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A Lola Vasquez Novel
by Melissa Scrivner Love
The unforgettable protagonist of Lola returns in a gritty, high-octane thriller about a brilliant woman who will stop at nothing to protect her growing drug empire, even if she has to go to war with a rival cartel...or her own family.
It took sacrifice, pain, and more than a few dead bodies, but Lola has clawed her way to the top of her South Central Los Angeles neighborhood. Her gang has grown beyond a few trusted soldiers into a full-fledged empire, and the influx of cash has opened up a world that she has never known - one where her daughter can attend a good school, where her mother can live in safety, and where Lola can finally dream of a better life. But with great opportunity comes great risk, and as Lola ascends the hierarchy of the city's underworld she attracts the attention of a dangerous new cartel who sees her as their greatest obstacle to dominance. Soon Lola finds herself sucked into a deadly all-out drug war that threatens to destroy everything she's built.
But even as Lola readies to go to war, she learns that the greatest threat may not be a rival drug lord but a danger far closer to home: her own brother.
Edgy, complex, and breathtakingly propulsive, Melissa Scrivner Love has crafted a novel sure to please not only those who loved her first book but everyone who enjoys a gripping thriller.
"Starred Review. Love crafts a first-rate plot, but this crime thriller's real strength is the character study of Lola, who eschews preconceived notions of what a drug lord should be." - Publishers Weekly
"You can't help loving this coldblooded murderer." - Kirkus
"Many readers may find themselves developing a definite affection for a woman who is essentially a cold-blooded killer, but others may find this violent novel a difficult read. Either way, it exposes painful truths. Suggest to those who know Arturo Pérez-Reverte's similar The Queen of the South (2004)." - Booklist
This information about American Heroin was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Melissa Scrivner Love is the Edgar Award-nominated author of Lola. She was born to a police officer father and a court stenographer mother. After earning a master's degree in English literature from New York University, Melissa moved to Los Angeles, where she has lived for over a decade. During that time, she has written for several television shows, among them Life, CSI: Miami, Person of Interest, and Fear the Walking Dead. She and her husband live in Los Angeles with their children.
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