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Charlie Morell #1
The Killing Of The Saints
Appointed by the court to investigate a vicious murder in a downtown jewelry store, Charlie Morell, a Cuban-American, must confront his own guilty past while attempting to exonerate Ramon, a Cuban man accused of the crime
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
5 people are currently reading
1181 people want to read
About the author
Alex Abella
23 books23 followersPapá was a poet. I am not.
But I am a writer--journalist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, news writer. I've tried practically everything that can be done with words upon a page, screen, or any medium, in all genres except poetry.
So far.
The first time I ever wrote anything for publication--or so I thought--I was eight years old. Like many boys who want to be writers, I wrote an adventure story, about knights in armor, if I recall correctly. I thought someone somewhere would publish it but, alas, I had no agent so...
But seriously...the next time I pursued my writing obsession was during high school in New York, when I was determined to break into The New Yorker. I sent the magazine a host of stories--none of which, mercifully, were published, or survived.
Finally, success! I began writing film reviews for my school newspaper, The Columbia Spectator, then, after graduation, became a writer for a small publication in New York.
Moving to California, I joined The San Francisco Chronicle, but was fired the day after I wrote practically the entire front page. You need more ground strokes, said my editor.
So I went to play for the electronic bullpen, becoming a reporter/news writer/producer at KTVU-TV in the San Francisco Bay Area. While there I won an Emmy (group) for newswriting, was nominated for another Emmy for reporting, worked as a foreign correspondent in Central America, wrote a cookbook on bananas, drank too much, partied too much and was thoroughly miserable.
I realized if I stayed a journalist I'd either burn out or commit suicide by age 50. So I quit the daily grind and moved to Hollywood. Since I speak fluent Spanish (I was born in Cuba, remember?) I became a court interpreter in Los Angeles and in the process founded a labor union for interpreters.
Based on my experiences in Los Angeles Superior Court, I wrote a thriller, "The Killing of the Saints," which, to my surprise, became a New York Times Notable Book. I did the movie adaptation for Paramount, then wrote something totally different, "The Great American," a historical novel based on the true story of William Morgan, an Ohio-born American who became one of the leaders of the Cuban Revolution of 1959.
I wrote two follow-ups to Saints, "Dead of Night," and 'Final Acts," then, shaken up by the tragedy of 9/11, I returned to journalism. My research on terrorism led me to co-write "Shadow Enemies: Hitler's Secret Terrorist Plot against the United States," about a band of saboteurs Germany sent by U-boat to the U.S. in 1941.
Then, wanting to explore how the U.S. had become Imperial Rome, I wrote "Soldiers of Reason: The Rand Corporation and the Rise of the American Empire," a study of the world's most influential think tank, which laid the intellectual foundation for the modern world we live in.
I wrote two novels in between: "More Than A Woman," a romance set in California's wine country, and "Shanghai," a hardboiled detective story set in Havana in the dangerous interval between the death of a tyranny and the birth of another.
My latest book is "Mission Churchill," a historical thriller set in 1930s Cuba and in London during the Blitz, featuring a revenge driven IRA assassin determined to terminate the Prime Minister, and have Hitler win the war.
Oh, and since I do have a life, in between books and jobs and sundry obsessions, I married a lovely (and very patient) woman, Armeen, whom I met at KTVU. We have three great kids. For now I split my time between lovely Solana Beach and the new Athens of the Western World, Los Angeles.
That's all for me. I hope to hear from you soon.
Take care.
Alex
But I am a writer--journalist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, news writer. I've tried practically everything that can be done with words upon a page, screen, or any medium, in all genres except poetry.
So far.
The first time I ever wrote anything for publication--or so I thought--I was eight years old. Like many boys who want to be writers, I wrote an adventure story, about knights in armor, if I recall correctly. I thought someone somewhere would publish it but, alas, I had no agent so...
But seriously...the next time I pursued my writing obsession was during high school in New York, when I was determined to break into The New Yorker. I sent the magazine a host of stories--none of which, mercifully, were published, or survived.
Finally, success! I began writing film reviews for my school newspaper, The Columbia Spectator, then, after graduation, became a writer for a small publication in New York.
Moving to California, I joined The San Francisco Chronicle, but was fired the day after I wrote practically the entire front page. You need more ground strokes, said my editor.
So I went to play for the electronic bullpen, becoming a reporter/news writer/producer at KTVU-TV in the San Francisco Bay Area. While there I won an Emmy (group) for newswriting, was nominated for another Emmy for reporting, worked as a foreign correspondent in Central America, wrote a cookbook on bananas, drank too much, partied too much and was thoroughly miserable.
I realized if I stayed a journalist I'd either burn out or commit suicide by age 50. So I quit the daily grind and moved to Hollywood. Since I speak fluent Spanish (I was born in Cuba, remember?) I became a court interpreter in Los Angeles and in the process founded a labor union for interpreters.
Based on my experiences in Los Angeles Superior Court, I wrote a thriller, "The Killing of the Saints," which, to my surprise, became a New York Times Notable Book. I did the movie adaptation for Paramount, then wrote something totally different, "The Great American," a historical novel based on the true story of William Morgan, an Ohio-born American who became one of the leaders of the Cuban Revolution of 1959.
I wrote two follow-ups to Saints, "Dead of Night," and 'Final Acts," then, shaken up by the tragedy of 9/11, I returned to journalism. My research on terrorism led me to co-write "Shadow Enemies: Hitler's Secret Terrorist Plot against the United States," about a band of saboteurs Germany sent by U-boat to the U.S. in 1941.
Then, wanting to explore how the U.S. had become Imperial Rome, I wrote "Soldiers of Reason: The Rand Corporation and the Rise of the American Empire," a study of the world's most influential think tank, which laid the intellectual foundation for the modern world we live in.
I wrote two novels in between: "More Than A Woman," a romance set in California's wine country, and "Shanghai," a hardboiled detective story set in Havana in the dangerous interval between the death of a tyranny and the birth of another.
My latest book is "Mission Churchill," a historical thriller set in 1930s Cuba and in London during the Blitz, featuring a revenge driven IRA assassin determined to terminate the Prime Minister, and have Hitler win the war.
Oh, and since I do have a life, in between books and jobs and sundry obsessions, I married a lovely (and very patient) woman, Armeen, whom I met at KTVU. We have three great kids. For now I split my time between lovely Solana Beach and the new Athens of the Western World, Los Angeles.
That's all for me. I hope to hear from you soon.
Take care.
Alex
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 2, 2023
I just remembered I had to read this for class and it’s truly the worst thing I’ve ever read
October 7, 2012
As I read through this book, I kept thinking I should be liking it better than I actually did.
The story revolves around a man named Ramon Valdez who is on trial for killing a number of people in a jewelry store. There is no real mystery here; the crime takes place in the first chapter. Ramon is a priest in the Santeria religion, popular (apparently) among many Cuban immigrants. Ramon asks Charlie Morell to be his court-appointed investigator. This involves Charlie delving into the Santeria religion and meeting an unusual assortment of people and having to face ghosts (literally) from his past.
Sounds intriguing, no? But it fell flat for me. I had a hard time feeling sympathetic for any of the characters. The Santeria part was interesting but not interesting enough. The book has a good title, though.
The story revolves around a man named Ramon Valdez who is on trial for killing a number of people in a jewelry store. There is no real mystery here; the crime takes place in the first chapter. Ramon is a priest in the Santeria religion, popular (apparently) among many Cuban immigrants. Ramon asks Charlie Morell to be his court-appointed investigator. This involves Charlie delving into the Santeria religion and meeting an unusual assortment of people and having to face ghosts (literally) from his past.
Sounds intriguing, no? But it fell flat for me. I had a hard time feeling sympathetic for any of the characters. The Santeria part was interesting but not interesting enough. The book has a good title, though.
May 1, 2020
This book was recommended by a friend. I found the protagonist, Charlie Morell, to be realistic, both good and bad, a soul lost by the death of his father, something he took personally, and then the ghost of him. I have had experience with Santeria, nothing as evil as was portrayed in the book; however, the man who my mother worked for and who called himself one was nothing but a farce. I believe all religious practices can be used for good or evil. I did like the realistic Cuban attitudes of the characters. One thing, in particular, was their strong beliefs in themselves. I find that all Latinx peoples consider themselves better than the other Latinx groups. I know. I am one. I don't particularly like stories in court settings but this one was interesting. I think I may enjoy his other books more.
July 15, 2021
Unique and detailed thriller. Really enjoyed it.
August 19, 2023
Sorry, theres no place for witches and goblins in a supposedly courtroom thriller
September 1, 2010
I don't think I have read a book with a Cuban-American protagonist. Very interesting. Good story too.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews