Buried Seeds

by Veronica Gutierrez

Death doesn’t take a break, even after a pandemic.

When PI Yolanda Ávila stumbles onto a bloody murder scene, she’s thrust into a race against time to save two innocent Gamaliel Campamoche, an undocumented immigrant facing deportation, and his employer Kinji Abe, a WWII American concentration camp survivor.

The investigation pulls Yolanda and her diverse team into the dark corners of a changing city, where real estate sharks circle neighborhoods and activists harbor secrets of their own. As she peels back layers of deception, she discovers how greed and desperation can turn neighbors into enemies—and enemies into killers.

As the case escalates, so do the dangers. And so does the juju that Yolanda thought she’d left behind. The protective spirits of Yolanda’s mother and uncle seem to be stirring again, sending warnings she can’t ignore. With the body count rising, Yolanda must separate truth from illusion before another life is claimed.

A Yolanda Ávila Mystery.

260 pages, Paperback

Published April 22, 2025

Reviews

[Sue Plant · Rating 3 out of 5]

would like to thank bella books for letting me read this book

it should have caught my attention but there was just something about it that didnt pull me in.... and i do normally love murder mysteries .. my only conclusion was the foreign place names that i found hard to understand

apart from that i could see that it has been well written and the characters are well defined it just didnt hold my interest... sorry

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Endorsing my theory that crime fiction can tackle social issues, here we have a crime story with a lesbian private eye set in the mostly Latino section of Los Angeles. There is a cracking thriller after the dead body is found outside the local convenience store owned and run by an elderly Japanese American man. There begins some important reminders that America has a long history of making life hard for immigrants, through the connections between the Japanese internment camps in America during WW2 and the more recent Dreamer and DACA legislation for those coming from Latin American countries. Mix in some white racist tattooed local dudes and you have a though provoking gripping read, that this author excels at. The characters are all believable, well written and the story will keep you on your toes. It is a follow up to 'As you look' but can be read as a stand alone.

With thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Fiona Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buried Seeds is a seriously twisty turny crime investigation story with more twisty branches than a Corkscrew Willow! I loved it. In this murder mystery we see the return of PI Yolanda Avila as she tries to solve a bloody murder and save innocent people from being imprisoned/deported for crimes they didn't commit.

The book touches on some raw nerves given what is going on in the USA right now with one of the falsely accused men being an undocumented immigrant and the second being an elderly WWII American concentration camp survivor. While trying to prove these two men are innocent she is drawn into a world of danger, drugs, deception, extortion, conspiracy theories and racism. What results is an incredibly realistic portrayal of criminal world in which some cases can be resolved but others remain outstanding due to an inability to find evidence.

Veronica Gutierrez has delivered another high speed, rollercoaster of a story which some tender moments mixed in. I really hope that there is more to come in this series.

I am grateful to the author and Bella Books for providing me with an ARC copy of Buried Seeds and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verónica Gutiérrez returns with a follow up to As You Look, a Yolanda Ávila Mystery, with the second book in the compelling series, Buried Seeds. Yolanda Ávila, a former LAPD cop turned private investigator, stumbles onto a bloody murder scene. She’s thrust into a race against time to save two innocent men: Gamaliel Campamoche, an undocumented immigrant facing deportation, and his employer Kinji Abe, a WWII American concentration camp survivor. The investigation pulls Yolanda and her diverse team into the dark corners of a changing city, where real estate sharks circle neighborhoods and activists harbor secrets of their own. As Yolanda peels back layers of deception, she discovers how greed and desperation can turn neighbors into enemies, and enemies into killers. As the case escalates, so do the dangers. And so does the juju that Yolanda thought she’d left behind in her previous case. The protective spirits of Yolanda’s mother and uncle seem to be stirring again, sending warnings she can’t ignore. With the body count rising, Yolanda must separate truth from illusion before another life is claimed.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars