The Last Client of Luis Montez

Luis Montez #3

by Manuel Ramos

Hard-luck attorney Luis Montez has hit the big time at last. He's successfully defended Jimmy Esch, the good-for-nothing son of a powerful Denver family, and Jimmy's attractive sister Lisa is, as they say, appreciative. But inside of twenty-four hours a cop rumoured to have received bribes from Montez takes a header off a mountain, and Jimmy is found butchered. Montez is the prime suspect. Lisa - his alibi - has conveniently disappeared. Down to his last cent, Montez jumps bail and heads for the barrios of San Diego. As he pursues the truths that will clear his name, Montez must confront the powerful force that is family.

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

Manuel 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.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

For coming into this without having read the first two books in the series, I got into this book surprisingly fast. It's so vivid and detailed, but that detail is all integral and there is nothing there for merely the purposes of orientation. The prose is tight and clean, just like the story. Good stuff.