Book Review and GIVEAWAY: When Canaries Die, by Luis Figueredo {ends 6/11}

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

Mo bounced into the room with youthful enthusiasm and plopped onto the long, blue leather couch next to Maggie. With a huge grin spreading across his face, he leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head. The more he thought about Asher’s facial contortions when Pierce exposed the major crack in the government’s seemingly perfect defense, the more satisfied he felt. 

Mo’s face broke into a genuine smile. “The look on Asher’s face when she suddenly realized that she was up against one of the best lawyers in the country and he had a smoking gun was priceless.”

Pierce narrowed his eyes because compliments from Mo were rare. Criticism was the norm.

“The canary analogy was a little long winded but effective,” Mo mused. His tone was reminiscent of a time when Pierce was a wet behind the ears lawyer fresh out of law school.

“And there is it,” Pierce said, closing the laptop.

Pierce Evangelista and Moses Black seem to bend the law to their will, when it’s really a beautiful work of art when they interpret and present their cases in parallel to reality.

Official synopsis:

A hotshot Miami attorney, Pierce Evangelista finds himself navigating a world on the brink of collapse as a deadly pandemic sweeps the globe. Amidst the chaos, Pierce is tasked with challenging the U.S. government’s immigration policies that left thousands of asylum-seekers stranded in dire conditions. As the virus spreads uncontrollably and the demand for blood transfusions skyrockets, criminal organizations exploit the situation, turning human blood into a precious commodity. With the border towns of Tijuana, Juarez, and Matamoros descending into chaos, Pierce must confront powerful forces and fight to reopen the border to save lives. Dive into this gripping legal thriller infused with science fiction and suspense, where the line between survival and exploitation blurs in a world plagued by tragedy and greed.

Processing the multiple dilemmas in this story was powerful, especially with the memories of living through COVID quarantines. A new pandemic is especially deadly, but this time, it leaves immigrants at risk from the disease and the cartels, who want to harvest their blood for sale to the highest bidder, to use to treat others already diagnosed. 

Maggie Malone, an attorney for the ACLU, has formed an attachment with a woman and her toddler in a camp at the border, waiting for asylum entry to the U.S. While Maggie wants to help reform immigration law, especially during the virus, she is especially concerned with the young mother and child after losing contact with them during a shut-down of the border. 

The book was a real page-turner with enemies on multiple fronts. People are afraid of anything outside their homes, as an exposure to the pandemic could mean probable death. From the legal front, virtual court changes the playing field immensely. The story earned 3 out of 5 stars. While this is the third book in the Pierce Evangelista political thriller series, it read fine alone, especially with the involvement of Moses Black and Maggie Malone. This would be recommended to readers who enjoy sci-fi medical stories and political/legal thrillers. 

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Becki Bayley is a corporate drone and mother who fills her time with well-managed engagements and reading in the moments in between. See what else she’s up to on her blog: SweetlyBSquared.com.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of When Canaries Die!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, June 11th, at 11:59pm ET, and winner will be notified the next day via email, and must respond within 24 hours, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

When Canaries Die, by Luis Figueredo