Of Paradise & Purgatory
Santo Domingo Stories Book 1
Contemporary touch of Paranormal
LMW Books
August 24, 2016
388
Going home can be hell, even if it's paradise.
Victor Cruz returns to the Arizona town where he grew up to bury his estranged father, and dispose of the family’s ancestral home. The plan: get in and get out. A stop at Santo Domingo’s Lady of Guadalupe chapel compels him to offer up a simple prayer, “May I do what needs to be done,” and starts a landslide of events-old friends, old loves, and who is in collusion with the murderous Cumero Cartel? “Of Paradise and Purgatory” is a contemporary tale with a seasoning of faith & magical realism.
Reviewed by Gloria Lakritz
Sr. Reviewer and Review Chair for the Paranormal Romance Guild
This is a new author for me, meeting Mr. Del Mar at a local book store near home that was hosting a book signing for a local author Bellora Quinn. I had started reading Ms. Quinn’s books and was excited to meet her. Mr. Del Mar was also a visitor at the bookstore. Being a reviewer of a paranormal book guild, communicating with two authors in one setting is a treat. That said, two authors who write different types of stories with paranormal influences is even more than a treat.
Upon returning home, with book#1 from Mr. Del Mar’s Santo Domingo Series, I settled in and met Victor Cruz. Victor is forced from where he resides in Florida to return to his roots. Victor is travelling to southern Arizona to dispose of his deceased father’s estate and family home as the executor and only heir. I am immediately reminded of an old cliché, upon hearing his inner most thoughts “That you can never go back” .
Stephen Del Mar writes a tender story of our main character Victor Cruz. The story is told through Victor, now in his mid 50’s. Using flashbacks of his memories of his past life and loves, what he will now face going back. We get to see the good, the bad, the ugly and our author throws in a few surprises.
I must say as an adult over 50, I could feel the playfulness of youth, the relationships that went unanswered, as we can see this looking back into our own life experiences. I must say the book was charming, believable and so well written. Our author uses his great descriptive ability to take us down to the dessert feeling the arid ground, its nooks and crannies, and the history of the towns living there. He also brings a paranormal twist with culture ideology of with your dead are always with you….That I am truly a believer
I am now interested in reading more of his stories !!!
