Root of All Evil

by Dell Shannon

Part of Lieutenant Luis Mendoza, book 9

First published 1993

Lieutenant Luis Mendoza of the Los Angeles Police Department prefers his homicide investigations to close with clear answers. The latest victim arrives as a Jane Doe, but Mendoza soon learns her identity. Valerie Ellis once lived as a wealthy young woman until her parents' deaths four years earlier stripped away her fortune. Now someone has killed her, and Mendoza must untangle the circumstances that led from privilege to poverty to murder. The case presents multiple complications that resist his preference for neat conclusions. Each layer Mendoza peels back reveals new questions about Valerie's final years and the people who surrounded her after she lost everything. The investigation forces him to examine how quickly circumstances can change and how the past refuses to stay buried.

Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective

Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: investigation, past-secrets

Setting: Los Angeles

Period: 20th-century

Paperback · Carroll & Graf Pub

More by Dell Shannon

• Knave of Hearts
• Appearances of Death
• Spring of violence
• No Holiday for Crime
• The Ace of Spades
• Blood Count
• Case Pending
• Extra Kill

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