A Jimmy Vega Mystery
5 primary works
Book 2
Book 3
On a clear, moonlit night in December, police detective Jimmy Vega races to the scene of a reported home invasion in an upscale New York community. As Vega arrives, he spots a Hispanic man who fits the description of the armed intruder, running from the victim's estate. Vega chases him into the woods. When the suspect refuses to surrender--and reaches into his pocket--Vega has only seconds to make a life-or-death decision. What begins as a tragic mistake takes an even darker turn when Vega uncovers disturbing links between the dead man and his own mother's brutal, unsolved murder. Vega's need for answers propels him back to his old Bronx neighborhood, where he is viewed as a disgraced cop, not a homegrown hero. It also puts him at odds with his girlfriend, Adele Figueroa, head of a local immigrant center, who must weigh her own doubts about his behavior. When a shocking piece of evidence surfaces, it becomes clear that someone doesn't want Vega to put all the pieces together--and is willing to do whatever it takes to bury the truth. Only by risking everything will Vega be able to find justice, redemption, and the most elusive goal of all: the ability to forgive himself.
Book 4
“A tremendous talent.”—Lee Child
A blond-haired, blue-eyed teenager from a prominent family vanishes after teaching English to a group of immigrants. Suspicion falls on the men she was tutoring, inflaming tensions in the close-knit, picturesque community of Lake Holly, NY. For Detective Jimmy Vega, more is at stake than just keeping the peace. His girlfriend, Adele, heads the community center where the girl was last seen. Now all she’s worked for is at risk.
After a murder suspect’s surrender goes horribly wrong, Vega gets tossed into a grunt detail that quickly turns into a political minefield. A powerful, charismatic leader will stop at nothing to cleave the town in two. But Vega uncovers even darker forces at play. And no matter which way he turns, every step could cost him his job, his town, his family—even his life.
Acclaim for Suzanne Chazin and Her Novels
“Chazin holds the reader from beginning to end.”—Suspense Magazine
“Top-notch storytelling, appealing characters, and a timely controversy guarantee energetic book discussions.”—Booklist
“Nail-biting . . . A tense page-turner.”—Publishers Weekly
A blond-haired, blue-eyed teenager from a prominent family vanishes after teaching English to a group of immigrants. Suspicion falls on the men she was tutoring, inflaming tensions in the close-knit, picturesque community of Lake Holly, NY. For Detective Jimmy Vega, more is at stake than just keeping the peace. His girlfriend, Adele, heads the community center where the girl was last seen. Now all she’s worked for is at risk.
After a murder suspect’s surrender goes horribly wrong, Vega gets tossed into a grunt detail that quickly turns into a political minefield. A powerful, charismatic leader will stop at nothing to cleave the town in two. But Vega uncovers even darker forces at play. And no matter which way he turns, every step could cost him his job, his town, his family—even his life.
Acclaim for Suzanne Chazin and Her Novels
“Chazin holds the reader from beginning to end.”—Suspense Magazine
“Top-notch storytelling, appealing characters, and a timely controversy guarantee energetic book discussions.”—Booklist
“Nail-biting . . . A tense page-turner.”—Publishers Weekly
Book 5
A long-buried family secret and a chance encounter with an estranged sibling force police detective Jimmy Vega to confront his deepest fears in this gripping new mystery by award-winning author Suzanne Chazin . . .
It's spring in Lake Holly, New York, a time of hope and renewal. But not for immigrants in this picturesque upstate town. Raids and deportations are on the rise, spurring fear throughout the community.
Tensions reach the boiling point when the district attorney’s beautiful young bride is found hanging in her flooded basement, an apparent victim of suicide. But is she, wonders Vega? If so, where is her undocumented immigrant maid? Is she a missing witness, afraid to come forward? Or an accessory to murder?
Vega gets more help than he bargained for when Immigration and Customs Enforcement sends an investigator to help find—and likely deport—the maid. It’s Vega’s half-sister Michelle, the child who caused his father to leave his mother. Now an ICE agent, Michelle tangles with Vega and his girlfriend, immigrant activist Adele Figueroa. The law is the law, Michelle reminds Vega. And yet, his heart tells him he needs to dig deeper, not just into the case but into his past, to a childhood terror only Michelle can unlock.
While Vega searches for the demon from his youth, he discovers one uncomfortably close by, erecting a scheme of monstrous proportions. It’s a race against the clock with lives on the line. And a choice Vega never thought he’d have to make: Obey the law. Or obey his conscience. There’s no margin for error . . .
It's spring in Lake Holly, New York, a time of hope and renewal. But not for immigrants in this picturesque upstate town. Raids and deportations are on the rise, spurring fear throughout the community.
Tensions reach the boiling point when the district attorney’s beautiful young bride is found hanging in her flooded basement, an apparent victim of suicide. But is she, wonders Vega? If so, where is her undocumented immigrant maid? Is she a missing witness, afraid to come forward? Or an accessory to murder?
Vega gets more help than he bargained for when Immigration and Customs Enforcement sends an investigator to help find—and likely deport—the maid. It’s Vega’s half-sister Michelle, the child who caused his father to leave his mother. Now an ICE agent, Michelle tangles with Vega and his girlfriend, immigrant activist Adele Figueroa. The law is the law, Michelle reminds Vega. And yet, his heart tells him he needs to dig deeper, not just into the case but into his past, to a childhood terror only Michelle can unlock.
While Vega searches for the demon from his youth, he discovers one uncomfortably close by, erecting a scheme of monstrous proportions. It’s a race against the clock with lives on the line. And a choice Vega never thought he’d have to make: Obey the law. Or obey his conscience. There’s no margin for error . . .
Book 6
A sniper attack propels Latinx cop Jimmy Vega on a twisting hunt for a predator who stalks the unforgiving landscape of immigrant America. Probing beyond the hardships of the journey north, award-winning author Suzanne Chazin's taut and timely novel explores the perils that await the hopeful once they reach their destination-and the price they must pay to survive...
“Chazin explores that difficult place where cultures collide, with a heart filled with compassion.” – William Kent Krueger on The Fragile Edge
Jimmy Vega straddles two worlds--the hardscrabble Bronx where he grew up as the child of a Puerto Rican single mother, and the upscale, mostly white, suburban county where he now serves as a police detective. Yet despite his sense of never belonging, he's a good and decent cop-even if the multi-million-dollar civil suit he's facing says otherwise.
His own troubles take a back seat when Vega learns that a court officer has just been shot and killed while transporting a controversial judge across the courthouse lot. Vega quickly surmises that the judge was the real target. She's earned the ire of alt-right hate groups for going soft on undocumented defendants accused of petty crimes. The sole witness to the sniper's identity is a Guatemalan girl traveling by bus from the border. And now, she's vanished-melted into a community fearful of the police. Her days are numbered if Vega can't get to her before the killer does.
But as Vega and his girlfriend, Adele Figueroa, head of the local outreach center, probe deeper into the shadowy farm community where immigrants toil in horrifying conditions, they tap into a chilling discovery. One that offers Vega a stark choice: keep quiet and be lauded as a hero, knowing he let the real villain go. Or risk everything for an ugly truth no one wants him to find...
“Chazin explores that difficult place where cultures collide, with a heart filled with compassion.” – William Kent Krueger on The Fragile Edge
Jimmy Vega straddles two worlds--the hardscrabble Bronx where he grew up as the child of a Puerto Rican single mother, and the upscale, mostly white, suburban county where he now serves as a police detective. Yet despite his sense of never belonging, he's a good and decent cop-even if the multi-million-dollar civil suit he's facing says otherwise.
His own troubles take a back seat when Vega learns that a court officer has just been shot and killed while transporting a controversial judge across the courthouse lot. Vega quickly surmises that the judge was the real target. She's earned the ire of alt-right hate groups for going soft on undocumented defendants accused of petty crimes. The sole witness to the sniper's identity is a Guatemalan girl traveling by bus from the border. And now, she's vanished-melted into a community fearful of the police. Her days are numbered if Vega can't get to her before the killer does.
But as Vega and his girlfriend, Adele Figueroa, head of the local outreach center, probe deeper into the shadowy farm community where immigrants toil in horrifying conditions, they tap into a chilling discovery. One that offers Vega a stark choice: keep quiet and be lauded as a hero, knowing he let the real villain go. Or risk everything for an ugly truth no one wants him to find...