The Desert Saint: A Maria Varela Mystery

"An emotionally charged, brilliantly-written debut crime thriller." - BestThrillers.com

Complex characters. Shocking twists. A debut crime thriller readers can't put down.

When Maria Varela first made detective, more than a few cops called her a nepo-baby behind her back. Sure, having a legendary detective for a father hadn’t hurt her career, but he was retired, and the one closing cases was her, not him. Eventually all the arrests silenced even the loudest of the doubters.

Then a long dormant serial killer murders her brother.

Last seen in 1983, the Desert Saint killed five people. All shot twice in the head with the same gun. All with a token placed on the left hand. The best efforts of law enforcement to solve the murders had failed, and when the killings stopped, Las Vegas moved on. Now, only retired cops and the family members of the victims even remember who the Desert Saint was.

So why return now? And why kill her brother?

Capturing a killer no one else could is a hard enough task.

Figuring out why the Desert Saint came for her brother might tear Maria's life apart.

Some crimes are best left unsolved.

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★★★★★ “As much of a page-turner as anything I've read in recent memory. I raced through this book in two days."

★★★★★ “Non-stop action, tight pacing, and great characters."

★★★★★ "First surprise from this genre in a long time"

What the Reviewers Say:

"Debut author Pascarella presents a frightening view of Las Vegas, far from the glamor and glitz of the Strip...Against this dark background, Pascarella has set a hauntingly vivid cast of characters."

-Booklife Review

"In Maria, A.M. Pascarella has created a heroine with uncommon depth."

-Bestthrillers Review

"Maria and Carla are captivating figures, and readers will be eager for them to return..."

-Kirkus Reviews

Although set up as police procedural, the book delves into far grimmer territory than most. Maria isn't hunting the merely greedy; she's facing some true psychopaths. A fight scene with one of them will leave even the most jaded readers breathless, and the denouement, especially Maria's impossible ethical choice, will leave her fans waiting for the promised sequel.

-Booklife Review