In 1999, thirteen females in the West Adams section of South Central Los Angeles were brutally murdered. Most of the victims were sex workers, the one exception being a teenage babysitter named Lecia, who was the killer's last victim.
The perpetrator wasn't caught and some people think the cops didn't try too hard because the women were 'throwaways.'
Fifteen years later, in 2014, prostitutes in West Adams are being murdered again, in the same manner as before. The cops resist the idea that a serial killer is active again and they CERTAINLY don't want the new deaths connected to those in 1999.
The story, which focuses on six women in West Adams, is set in 2014, with flashbacks to 1999.
- Feelia was a streetwalker in 1999, but gave up the life after surviving a deadly attack. The incident seems to have disturbed Feelia's mind because she insists a white woman started stalking her right after the assault, and is still haunting her fifteen years later. Feelia shrieks and carries on whenever she 'sees' the woman, and shouts at people who try to shut her up.
- Dorian is the mother of Lecia, the last girl killed in 1999. Dorian's spent years haunting the police station, insisting her daughter wasn't a prostitute, and exhorting them to find the killer. The grieving mother owns a fried fish shop in West Adams and feeds local streetwalkers who drop in. Now Dorian has been finding dead birds outside her restaurant, and thinks someone is trying to frighten her.
- Julianna was the child being babysat by Lecia on the night the teen was slain. Now Julianna is grown up, a strip club waitress who provides 'extra services' in the back. Julianna drinks and uses drugs to get through the day, and fears she'll never be able to get out of the debasing lifestyle. Julianna's hobby is photography, and she constantly snaps pictures of her prostitute friends, documenting the bleakness of their lives.
- Anneke is a married El Salvadoran woman who immigrated to Los Angeles with her husband and young daughter. The family is solidly middle class and Anneke wants nothing to do with (what she sees as) undesirable elements in the neighborhood. Anneke is obsessed with keeping her home and life in perfect order, and she sent her daughter Marella away to school to keep her safe.
- Marella is Anneke's daughter, now in her twenties and an art school graduate. Marella does performance art as well as modern installations with moving images.
Marella is living with her parents in West Adams, but has spent so much time away that she's almost a stranger to the area. Marella has bad memories of her life in El Salvador, and her art often depicts women as victims of sexual and physical violence.
- Esmerelda (Essie) Perry is a police detective who moved from homicide to vice after an unfortunate incident. The male cops in Perry's station steer the 'nuisance complaints' her way, so she gets to hear Feelia's allegations of a stalker and Dorian's report about dead birds. As Perry is looking into these complaints she makes discoveries about the serial killer.
The book doesn't focus on the identity of the serial killer, though that is revealed. The novel is more a character study than a murder mystery and Pochoda's portrayal of the six main characters, and the people around them, is vivid and perceptive - so we get a feel for the factors that shaped their lives.
We also get a peek at the ambiance of West Adams: the clubs; the streets; the bridges; the former mansions split into apartments; the nosy neighbors; the commercial establishments; the mixture of people; and so on.
Pochoda is a master storyteller and this is an excellent book. Highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Ivy Pochoda), and the publisher (HarperCollins Publishers/Ecco) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 4 stars
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