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Lorenzo Brown is an ex-con, living in the city that claimed his freedom. He
works for the Humane Society. His job is to seek out and save dogs from cruelty by their
owners and the public. It’s a job he has had as one of myriad conditions of his parole.
He has to keep his body drug-free and disassociate with the elements of the criminal
world.
Rachel Lopez is a parole officer. She is responsible for meeting
with the parolees assigned to her. She is good at what she does but her secret life is
beginning to encroach on her day job.
Rachel spends her evenings
cruising the hotel bars in search of sex. She would dress up in clothes befitting a lady
of the night and stay out until she was sated and drunk. The mornings usually found her
with a hangover that was becoming more difficult to conceal. She never missed work
though…she was that dedicated.
There was trouble brewing in Drama
City. Young men and boys in opposing street gangs were being murdered. Lorenzo had
to stay clear of this lest he be sucked back into that quagmire he fought so hard to
escape. When trouble came to his childhood friend who was still living the criminal life
he, Lorenzo, sought support from Rachel and attended more meetings to help him keep his
distance. Rachel was always there for him.
On a routine check of one of
her offenders, Rachel was attacked and left for dead. Lorenzo, in the neighborhood doing
his job, came upon the crime scene and recognized Rachel’s car. When she was carried out
on a stretcher, he felt as thought he was kicked in the gut. Once cleared to leave the
scene, he completed the rest of his shift and then went home. There, he changed into
clothes he hadn’t worn since he left the streets.
He went to the
hospital and waited for news of Rachel. A short time later, he heard the wailing of her
co-workers, a sign that Rachel was dead. He got up and left…he knew what he had to
do.
Drama City is a well written account of struggle and survival
in the inner city. I read each page and didn’t dare take a breath until I felt it was
safe to do so. I found I was riding that emotional rollercoaster as I got closer to the
end of the book…not wanting it to end but needing to know what happened to the characters
I came to care for.
Get it…read it…you’ll love it!
