cola Selena Gómez, actor, singer, producer Rebecca Lobo, basketball player, sports analyst Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. congressperson Ellen Ochoa, astronaut, engineer Anthony R. Jiménez, entrepreneur María Hinojosa, journalist Dennis Chávez, U.S. senator Oscar Muñoz, businessperson, CEO United Airlines Antonia Novello, surgeon general of the United States Geraldo Miguel Rivera, journalist Lin-Manuel Miranda, playwright, actor, director Alex Rodríguez, baseball player Rodolfo Anaya, novelist Desi Arnaz, television producer, actor, singer Jessica Mendoza, sportscaster, softball player Nydia Velásquez, U.S. congressperson Edward James Olmos, actor Marco Rubio, U.S. senator Rita Moreno, actor, dancer César Chávez, labor leader Marcelo Claure, businessperson, former Sprint CEO Ariel Dorfman, playwright, novelist Miriam Colón, actress, theater owner, producer Joaquín Castro, chair of the Hispanic Congressional Caucus And many, many more! While Latinos are among both the original and newest immigrants, today the majority of U.S. Latinos were born here and most speak English—although most are bilingual to one degree or another. Their influence on the economy and culture continues to increase. Their impact on the United States has been wide-ranging. Salsa has even overtaken ketchup to become the most popular condiment in the United States! Devoted to illustrating the moving and often lost history of Latinos in America, Latino Almanac is a unique and valuable resource. Numerous photographs and illustrations, a helpful bibliography, a timeline, and an extensive index add to its usefulness. Commemorating and honoring Latino achievements, honors, and influence, this important book brings to light all there is to admire and discover about Latino Americans!

After having spent most of a Friday night making sure that the town's teenage revelers got home safely, the sheriff of Angustias, Puerto Rico, Luis Gonzalo climbs wearily into bed. Moments later he is jolted awake by a woman's piercing scream. He finds 16-year-old Luisa Ferre: barely conscious, naked and beaten. The ring of suspects range from family to lover, and with Gonzalo on the trail they are taken under custody. And yet the closer he comes to solving the case, the more his own life begins to fall apart... Filled with the same inriguing characters and stunning local color that made the first two books in the series such a success, Precinct Puerto Rico: Book 3 is nonstop, surprise-a-minute crime fiction from a soon-to-be-famous and not-to-be-missed crime writer.

Angustias, Puerto Rico, 1990. Even a tropical paradise can have its little murders. Luis Gonzalo, sheriff of the small town of Angustias in Puerto Rico’s central mountains, knows all there is to know about the people he has worked to protect for more than two decades. He knows that Elena Maldonado was beaten as a child. He knows that she was beaten as a wife. But when she winds up dead on the same day that she brings her newborn home from the hospital, he doesn’t know who has killed her. Elena’s drunken husband seems like the obvious culprit, but after a grisly attack in front of the Angustias police station, potential suspects come out of the woodwork and multiply. The case is further complicated when someone breaks into the crime scene, but no one can figure out what, if anything, was taken. Before the case is solved, Gonzalo and his deputies will be hard pressed to be certain that justice has been served, and the town of Angustias will be changed forever. A man will die in Gonzalo’s arms, a trusted friend will be brutalized, and a fortune worth millions will change hands. Throughout all the turmoil, Gonzalo will keep two special people in mind: Elena Maldonado, the young woman whose life of constant abuse the sheriff had been unable to salvage, and her child, so soon left motherless.

This three-volume encyclopedia describes and explains the variety and commonalities in Latina/o culture, providing comprehensive coverage of a variety of Latina/o cultural forms—popular culture, folk culture, rites of passages, and many other forms of shared expression. In the last decade, the Latina/o population has established itself as the fastest growing ethnic group within the United States, and constitutes one of the largest minority groups in the nation. While the different Latina/o groups do have cultural commonalities, there are also many differences among them. This important work examines the historical, regional, and ethnic/racial diversity within specific traditions in rich detail, providing an accurate and comprehensive treatment of what constitutes "the Latino experience" in America. The entries in this three-volume set provide accessible, in-depth information on a wide range of topics, covering cultural traditions including food; art, film, music, and literature; secular and religious celebrations; and religious beliefs and practices. Readers will gain an appreciation for the historical, regional, and ethnic/racial diversity within specific Latina/o traditions. Accompanying sidebars and "spotlight" biographies serve to highlight specific cultural differences and key individuals.

From East L.A. to the barrios of New York City and the Cuban neighborhoods of Miami, Latino literature, or literature written by Hispanic peoples of the United States, is the written word of North America's vibrant Latino communities. Emerging from the fusion of Spanish, North American, and African cultures, it has always been part of the American mosaic. Written for students and general readers, this encyclopedia surveys the vast landscape of Latino literature from the colonial era to the present. Aiming to be as broad and inclusive as possible, the encyclopedia covers all of native North American Latino literature as well as that created by authors originating in virtually every country of Spanish America and Spain. Included are more than 700 alphabetically arranged entries written by roughly 60 expert contributors. While most of the entries are on writers, such as Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Oscar Hijuelos, and Piri Thomas, others cover genres, ethnic and national literatures, movements, historical topics and events, themes, concepts, associations and organizations, and publishers and magazines. Special attention is given to the cultural, political, social, and historical contexts in which Latino literature has developed. Entries cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography. Entries cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography. The encyclopedia gives special attention to the social, cultural, historical, and political contexts of Latino literature, thus making it an ideal tool to help students use literature to learn about history and cultural diversity.