Ditch Rider

Neil Hamel #8

by Judith Van Gieson

As Neil settles into her new house in Albuquerque's North Valley, she befriends thirteen-year-old Cheyanne Morales, who lives in a nearby trailer with her mother and her younger half-brother. Cheyanne's teenage angst is complicated by the pressures that gang culture imposes on her and her peers. Neil gets a harrowing glimpse of these pressures when a fifteen-year-old is shot to death not far from Neil's new home. The cops suspect a rival gang member, but late one night, a battered Cheyanne shows up at Neil's front door to confess that she was the shooter.

The authorities are reluctant to accept Cheyanne's story--as a minor she'd get only a slap on the wrist--and Neil is dubious too, but she agrees to represent her young friend. With Cheyanne in custody, Neil uncovers chilling evidence that the girl's family and friends intend to take justice into their own hands. Only Neil and her lover, the Kid, can prevent another tragedy from playing out along the ditches of her new neighborhood.

Genres: Mystery

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1999

About the author

Judith Van Gieson is the author of a children’s book, a collection of poetry and short stories, and thirteen mysteries. Her short stories have appeared in several mystery anthologies. In the first mystery series eight books, featuring female Albuquerque attorney/sleuth Neil Hamel, were published by HarperCollins. Neil’s work often involved environmental issues including endangered species and wildfires. Books in this series were published in England, Japan and Germany. It was optioned by CBS. The Lies That Bind was a finalist for the Shamus Award for best detective novel. The series won the Spirit of Magnifico Literary Award.

There were five books in the second series with heroine Claire Reynier published in paperback by Signet, in hardcover by University of New Mexico Press and in a large print edition by Thorndike. Claire works as an archivist and librarian at the Center for Southwest Research at UNM. This series involved rare artifacts and New Mexico history. The Stolen Blue was a finalist for the Reviewer’s Choice Award. The Shadow of Venus was a finalist for the Barry Award and won the Zia Award given by New Mexico Press Women for Best Work of Fiction by a New Mexico woman.

Series:
* Neil Hamel
* Claire Reynier

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, with a strong sense of life on the hardscrabble side of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is a 3.5 star novel on my personal scale, and I will try another in the series.

[Judy]

Van Geisen is an Albuquerque author and I saw a number of her titles in a bookstore there. I'm around half way through but put it aside for a number of days. There's something a little bleak about the main character and the setting but it's well written and it has some interesting characters in it....hmm, I think I'm convincing myself to pick it up again.
...I did finish it but I returned another title to the library unread.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good Neil Hamel story as she and "The Kid" investigate a gang killing. These Hamel stories are well written, an easy read, and have good plot twists. Recommended to mystery fans.