“All the Broken Girls” by Linda Hurtado Bond is a thriller which deals with the concept of childhood trauma and the affect it has on a child, while exploring forgiveness and redemption in the same context.
Mari Alvarez is a crime reporter for a newspaper, demoted recently to a lesser position due to her badly received articles accusing a council-member of being the serial killer who is terrorizing their city. In spite of being relegated to the features section of the newspaper, Mari finds herself unable to stop investigating the new murders that are taking place in her old neighborhood, when one of them is eerily close to her mom’s murder which had happened twelve years ago.
Will she be able to investigate the case despite interference from her boss? Does she get any new clues about her mother’s murder or will her efforts prove fruitless? The answers to these questions can be found only by reading the story.
The story is written in an investigative format, with Mari trying to solve the strange things happening in her town and in her home. It also contains many references to Cuban culture, traditions and customs; so much so that the readers get the impression of having travelled with the principal character and into her world. We, as readers, are particularly able to feel the pain and uncertainties that plague Mari since her mother’s murder.
Mari also starts developing interest towards the police detective, who is named Garcia, who heads the investigation into the current cases, and that provides a nice respite from the tense narrative at a few places. I loved the way their spark blooms and grows.
Despite all these things going for it, the story failed to connect deeply with me. I just felt a bit too far from the characters and their plights most of the time. Otherwise, this is an enjoyable and twisty thriller which is quite a short and entertaining read.
This book gets 4 out of 5 stars.
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