THE SOUTHLAND tells the story of three unauthorized Mexican immigrants living in Los Angeles: Luz works multiple jobs to provide for herself and her teenage son Eliseo. Nadia, a former journalist with PTSD, fled Mexico and tries to stay hidden from the dangerous men that she exposed in Sinaloa. Ostelinda works as a laborer in a garment factory, having been deceived by coyotes and imprisoned in the same building since her arrival. Their lives intersect through terrifying circumstance that clarify and contrast the horrors of existence.
When Eliseo goes missing, Luz is lost. She doesn’t trust the authorities to help. One wrong move could get her deported. Luz has no option but to investigate her son’s disappearance on her own. Engaging Nadia and her roommate, they navigate an increasingly hostile American environment in an effort to reunite Luz’s small family. When Luz and Nadia uncover a link to the people that run the garment factory, the two women become determined to save more than just Luz’s son.
THE SOUTHLAND is a crime story, but more than that, it’s a story of America and the dangers that migrants face when being forced to live in the shadows.
Genre: Mystery
When Eliseo goes missing, Luz is lost. She doesn’t trust the authorities to help. One wrong move could get her deported. Luz has no option but to investigate her son’s disappearance on her own. Engaging Nadia and her roommate, they navigate an increasingly hostile American environment in an effort to reunite Luz’s small family. When Luz and Nadia uncover a link to the people that run the garment factory, the two women become determined to save more than just Luz’s son.
THE SOUTHLAND is a crime story, but more than that, it’s a story of America and the dangers that migrants face when being forced to live in the shadows.
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"THE SOUTHLAND is a terrific novel, both compelling and illuminating. Johnny Shaw writes with deep empathy for his characters and an unflinching eye for the dark side of the American Dream. Highly recommend." - Lou Berney
"Great frontera fiction, full of strong women, grief, hope, love, pain, humor, and a critique of our immigration system. It's also devoid of nonsense and white saviors. This is a novel about people chasing the American Dream and finding a nightmare, and Shaw's gigantic heart screams for change in every page." - Gabino Iglesias
"Urgent, compulsively readable crime fiction that never takes the easy way out. While it's both a gripping page turner and a deft examination of justice and what it means to belong, it's the three complex women at the heart of this novel that make it unputdownable. I'll be thinking about Luz, Nadia, and Ostelinda for a long time." - Jess Lourey
"Great frontera fiction, full of strong women, grief, hope, love, pain, humor, and a critique of our immigration system. It's also devoid of nonsense and white saviors. This is a novel about people chasing the American Dream and finding a nightmare, and Shaw's gigantic heart screams for change in every page." - Gabino Iglesias
"Urgent, compulsively readable crime fiction that never takes the easy way out. While it's both a gripping page turner and a deft examination of justice and what it means to belong, it's the three complex women at the heart of this novel that make it unputdownable. I'll be thinking about Luz, Nadia, and Ostelinda for a long time." - Jess Lourey
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