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Luis Montez #1
The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz
This debut novel in the acclaimed Luis Montez series introduced a hero unique in detective a world-weary middle-aged lawyer steeped in the politics, history, and culture of the golden age of Chicano activism.
Twenty years ago, a gang attacked four Chicano student activists and shot down their leader, Rocky Ruiz. Now the survivors, Montez's former compatriots in the movement, are in danger. One is killed, another beaten, and a third driven into hiding. Enter Teresa Fuentes, a beautiful young lawyer determined to solve the mystery and just as determined to avoid becoming involved with Montez. To save his friends, Montez must reexamine the central event of their shared past-the murder of Rocky Ruiz. Just as difficult, he finds, may be to untangle his feelings for Teresa Fuentes.
Twenty years ago, a gang attacked four Chicano student activists and shot down their leader, Rocky Ruiz. Now the survivors, Montez's former compatriots in the movement, are in danger. One is killed, another beaten, and a third driven into hiding. Enter Teresa Fuentes, a beautiful young lawyer determined to solve the mystery and just as determined to avoid becoming involved with Montez. To save his friends, Montez must reexamine the central event of their shared past-the murder of Rocky Ruiz. Just as difficult, he finds, may be to untangle his feelings for Teresa Fuentes.
201 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1993
4 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Manuel Ramos
51 books42 followersManuel Ramos, a retired lawyer, is the author of eight published novels, five of which feature Denver lawyer Luis Móntez. For his professional and community service he has received the Colorado Bar Association’s Jacob V. Schaetzel Award, the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association’s Chris Miranda Award, the Spirit of Tlatelolco Award, and others. His fiction has garnered the Colorado Book Award, the Chicano/Latino Literary Award, the Top Hand Award from the Colorado Authors League, and three Honorable Mentions from the Latino International Book Awards. The Móntez series debuted with The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz (1993), a finalist for the Edgar® award from the Mystery Writers of America. His published works include the mainstream novel King of the Chicanos (2010), several short stories, poems, non-fiction articles and a handbook on Colorado landlord-tenant law, now in a sixth edition. He is a co-founder of and regular contributor to La Bloga (www.labloga.blogspot.com), an award-winning Internet magazine devoted to Latino literature, culture, news, and opinion. His latest novel, Desperado: A Mile High Noir, was published by Arte Público Press in March, 2013, and won the Colorado Book Award in the Mystery category.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 22, 2023
Shoulda read this one a long time ago, but my vida has been kinda loca . . . The first Luis Montez novel, the beginning of Chicano noir. The history of the movement gets tangled up with personal and political dirty deals. Montez is one tough lawyer. If he wasn't the narrator, I would have been sure he would have been killed several times. Okay, Manuel, I'm hooked. I won't be such a stranger. See you at La Bloga.
February 12, 2019
First of a series. I read it because it is set in Denver. Luis should get another job, this one burned him out. Not much Denver geography. I’ll try one more. Luis should be ashamed of himself with his best friends daughter.
June 22, 2021
The book is very great.
November 18, 2012
While taking place in about 1990, the plot has as its foundation in an 1970 murder. The characters are former campus activists who have left Texas to make their lives in Denver. 60's campus activism is difficult to portray in fiction. Not many try.
The plot works, but almost everything associated with "Teresa" from her mother's attitude towards her seeing Luis to the way she went about her mission in Denver is pretty farfetched.
I liked some of the peripheral scenes better than some of the main story scenes -for instance, the portraits of Luis Montez with his family, "the Shark" and the nuances of his disciplinary hearing.
While neither is pivotal to the story, I would have liked a more development of Rocky (he successfully made the kind of changes which today are so embedded that how they happened is forgotten) and ... something of Teresa's birth father, whom I kept expecting to be one of the college activist group.
All in all, this is a good light mystery, and for readers not part of the Chicano community, a brief acquaintance with it.
The plot works, but almost everything associated with "Teresa" from her mother's attitude towards her seeing Luis to the way she went about her mission in Denver is pretty farfetched.
I liked some of the peripheral scenes better than some of the main story scenes -for instance, the portraits of Luis Montez with his family, "the Shark" and the nuances of his disciplinary hearing.
While neither is pivotal to the story, I would have liked a more development of Rocky (he successfully made the kind of changes which today are so embedded that how they happened is forgotten) and ... something of Teresa's birth father, whom I kept expecting to be one of the college activist group.
All in all, this is a good light mystery, and for readers not part of the Chicano community, a brief acquaintance with it.
January 17, 2016
I heard the author speak at a Local Western Authors conference a few years ago and am finally getting around to reading his first book. Always interesting to read a book where you relate to the locale & details.
A middle aged, Hispanic, struggling lawyer, gets involved in solving the murders of his old college revolutionary buddies in Denver. An unusual main character.
A middle aged, Hispanic, struggling lawyer, gets involved in solving the murders of his old college revolutionary buddies in Denver. An unusual main character.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews