I have given The Night Lady by Debra Castaneda three out of five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a really interesting book that kept me intrigued through the entirety of it. The premise surrounding murders of men happening through sexual assault is something that I haven’t read about before, I would definitely advise to read the trigger warnings before going into this book.

I didn’t connect very well with the characters we were introduced to however, I enjoyed the author’s writing so it didn’t affect my enjoyment too much.

The whodunnit mystery aspect of this book kept me going all the way until we find out who the killer is. I didn’t have any inklings as to who it was going to be and I was definitely taken by surprise!

A bit slow burn for me but well written with some spooky scenes.
A bit of a period noir, set in the 50s with plenty of death, killings and a few solid characters.
The only downside for me was the pace and I couldn’t quite warm to the characters however, the style of writing was engaging and the plot well thought out, the setting very creepy and atmospheric.

Just in time for spooky season. This ia a good read. A solid read. A triggering read. There are certain situations, descriptions that will grab you, shake you, and will never let go. Days later this book is still living in my mind. The less you know about the story going in, the better the experience will be. This will not be my last experience with this author.

#NETGALLEY #THENIGHTLADY

It’s summer, 1950. The bodies of handsome young men are discovered near an elaborate movie set in the hills northeast of Los Angeles. Each is a gruesome tableau of shocking violence.

New to the big city, Robert is a reporter who needs to prove himself.

Catalina is a beautiful healer, determined to keep her secrets.

A chance encounter connects them to the cases, confounding police and commanding headlines. The results are as unexpected as they are horrific.

But when a ghost appears, frightening the residents in the semi-rural neighborhoods where evictions loom, the dark mystery deepens and threatens them all.

The truth is only one story away. If it’s not buried first.

This is the second instalment in the Chavez Ravine stories and like the first book it didn’t fail to deliver.

One of the things I love about Castaneda and her writing is her ability to create amazing characters that live and breathe life into her stories. They feel like real people that you would find walking down the street.

Coupled with this is Castaneda’s atmospheric style and ability to merge the supernatural aspects of her writing flawlessly with the crime/thriller genre. All of these things together make her stories so enthralling, tense and exciting and keep you on your toes flicking those pages desperate to find out what happens next.

I am a solid fan and if Castaneda keeps writing, I’ll keep reading.

Takes place in 1950, young men are found murdered near the site of a movie set in the hills of Los Angeles. They are killed in a brutal way and found with roses embedded into every available orifice. Well, that's original for sure!

This book goes in multiple directions; starts as a murder mystery then throws in a little occult with a witch, a dash of social commentary of the treatment of Mexicans in California in the '50s, and then a ghost story. Should be confusing but I think the author juggled all of this quite well.

I found all of the blatant racism uncomfortable, but it should be uncomfortable even if it was the '50s.

Thanks to @netgalley, Second Rodeo Books, and Debra Castaneda for the opportunity to read the eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

The Night Lady is an interesting premise leading down the road of murder mystery and taking a turn to add the occult within the strands of the narrative. Castenda does a good job mixing these genres but for me I feel I am missing something that may have been as I did not read the previous book which could have given me some inner depths that I felt that I was lacking.

The book is very well written and the characters are engaging and interesting. They are three dimensional but I had a slight disconnect with some of them as if I am missing something. The plot is well constructed and kept me intrigued and liked the twists and turns and this is done very well. Castenda has done a good job mixing and blending her different genres very well.

I did enjoy the book and I have ordered the first book in the series because there was a lot that I really enjoyed but I had the slight feeling that I came into a film that already started and was trying to play a bit of catchup which the fault of myself and not the writer. Entertaining, haunting and very well done with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.

The night lady by Debra Castaneda.
Chavez Ravine Stories book 2.
After dark, danger lurks in the ravine. It’s summer, 1950. The bodies of handsome young men are discovered near an elaborate movie set in the hills northeast of Los Angeles. Each is a gruesome tableau of shocking violence.
New to the big city, Robert is a reporter who needs to prove himself. Catalina is a beautiful healer, determined to keep her secrets. A chance encounter connects them to the cases, confounding police and commanding headlines. The results are as unexpected as they are horrific. But when a ghost appears, frightening the residents in the semi-rural neighborhoods where evictions loom, the dark mystery deepens and threatens them all. The truth is only one story away. If it’s not buried first.
A really enjoyable read with some good characters. I liked the story and plot. I didn't have a favourite character though. 3*.

‘The two women talked about magic as if it were real, and Jane remembered something her mother had said about Catalina, that she wasn’t just a healer but a bruja, a witch.‘

Publisher: Second Rodeo books.

Release date: November 9th 2021.

Pages: 302

Representation: Hispanic main characters.

Trigger warnings: Racism, Sexual assault, sexual harassment, murder, blood, supernatural, witchcraft, physical assault, witchcraft.

Summary: Robert Cleary is a reporter waiting for his big break. When murder strikes on the outskirts of Hollywood, the neighbourhoods nearby are cursed by far more than just a Serial Killer and Robert finds himself in the middle of it all. The residents there are already struggling, and things just seem to be getting worse. There’s a killer on the loose, but is that the only reason to be afraid of the dark?

⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.

The Night Lady is a harsh look at what happens when culture and crime clash with the supernatural; proving to its readers that no one should ever be underestimated. Reading this book took me far longer than it should of, and I want this review to reflect that it's not because it was a bad book. In fact, in this case, it works in the book's favour. After starting this book, I lost someone very close to me, and yet even in my grief, I was able to pick it up and continue reading even weeks after I'd put it down.

Castaneda wrote the characters exceptionally well. They didn't feel like characters in a book; they felt like people you'd meet around town, your neighbours and your friends. I don't have much knowledge of different Hispanic cultures, which makes me very similar to Robert. I viewed the interactions he had and his experiences in the book from a more similar point of view to his than any other.

The plot itself was very clever and kept me engaged throughout. I kept reading because I wanted to find out who the killer was. I wanted to know whether the town residents were going to be evicted. I wanted to know who or what was causing all the trouble. I felt connected with the people, and I wanted to ensure they all got their justice.

The one thing that follows the reader throughout this book is a lack of suspense. The mystery deepens; there are plot twists, surprising endings and everything else needed to create the perfect mystery; and yet as the book goes on, it gets less and less suspenseful. There is no central emotional climax. This was the main thing that stopped me from giving this a rating of four stars; I felt like I was at the top of a rollercoaster, waiting for a drop that was never going to happen.

It was still exciting to read. The lack of suspense didn't remove the ingenuity of the reveals or the horror aspect. The supernatural element let me down; it disappeared as soon as it appeared, with no real explanations or justifications behind it. The book's first half is spent denying one character's connection with the supernatural when at the midpoint, it flips and leans into the relationship with no explicit flow between the two.

Overall, an exciting yet quick and easy read. I'd recommend this book for those just getting into the thriller genre or struggling with a reading block.

Shining glory: The characterisations are exceptional; they're believable, deep, and likeable and grow as the book goes along.

Fatal flaw: There was a lack of suspense throughout, which is an issue in any supernatural, horror or mystery book.

Read this if: You want an easy read that still has you asking questions when it ends. You like realism in your supernatural thrillers and know that sometimes the stories that scare us the most are the ones we can't always explain.

Skip this if: You want high paced, high suspense supernatural or motive driven crime that all ties together neatly in the end. You want a mystery that you can piece together yourself or prefer less character-driven stories.

Really enjoyable read. Surprisingly scary at times as well! Diverse range if characters and they're all fairly likeable. I look forward to reading more from this author