Ways to Be Wicked (Paperback)

An ambitious 17-year-old, Usaré García, slips away from her high school dance only to be found murdered across campus. The ensuing spicy mystery unfolds in an urban high school’s diverse milieu against a backdrop of street gangs, race relations, and an offbeat investigation by a multiracial school administrator, Enrique Tavish, who becomes entangled in an intricate web of deception and debauchery. Tavish grew up learning the hard ways of the south side where he also discovered the advantages of “living white.” The two influences strive for dominance within him as he pursues justice, even as he tries to bury his own dark longings. He targets Los Levantes, a street gang, as suspects in the García girl’s death, but the Levantes and their cartel allies respond by moving against Tavish’s family in this fast-paced story. Tavish’s interactions with investigating police do not always sync with protocol, and his determination to solve Usaré’s murder puts him and his family in circumstances every bit as dangerous as the victim’s. The intertwining of conscience and retribution push Tavish toward an inevitable reckoning with a killer. He’ll be put to the test, with his family in the crosshairs.