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Luis Gonzalo #1
Precinct Puerto Rico
Near Rincón, Puerto Rico, 1987.
Even a tropical paradise may have its little murders.
In his years as sheriff of Angustias, a small town nestled in Puerto Rico's mountainous heart, Luis Gonzalo has seen his share of violence. People kill for love and money in Angustias just as they do anywhere else. But it is during a visit to his wife's family in the seaside town of Rincón that Gonzalo encounters his greatest challenge.
A midnight call brings Gonzalo to a beach where bodies are washing ashore, victims of a shipwreck, victims of the illegal traffic in humans from the Dominican Republic. When he discovers evidence that the shipwreck was no accident, that the ship's captain was murdered, Gonzalo's life is threatened. When he discovers proof that Puerto Rican police were involved in the deaths of the illegal immigrants, the lives of his wife and children are threatened. The murder of one of his deputies brings Gonzalo no closer to the bottom of this mystery-- a mystery no other law enforcement agency wants to help him solve.
The first in a series of police procedural mysteries featuring Luis Gonzalo and the citizens and cops of Angustias, Precinct Puerto Book One is a brilliant beginning to a continuing story from a long overdue locale.
Even a tropical paradise may have its little murders.
In his years as sheriff of Angustias, a small town nestled in Puerto Rico's mountainous heart, Luis Gonzalo has seen his share of violence. People kill for love and money in Angustias just as they do anywhere else. But it is during a visit to his wife's family in the seaside town of Rincón that Gonzalo encounters his greatest challenge.
A midnight call brings Gonzalo to a beach where bodies are washing ashore, victims of a shipwreck, victims of the illegal traffic in humans from the Dominican Republic. When he discovers evidence that the shipwreck was no accident, that the ship's captain was murdered, Gonzalo's life is threatened. When he discovers proof that Puerto Rican police were involved in the deaths of the illegal immigrants, the lives of his wife and children are threatened. The murder of one of his deputies brings Gonzalo no closer to the bottom of this mystery-- a mystery no other law enforcement agency wants to help him solve.
The first in a series of police procedural mysteries featuring Luis Gonzalo and the citizens and cops of Angustias, Precinct Puerto Book One is a brilliant beginning to a continuing story from a long overdue locale.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2007
About the author
Steven Torres
29 books11 followersSteven Torres was born in the Bronx, spent part of his childhood in Puerto Rico and has authored six previously published novels. He teaches English in Connecticut where he lives with wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 8, 2020
3.25 Stars
This was good when it was good, and lame when it was lame. I won't say bad, but lame in its attempts to get from Point A to Point B. I can see the potential in this series, and I like what I see. I just hope the author sees it too, and improves.
**Disclaimer: This is a book started and finished during COVID-19. Due to stress and mental exhaustion, I cannot be held accountable for the small amount of reading that is getting done. **
This was good when it was good, and lame when it was lame. I won't say bad, but lame in its attempts to get from Point A to Point B. I can see the potential in this series, and I like what I see. I just hope the author sees it too, and improves.
**Disclaimer: This is a book started and finished during COVID-19. Due to stress and mental exhaustion, I cannot be held accountable for the small amount of reading that is getting done. **
December 7, 2022
2022 bk 377. Set on the island of Puerto Rico, this police procedural was described as a worthy successor to Ed McBain. Back when I enjoyed this type of mystery I would have been over the moon about discovering this author. I still liked the book, the writing style, the characters he created, but it is no longer quite my jam. This is the story of the undocumented - those trying to reach the U.S. soil because their lives are so very wretched. It is also the story of a small town police station, the police officers, and their honesty and integrity in the face of overwhelming corruption in the system. Well done!
October 3, 2015
3 to 3.5 - This is #1 in the Luis Gonzalo series and is a pretty good start to the series (published 13 yrs ago). However, it wasn't quite as good as the only other one I have read so far, which was #2 (Death in Precinct Puerto Rico). In this one I enjoyed many of the characters more than how the story-line went in some places. I felt it ended slightly abruptly and not really a slow or moderate transition. It is paced pretty well and does a good job capturing police procedure, esp. in comparing rural sheriffs vs metropolitan officers. In addition to really liking the characters, I appreciated the various locales, in their description and for most where located on the island. While I'm not familiar w/Angustias (a town high in the mountains in the center of P.R.), and think it may be fictional, other towns and cities were actual and some familiar to me, esp. Comerio which is a small town high up in the mountains (& is next to Angustias in the book) where many families own blocks of land & some remain for many years (at least the elders), but is rarely mentioned and is a place I visited a very long time ago when visiting ex-grandmother-in-law and the extended family. I look forward to the remainder of the series and recommend for anyone who likes mysteries, action & police procedural mixed w/family and culture mixed together.
In this debut of the series, reader meets Luis Gonzalo and his family and deputies and begins to learn their backgrounds. On a quick trip to Rincon, on north-western coastline of island which is halfway across island from Angustias, b/c Gonzalo's father-in-law was attacked & hospitalized, he helps his sister-in-law (a nurse) w/an emergency call in the middle of the night when bodies begin washing ashore (dead & alive), when a boat from Dominican Republic goes down. Gonzalo becomes suspicious after he finds one body w/injuries that lead him to believe he was murdered and local police officers demand him to leave, he along w/a photographer's help start asking questions until he begins receiving threats to his family. He returns home and being stonewalled by local and surrounding law enforcement as well as the threats, Gonzalo can't trust anyone but his own deputies to look into it further and then all hell breaks out in his small town with deadly and surprising outcome.
In this debut of the series, reader meets Luis Gonzalo and his family and deputies and begins to learn their backgrounds. On a quick trip to Rincon, on north-western coastline of island which is halfway across island from Angustias, b/c Gonzalo's father-in-law was attacked & hospitalized, he helps his sister-in-law (a nurse) w/an emergency call in the middle of the night when bodies begin washing ashore (dead & alive), when a boat from Dominican Republic goes down. Gonzalo becomes suspicious after he finds one body w/injuries that lead him to believe he was murdered and local police officers demand him to leave, he along w/a photographer's help start asking questions until he begins receiving threats to his family. He returns home and being stonewalled by local and surrounding law enforcement as well as the threats, Gonzalo can't trust anyone but his own deputies to look into it further and then all hell breaks out in his small town with deadly and surprising outcome.
May 5, 2018
In attempts to learn more about Puerto Rico I read this. It was decent, nothing bad to say. Every day I learn something about Puerto Rico, I realize how little I know about Puerto Rico. My friends tell me about it's rich and very interesting history....but I can't find books to read to inform myself! Feel free to make suggestions
June 29, 2019
Wanted to like this mystery but the writing didn't keep my attention. The interaction between the characters were good but the mystery just wasn't there. There were too many pages where my eyes glazed over. Won't be picking up the next in the series.
January 19, 2020
Disjointed and hard to follow, much less get into. Too much in depth detail about mundane happenings and not enough about the actual mystery story line. Too predictable. Good if you want a geographical/historical/cultural account of Puerto Rico.
October 4, 2021
This was a riveting read. I found myself in the grip of the author almost from beginning to end. It was sad that the bad people really didn't get the punishment I was hoping for. But maybe the author is trying to tell the reader that not everything works out as we want.
March 2, 2022
I like picking up locally-situated detective novels when I’m at the beach and this one dominates the SEO battle for “Puerto Rico murder mystery”. It scratches the itch! Nice local color and a hero who’s valiant but human (though his detective skills are more often described than demonstrated). Solid prose, too, and enjoyably varied characters.
The main problem here is the plot. It’s very linear, with no real twist or setback for our heroes. The central conspiracy isn’t really explainer or resolved, and closure comes in a terse epilogue. Felt like an ending that was rushed, or written with an eye toward a sequel, or both. Still, this mostly hit the notes I wanted from it.
The main problem here is the plot. It’s very linear, with no real twist or setback for our heroes. The central conspiracy isn’t really explainer or resolved, and closure comes in a terse epilogue. Felt like an ending that was rushed, or written with an eye toward a sequel, or both. Still, this mostly hit the notes I wanted from it.
October 22, 2017
Glad it exists (4 stars) - sorry to have to rate it (3 stars) - series has potential (5 stars).
November 8, 2018
Sharp, endearing characters, descriptive background, tension, humor and sensitivity make for a really good read. Will be looking for more.
July 29, 2021
I’d probably give this 2.5/5 but I rounded up. So many things were left open and unanswered that I felt unfulfilled at the end.
July 9, 2022
A good read from Steven Torres!!!
It was a fast pace book and kept you interest in what was going to happen next. If they spoke Spanish there was translation.
It was a fast pace book and kept you interest in what was going to happen next. If they spoke Spanish there was translation.
July 19, 2011
Small town Angustais situated in the mountains of Puerto Rico is about to have its world turned upside down courtesy of across town corrupt cops embroiled in people smuggling from the Dominican Republic with local town sheriff Luis Gonzalo the only one standing between mass murder and justice. The ‘green’ police presence of Angustais had little to do with murder and armed combat in recent times but that’s soon to change when a bank is seemingly robbed and guns drawn. Little did they know, a mere coincidence or a case of wrong place wrong time which landed Luis Gonzalo at the shore of seaside town Rincon just as the bodies were washed up would turn into an all our war in the quiet streets of Angustais as the corrupt cops try to silence Gonzalo from telling the truth to his peers and media.
I loved the setting of ‘Precinct Puerto Rico’ and lapped up the small town atmosphere and general underdog feel the local police assumed in their battle against metro police with more guns and experience. As an introduction to the series, this served its purpose to perfection establishing a core character base which I hope if further explored in the next instalments. Luis Gonzalo, for one, is one hell of a likable guy – down to earth, generous, wise, yet willing to turn his good natured heart cold to avenge deaths or wrong doings of those he holds closest. The bank street shootout was the standout highlight along with the foreboding and ill-fated cross sea beginning as scenes that really set this apart from generic police procedurals. I will definitely pick up the next in the series if this is anything to go by – 3.5 stars.
I loved the setting of ‘Precinct Puerto Rico’ and lapped up the small town atmosphere and general underdog feel the local police assumed in their battle against metro police with more guns and experience. As an introduction to the series, this served its purpose to perfection establishing a core character base which I hope if further explored in the next instalments. Luis Gonzalo, for one, is one hell of a likable guy – down to earth, generous, wise, yet willing to turn his good natured heart cold to avenge deaths or wrong doings of those he holds closest. The bank street shootout was the standout highlight along with the foreboding and ill-fated cross sea beginning as scenes that really set this apart from generic police procedurals. I will definitely pick up the next in the series if this is anything to go by – 3.5 stars.
November 2, 2025
This book is the first in a series set in Angustias, Puerto Rico featuring Sheriff Luis Gonzalo. In his years as sheriff of Angustias, a small town in the mountains of Puerto Rico, Gonzalo has seen people kill for all sorts of reasons. During a visit to his wife's family in Rincon, a cozy seaside town, he's called to the beach where bodies of an apparent shipwreck begin washing in. It appears they were illegally trying to escape from the Dominican Republic. Before long evidence begins to reveal that the wreck was not an accident. Soon Gonzalo's life is threatened and he begins to suspect that Puerto Rican police officers were involved in the deaths.
This was an interesting mystery series set in an attractive area. I've never read any books set in Puerto Rico and I felt the author gave a good sense of the locale. There are several other books in the series and it was better than I expected. I would probably read another bok in the series sometime in the future.The plot was well paced and compelling enough keep the pages turning.
This was an interesting mystery series set in an attractive area. I've never read any books set in Puerto Rico and I felt the author gave a good sense of the locale. There are several other books in the series and it was better than I expected. I would probably read another bok in the series sometime in the future.The plot was well paced and compelling enough keep the pages turning.
September 6, 2010
The main reasons why I like "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" is for the setting and the sophisticated writing. And while "Precinct Puerto Rico" has an exotic setting, the writing is most definitely not sophisticated. It many ways the voice and tone help the setting, but Torres is heavy handed in his explanations and point of view, which is inconsistent and often confusing.
Mark served his mission in Puerto Rico and we went back there in 2002 on vacation. I really enjoyed the trip and got to see some of the places mentioned in the book. But other than that spark of interest, the book isn't all that great.
Mark served his mission in Puerto Rico and we went back there in 2002 on vacation. I really enjoyed the trip and got to see some of the places mentioned in the book. But other than that spark of interest, the book isn't all that great.
May 21, 2013
This was my first YA mystery and I am so glad I read it. I was kept interested the whole time and the opening chapter was honestly worthy of any John Grisham-style novel. It was just violent and gritty enough to be realistic for today's teens while it didn't lose a little of the "happy ending" flavor that maybe teens still want. The Puerto Rican flavor was authentic for me without being stereotypical at all. I am trying to focus a little more on Hispanic/Latino titles so I can recommend to my students and this one is a good read all around for anybody. Can't wait to try the next in the series.
March 28, 2011
I read this first book in the Precinct Puerto Rico series in a couple of days--very fast for me, since I only read for a short while before going to sleep. The fast pace of the action and the wonderful characters kept me turning the pages. Not that there's no depth--there is. I feel connected with this place I've never been and these people who only live because Steven Torres says they do.
Immediately bought another Torres book about Precinct Puerto Rico!
Immediately bought another Torres book about Precinct Puerto Rico!
April 5, 2009
One of those detective books again!!!! This is a closer look not only at the corruption of the police on my lovely island, Puerto Rico, but, at police corruption all over the world. It's just upsetting to know the people who you thought were protecting you are actually doing other things. Think about it.........
June 4, 2012
Lots of action in this one, but not much character development. That being said, it was a quick, fun read, and I did enjoy it. My personal preference is for stories that spend time getting into the characters' heads more than this one did. I'll check out at least one more in the series to see where it goes.
December 28, 2015
I began this book for the mystery US State Challenge. Puerto Rico is a Territory, so I included it.
This novel is fascinating with its descriptions of the island's people, culture, land, history, general outlook. The storyline and characters are intriguing. However, something in the author's style was just off for me. The last chapters of the book were unrealistic and just turned me off.
This novel is fascinating with its descriptions of the island's people, culture, land, history, general outlook. The storyline and characters are intriguing. However, something in the author's style was just off for me. The last chapters of the book were unrealistic and just turned me off.
September 3, 2012
I really liked this book! I loved how it was centered around Puerto Rico. It may not be you typical murder mystery but it was good in it's own way. I'm actually going to continue with the other three remaining books and told my family about them (since we all all readers and we are from Puerto Rico) and they are going to look into them as well.
April 9, 2009
Read this for the PR setting. Not a mystery, a police story with some really underdeveloped characters and the only dramatic driver being people in peril from corrupt police. Pretty eh.
January 9, 2011
Really liked it, Read it for the Puerto Rican setting and stayed to enjoy the mystery novel.
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July 21, 2018When I ran across this at the book exchange, it seemed timely to read a mystery set in Puerto Rico, albeit the Puerto Rico of 1987 rather than today's hurricane-devastated island. A first novel, it's a solid police procedural about small-town cops encountering the plight of (Dominican) refugees and some appalling corruption among big-city cops. These are crises that remain current throughout the world, alas.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews