Life Blood

Penny Rudolph
Poisoned Pen Press (2007)
ISBN 1590583469
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (3/07)

Rachel Chavez lives in an apartment over the parking garage she inherited from her grandfather in downtown Los Angeles.  Her customers are local businesses, not private individuals.  During the night she hears a tapping noise but doesn’t investigate. The next morning she sees an unfamiliar van parked in the garage and she checks it out.  Inside she sees a cage and with something in it.  She breaks out the back window and finds two boys inside.  The boys are around nine-years-old and are in diapers.  It’s obvious they’ve been in the cage for quite sometime.  When she takes them to the emergency room, one is dead and the other is severely dehydrated.  When she returned from the hospital, the van was gone.  The next day she goes to the hospital to check on the boys, but there is no record of their existence.  Rachel doesn’t want to become involved with the police because of her past.  She is a recovering alcoholic and was once arrested for possession of drugs.  But she can’t leave this alone; she’s determined to find out what really happened to the boys. She feels a sense of responsibility.  The boys were Mexican; could that have something to do with their being caged like animals, once death and the other’s disappearance? 

Hank, Rachel’s boyfriend, wants to run off to Las Vegas and get married.  Rachel is too enmeshed in trying to find out what happened to the boys that she doesn’t want to consider marriage at this time. 

Fans will be thrilled to see Rachel Chavez return in Penny Rudolph’s latest book “Life Blood.”  The plot of “Life Blood” is a rewarding story filled with suspense.  I eagerly turned page after page to see what would happen next.  The characters are well-defined.  Rachel is sure to be a favorite with all readers.  She is an imperfect and invigorating heroine.  Hank is lovable and adds dimension to the storyline.  The unconventional supporting characters add to the ambience of the tale.  Who wouldn’t love Goldie, head of night-shift cleaning crew?  Fans of suspense will love this one.

Make comment on weblog