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In the dark and dirtier parts of Los Angeles, justice calls for a detective who’s very good at being bad. And an anti-hero who’s the devil himself.
Ruby Rivera has come a long way from running guns for a motorcycle club in Las Vegas. She’s now a vice detective in the LAPD, spearheading ops to dismantle underworld crime. With her cover as Crush, her mission is to take down a sex trafficking ring and its leader. She’s got two things going for her—great legs and she’s a great liar.
Alejandro Gutierrez is haunted by demons—one tattooed on his back and the memory of the young woman he couldn’t save. When a chance encounter with Rivera draws him into the middle of a sting, he jumps at the chance for a distraction. Problem is, he's a leader to an organized crime syndicate, and their day-jobs put them on opposing sides of the law.
When stakes are high and bullets start flying, will they work together as a team? Or will that opposites-attract thing blow up in their faces?
For fans of Bosch, Ballard, Reacher, and other crime thrillers, Rivera and Gutierrez are keep-you-up-at-night action that will make you get up and lock your doors.
Rivera and Gutierrez's mission's are keep-you-up-at-night action-fiction that will make you get up and lock your doors.
A dual POV, it’s perfect for fans of Bosch, Ballard, Reacher, and other action fiction thrillers.
Ruby Rivera has come a long way from running guns for a motorcycle club in Las Vegas. She’s now a vice detective in the LAPD, spearheading ops to dismantle underworld crime. With her cover as Crush, her mission is to take down a sex trafficking ring and its leader. She’s got two things going for her—great legs and she’s a great liar.
Alejandro Gutierrez is haunted by demons—one tattooed on his back and the memory of the young woman he couldn’t save. When a chance encounter with Rivera draws him into the middle of a sting, he jumps at the chance for a distraction. Problem is, he's a leader to an organized crime syndicate, and their day-jobs put them on opposing sides of the law.
When stakes are high and bullets start flying, will they work together as a team? Or will that opposites-attract thing blow up in their faces?
For fans of Bosch, Ballard, Reacher, and other crime thrillers, Rivera and Gutierrez are keep-you-up-at-night action that will make you get up and lock your doors.
Rivera and Gutierrez's mission's are keep-you-up-at-night action-fiction that will make you get up and lock your doors.
A dual POV, it’s perfect for fans of Bosch, Ballard, Reacher, and other action fiction thrillers.
- GenresMystery Thriller
126 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 25, 2021
3 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Lape
25 books558 followersWhere crime and comedy collide…
A.J. Lape writes stories where danger lurks around every corner and laughter is never in short supply. From thrilling teen mysteries to heart-pounding crime thrillers, her wickedly clever pen crafts tales with unstoppable she-roes and anti-heroes flirting with the road to redemption.
She lives in Cincinnati with her husband, two daughters who pop in for cash, and a spoiled Boston Terrier. A graduate of Morehead State University with an MA in Communications, she’s a freelance writer and PI wannabe with an addiction to cold brew.
You can spot her online engaging with fans, double-tapping animal reels, or binge-watching food videos that she sometimes successfully recreates in the kitchen.
Sign up for A.J.'s newsletter by visiting her homepage and filling out the pop-up form.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.ajlape.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajlapewrites/
X: http://twitter.com/ajlape
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorajlape
Fan Club & Street Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ajlap...
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ajlape/
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Email: aj(at)ajlape(dot)com
A.J. Lape writes stories where danger lurks around every corner and laughter is never in short supply. From thrilling teen mysteries to heart-pounding crime thrillers, her wickedly clever pen crafts tales with unstoppable she-roes and anti-heroes flirting with the road to redemption.
She lives in Cincinnati with her husband, two daughters who pop in for cash, and a spoiled Boston Terrier. A graduate of Morehead State University with an MA in Communications, she’s a freelance writer and PI wannabe with an addiction to cold brew.
You can spot her online engaging with fans, double-tapping animal reels, or binge-watching food videos that she sometimes successfully recreates in the kitchen.
Sign up for A.J.'s newsletter by visiting her homepage and filling out the pop-up form.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.ajlape.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajlapewrites/
X: http://twitter.com/ajlape
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorajlape
Fan Club & Street Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ajlap...
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ajlape/
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Email: aj(at)ajlape(dot)com
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 21, 2021
She’s not Darcy, but you’ll love Ruby just the same! Vice is set in Darcy Walker’s world with a completely different vibe. Ruby is one tough cookie and she’s out to get the bad guys. Sometimes with a little help from Twenty Bucks. You’ll be sucked right in from page one. Well written with a great story and compelling characters. I can’t wait to see who Ruby is after next!
January 30, 2021
An interesting police procedural. This electronic version was gifted to me by the author and publisher as a 'teaser' for the series. A. J. Lape is the author of several episodes of the series Side Hustle featuring Darcy Walker and several YA novels.
The 'Adult' in the title is not redundant. Detective Ruby Rivera is an undercover operative for the Los Angeles Police Department. She has four personas that she assumes in these undercover operations - this story sets up the series for Rivera as Crush, where she is working a street corner with other girls-of-the-night while searching for Chauncey Ford, a newly established high-dollar pimp who is killing off his girls and perhaps the odd client. Crush is a motorcyclist with lots of black leather, swagger, and arrogance. She pulls this off very well.
The pace is frantic, the action well related, and Rivera is a fairly young female investigator who bases her actions on her own personal understanding of good and evil. You really don't want to be on her bad side. Gutierrez, a bad guy with gang connections and tattoos, would really like to cross over to her good side. Not going to happen. Well, probably not going to happen...
Reviewed on January 30, 2021, at Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, BookBub, and GooglePlay. Not available for review on Kobo.
The 'Adult' in the title is not redundant. Detective Ruby Rivera is an undercover operative for the Los Angeles Police Department. She has four personas that she assumes in these undercover operations - this story sets up the series for Rivera as Crush, where she is working a street corner with other girls-of-the-night while searching for Chauncey Ford, a newly established high-dollar pimp who is killing off his girls and perhaps the odd client. Crush is a motorcyclist with lots of black leather, swagger, and arrogance. She pulls this off very well.
The pace is frantic, the action well related, and Rivera is a fairly young female investigator who bases her actions on her own personal understanding of good and evil. You really don't want to be on her bad side. Gutierrez, a bad guy with gang connections and tattoos, would really like to cross over to her good side. Not going to happen. Well, probably not going to happen...
Reviewed on January 30, 2021, at Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, BookBub, and GooglePlay. Not available for review on Kobo.
January 30, 2021
One of my faves from the Darcy-verse
I am a huge fan of Darcy Walker and love reading anything from that world. I love it that one of my favorites got her own book. Ruby Rivera is a great character - with depth, passion, drama, and mystery. Being an undercover cop and having a story no one really knows, she is a complicated bundle of fire and sass. She has so many sides that there is no name for her shape. With how much there is going on with her, the author should be able to keep us in R. R. stories for a long time.
Ruby Rivera is the bad-a$$ woman that all women need in their lives. She is a force to be reckoned with but is chill enough to just hang with on a Saturday afternoon. I would love to have her as a friend and ally.
I am a huge fan of Darcy Walker and love reading anything from that world. I love it that one of my favorites got her own book. Ruby Rivera is a great character - with depth, passion, drama, and mystery. Being an undercover cop and having a story no one really knows, she is a complicated bundle of fire and sass. She has so many sides that there is no name for her shape. With how much there is going on with her, the author should be able to keep us in R. R. stories for a long time.
Ruby Rivera is the bad-a$$ woman that all women need in their lives. She is a force to be reckoned with but is chill enough to just hang with on a Saturday afternoon. I would love to have her as a friend and ally.
February 2, 2021
This was such a fantastic read. I couldn't put it down. The story was so good and it was full of action. I love the characters, especially Ruby.
February 13, 2021
Great start to a new series.
A fantastic new book in the Darcy Walker universe. I read this in one day, and I loved getting to know Ruby and 20 bucks! I need another installment ASAP.
A fantastic new book in the Darcy Walker universe. I read this in one day, and I loved getting to know Ruby and 20 bucks! I need another installment ASAP.
January 19, 2022
Very good crime story. Great characters developed despite the shortness of the book. Good dialogue. Great connection between Rivera and Gutierrez.
January 26, 2021
Vice: An Action Fiction Novella (Detective Ruby Rivera Series #1)by A.J. Lape
This first book in the Detective Ruby Rivera Series-a spinoff from the Darcy Walker Series-is filled with wonderful characters that had cameo appearances in previous books, but really needed to tell their own stories. The action and mystery are definitely a step darker than others from Lape, but the impact is equally powerful. As with most books by Lape, this is a one-sitting read, so grab the tissues and the tea. You won't be disappointed.
This first book in the Detective Ruby Rivera Series-a spinoff from the Darcy Walker Series-is filled with wonderful characters that had cameo appearances in previous books, but really needed to tell their own stories. The action and mystery are definitely a step darker than others from Lape, but the impact is equally powerful. As with most books by Lape, this is a one-sitting read, so grab the tissues and the tea. You won't be disappointed.
January 11, 2021
Look out Darcy Walker. Ruby Rivera is here to show you some serious sleuthing! I never imagined Lape writing anything other than Darcy Walker. She just upped her game with Ruby and Alejandro. After years of following Darcy from high school to adulthood, we now have a new addition to Lape's ever exciting stories.
I was hooked from the start of this book. I can't imagine this book being any better than it is. It's full of great characters. Some familiar. Some new. A great plot that had me waiting in suspense to see what would happen next. I flew through the pages with rapt attention.
I highly recommend jumping into this one. I, for one, cannot wait for the next book. I need it, like yesterday!
I was hooked from the start of this book. I can't imagine this book being any better than it is. It's full of great characters. Some familiar. Some new. A great plot that had me waiting in suspense to see what would happen next. I flew through the pages with rapt attention.
I highly recommend jumping into this one. I, for one, cannot wait for the next book. I need it, like yesterday!
January 29, 2021
As always, I totally enjoyed another AJ Lape book. This one is shorter, but it's still written by the best indie writer I've ever read, and it doesn't disappoint. Ruby Rivera is a vice cop, so this work is a little darker and rawer than the Darcy Walker novels, but Ruby, who was introduced in Ride or Die, is another great character who goes to great lengths to bring down a sex-trafficking ring. Twenty Bucks from the Darcy Walker series is a key character, and it's nice to learn more about him and get more of his backstory. Darcy makes a few appearances as well, and since she's one of my all-time favorite characters, I was happy to see that also. Ruby and Twenty Bucks, a dedicated cop and a hardened criminal, have to team up, which brings some interesting internal conflicts within an otherwise action-filled, suspense thriller. I loved the book, the characters, and as always, the style of the author. I'm looking forward to more of this series.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews