Phoenix detective Verenda Cruz continues her quest to take down the Villalobos cartel. But when a rival gang starts a war with the Villalobos that escalates into violence on the streets, a task force is set up to end the cartel's reign of terror. Adolfo Villalobos is the eldest son now tasked to prove that he is ready to run the Villalobos empire. While Verenda and her task force members plan multiple raids of the cartel's properties, he has an upper hand to stop them. And Adolfo's revenge on Verenda takes on a cruel and highly personal twist to humiliate and devastate the detective's personal and professional lives. This is a gritty, brutal tale of the lengths one family will go to for revenge.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Midnight Ink with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

4.5 stars-- PHOENIX BURNING is the second instalment in Isabella Maldonado’s contemporary, adult VERANDA CRUZ MYSTERY crime thriller series focusing on Phoenix homicide detective Veranda Cruz. PHOENIX BURNING can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order as there is a continuing premise throughout.

Told from several third person points of view including Veranda Cruz, PHOENIX BURNING follows Phoenix homicide detective Veranda Cruz as she and her fellow police detectives continue to struggle in the wake of a notorious Mexican Cartel headed by Hector Villalobos and his adult children (Adolfo, Bartolo, Carlos & Daria) whose illegal activities including arms dealing, drugs and human trafficking are wreaking havoc in the Phoenix area.

In the first instalment BLOOD’S ECHO Veranda’s fifteen year old sister Gabriela was kidnapped by the Villalobos family, and her mother’s restaurant burned to the ground in a violent act of retribution and revenge against our story line heroine. Fast forward six weeks, and Veranda is named to a special task force alongside the Phoenix Police Department Homicide Squad and Gang Unit, the FBI, DEA, US Marshal, Homeland Security and the Mexican Federal Police as they put a plan into motion to take down the Villalobos Cartel. What ensues is a series of set backs, and threats aimed at our story line heroine as Hector Villalobos tries establish his power and authority against everyone involved.

PHOENIX BURNING contains some scenes of violence that focus on the brutality of the Mexican cartels; their cruelty and destructiveness as it pertains to human life, and their single-minded ruthlessness of domination and control. The Phoenix Police are outsmarted; our heroine’s family and the people of Phoenix are blindsided; the Villalobos family structure and dynamic will continue to change.

Author Isabella Maldonado, a retired police captain, and graduate of the FBI National Academy, draws on her experiences and real life in her endeavor to create a fictionalized world of corruption, crime and violence in Phoenix, Arizona. PHOENIX BURNING is an intriguing thrill ride; a gripping and realistic tale of choices and tragic consequences; of retaliation and retribution; entitlement, family, dominion and power.

Copy supplied by Netgalley for review

THE READING CAFÉ: http://www.thereadingcafe.com/phoenix-burning-a-veranda-cruz-mystery-2-by-isabella-maldonado-a-review-and-guest-post/


GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2296879089


AMAZON.COM: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2W0T8JTIR00O1/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B071P639VW


BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2014856776

B&N (Sandy_thereadingcafe): posted

CHAPTERS/INDIGO (Sandy_At_The_Reading_Cafe) posted

GOOGLE PLAY (Sandy S): posted

A southwestern police procedural with a bite, Phoenix Burning brings a unique and breathtaking view of what makes Arizona a special state of mind. Detective Veranda Cruz and her battles with the Villalobos Cartel keep you guessing and on your toes. Isabella Maldonado, a retired Fairfax County policewoman with over two decades on the job, brings us a very realistic look into the drug problems at the forefront of life in the desert southwest and a few of the reasons living out here is worth of effort. This is an author I will follow.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Isabella Maldonado, and Midnight Ink in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Veranda Cruz is a tough cop who is working against the implacably awful Villalobos cartel in a Phoenix those of us who have been tourists in the area have not seen. This is a good procedural/thriller- fast paced and entertaining with good guys, bad guys, conspiracy etc. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I had not read the first book and suspect I missed some details but I did enjoy the strong female lead and the well written story.

In the part of the USA I come from a veranda is a porch. Regardless of its cultural authenticity, it makes an awkward name for the hero.

The rest of the book is awkward too. My reading notes are full of objections to over sharing, back story disguised as a press conference, improbable car wrecks and fires including impossible contortions inside a wrecked car while wearing a bulletproof vest and a seat belt, private information being discussed in a staff meeting, and inappropriate guilt when a guy threatening her with a gun dies in the above mentioned car accident.

I did not like this book.

I received a review copy of "Phoenix Burning: A Veranda Cruz Mystery #2" by Isabella Maldonado (Midnight Ink) through NetGalley.com.

This rich, complex and well told tale proves that the author is no one-hit wonder. As good as her first book in the series was, this sophomore effort ratchets up the tension and keeps the pages turning. This is the real deal when it comes to cop stories. The book is full of info that only a cop with this authors experience could hope to convey. Be prepared to stay up all night because once you start it will be hard to stop. Don't miss this series.

I was so excited when I saw that this book (the second in the Veranda Cruz series) is available on Net Galley! I immediately requested it and read it the moment I received it. It was every bit as brilliant as the first book, and if I am correct I think there will be a third one too! Action filled, dramatic, touching family moments. This book has it all! I highly recommend not only this book, but the first one as well!