Alfonso Reventon, former gangbanger now acclaimed playwright, is premiering his new play “Our Lady of the Barriowhich” which was written for and stars Catarina Velosi, his former lover. Catarina had grown up bouncing from one foster home to another under the direction of the California Youth Authority. She had come to their attention when she stabbed a foster father for molesting her.

A high school drama teacher believed she could save Catarina and focused her skills on training her. Diagnosed as bipolar, Catarina is a natural actress who has peppered her career with bizarre behavior that has made her a high risk for casting.

However, Alfonso prevailed and Catarina was cast as the star of his new show. Opening night Eve Diamond and her lover Silvio Aguila, who is one of Alfonso’s closest friends, are at the theatre. Less than an hour before curtain, a panic stricken Alfonso sends them to find Catarina who has not appeared.

On reaching Catarina’s apartment Eve realizes Silvio must have a key for entry. Inside they discover the song Savage Garden playing on a repeat cycle, a general mess and sufficient evidence to give credence to a kidnapping or worse.

When Eve returns to the newspaper to dig into the back files on Catarina, she is dealt another blow. She has been assigned to mentor the new hire that is filling the ethnicity quota. Felice Morgan is an Afro-American girl wonder who has catapulted herself to the top, although a trail of whispers about suspect ethical practices follow her.

Catarina is found dead on the beach, and the book is off and running. Eve is battling on all fronts. Her emotions are scattered and wondering about the depth of Silvio’s involvement with Catarina. She is also fighting Felice’s tactics at the same time interviewing and investigating the people who had touched Catarina’s life.

Eve Diamond tells this story in the first person. In being presented that way, there is a distinct lack of depth to her character. With respect to the other principals, there is some character development but they all seem to be extreme examples of a type they represent, making it possible for the author to short cut their development.

Hamilton does a good job with the dialogue, keeping it in voice but the greater gift is in the use of the various types of slang indicative of the different cultures and subgroups of those cultures represented.

The sense of LA that comes through is not the physical structures but the cultural diversity. It is rare to find such gritty biting social commentary in a crime detective novel.

--Thea Davis