Actor/Filmmaker First Novel is a Nail-biting U.S./Mexico Border Adventure
www.Amazon.com Publisher: LatinHeat Media
From award-winning Actor Enrique Castillo, best known for his iconic role as Montana in Taylor Hackford’s Blood In Blood Out, comes a brilliant, panoramic crime novel, The Dead of Summer, published by LatinHeat Media, about a Sheriff, a Clairvoyant and one Superhuman being determined on stopping the violence against women along the U.S./Mexico border desert.
Castillo’s dedication of The Dead of Summer reads: “To all the women that have suffered so much along the U.S./Mexico border and women throughout the ages that have never received justice. This is for you.”
In a year where women seem to be at the forefront of politics, corporate leadership, community activism, and escalated violence, Castillo’s impressive novel debuts at a moment when populism is on the rise and Americans are demanding immigration reform, and some by extension, justice for victimized undocumented immigrants. The timing couldn’t be better.
The Dead of Summer quickly grabs readers and takes them on a nail-biting odyssey of good versus evil – a story manipulated with plots of betrayal, psychopath murders and escalated criminal activities against undocumented immigrants, especially women crossing the Mexican border—attacks encountered on a regular basis as in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley’s “Green Monster Incident” as reported in Politico Magazine in 2014.
The story takes place between the U.S. Imperial Valley in southeastern California—a valley bordered by the Colorado River to the east and the Salton Sea to the west—and Mexicali, on the Mexican side, in Baja California. It is a hub magnet for human trafficking by unscrupulous men—murderous criminals—and a few rogue dangerous and violent Border Patrol Agents.
The Dead of Summer carefully weaves the tale of a sinister and violent predator who in the end will face his fate—the wrath of a superhuman being said to morph into an old folklore legend that will not stop until she avenges the injustices of the monster who murdered her children.
Castillo’s fascinating array of characters, include: “Daylight,” the beautiful proprietor of the Blue Bird, a local boarding house and restaurant. She is an extraordinary woman with special revealing powers, a clairvoyant. There is “Inez Camacho,” mother of Norma Elena and Armando, two tweens, who goes from a single, carefree mother to a super woman fueled by an agonizing rage and determination for vengeance after her children are murdered and she is left for dead to rot along the bank of a slow-moving creek.
Sheriff Gabe Luna is a skilled desert tracker, works sunrise to sunset haunted by his own personal echoes of human suffering and violence against women and children. Luna along with his deputy, Angel Nava, are two of the best in law enforcement who guard the scorching desert terrain, its inhabitants and now pursue an elusive serial killer.
Castillo brilliantly presents the evil antagonist, Jack Russell with a tinge of empathy by revealing the tragic history of his mentally disturbed psyche – growing up with an abusive father, and hating his sisters and mother to the point of hating all women wanting nothing more than to control and make them suffer. Jack’s cruelty is boundless.
Jack’s nefarious reputation follows him everywhere he goes. After the latest criminal allegations and acquittal, his agent superiors in San Diego no longer want to deal with him and manage to transfer him to the desert hellhole in El Centro where he is immediately reassigned to a remote station in Comal Del Diablo, (The Devil’s Griddle). The border patrol station is shared with Sheriff Luna and Deputy Nava.
Daylight and Gabe have a special friendship, forged with a tacit understanding that they are each other’s soul mate. She’s the only one who understands his deep seeded pain. Daylight’s loyal employee, Mateo, an armless midget, manages to do everything despite the lack of his upper limbs and is extremely protective of his boss.
The terrain of The Dead of Summer is searingly appealing shaded with Shakespearean drama and irony. Move over Joseph Wambaugh and make room for Enrique J. Castillo– an author who raises the crime-thriller-horror genre bar with his natural ability to seamlessly mix reality and mythical folklore. It is his Chicano soul nurtured in the sun-baked desert where the story unfolds that is at the core of who this author is.
About The Author Enrique Castillo is an award-winning actor/writer/director whose work spans theater, television and film. Castillo’s most recognized for his roles in Showtime’s Weeds and his role as Montana in Hollywood Pictures’ feature film Blood In Blood Out. He began his career with Luis Valdez’ El Teatro Campesino in 1969, later was cast by Valdez in his hit play Zoot Suit. Among Castillo’s film credits are Déjà vu, Hi-Lo Country, My Family/Mi Familia, El Norte and Borderline. He also wrote/produced and directed the award-winning theater production Veteranos: A Legacy of Valor. The Dead of Summer is his debut novel that is already generating Hollywood film buzz.
Twitter: @TheDeadofSummer Facebook: ElMeroMeroMontana
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