Synopses & Reviews
Boxer Miles Young thinks hes got one more shot in him before its time to hang up the gloves for good. He may be the only one who thinks so. The truth is, he enjoys the recognition his career has brought him at home, in the small Latin American country of Belize, and hes worried about how hell support his daughter once its over. So when his promoter comes to him with a proposition that includes one last big fight, he listens.
Isabelle Gilmore wants Miles to find her daughter, whos run off with some of her mothers money and her no-good boyfriend. Isabelles afraid Rians going to marry the kid, the only son of corrupt ex--police chief Marlon Tablada, and she wants Rian---and the money---found. In return, Miles gets put on a fight card with a $30,000 payday.
Hes reluctant, but Isabelle thinks a hometown hero can get people to talk in ways a private investigator cant. Trouble is, before he can find Rian, he learns that theres much more to Isabelle, her daughter, and Marlon than Isabelle let on.
Clearly at home in the world of hardboiled crime writing, debut novelist Ian Vasquez is a bright new talent who infuses In the Heat with a steamy, exotic voice all his own.
Review
Advance Praise for In the Heat
“In the Heat is a raw, muscular first novel with a serious punch. Set in an exotic part of the world that Ian Vasquez knows intimately, this is a sinewy, sweat-soaked story about an honest man struggling to uncover the truth in a tangle of lies and treachery. Miles Young is a cool dude, a man you can trust with your secrets, your cash, and your loved ones, and a hero Id love to see more of.”
---James W. Hall, author of Hells Bay
“Ian Vasquez is an excellent writer, and In the Heat is a terrific debut. Smart plotting, excellent dialogue, and a natural gift for storytelling. Read it, and youll understand what I mean.”
---James Swain, author of Midnight Rambler Jay Strafford - Hallie Ephron - Patrick Anderson - Walter Jon Williams - S. M. Stirling - Connie Willis, Hugo Award-winning author of To Say Nothing of the Dog - Morgan Llywelyn - Jacqueline Carey - George R.R. Martin - Frederick Busch - Anthony Quinn - Gahan Wilson - John Fowles - Paul Di Filippo - Publishers Weekly - Kirkus Reviews - Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine - Publishers Weekly - Kirkus Reviews - Kirkus Reviews - Booklist - SciFi.com - Entertainment Weekly - Kirkus - New Scientist - Newsday - Publishers Weekly - Realms of Fantasy - San Francisco Chronicle - The Sunday Times - The Washington Post - Time Out London - Wired - Los Angeles Times - Vanity Fair - New York Times Book Review - Rocky Mountain News - Library Journal - Publishers Weekly - Southern Living - Booklist - Publishers Weekly - Romantic Times - Midwest Book Review - Cincinnati Enquirer - Booklist - Publishers Weekly - Booklist - Romantic Times Bookclub - The New York Times - The Washington Times - Los Angeles Times - West Coast Review of Books - Chicago Tribune - Washington Post - Booklist - Chicago Sun-Times - Rocky Mountain News - Chicago Tribune - New York Sun - Publishers Weekly - Fangoria - Horn Book Magazine - School Library Journal - USA Today - Entertainment Weekly - Boston Globe - Richmond Times-Dispatch
Review
Advance Praise for In the Heat
“In the Heat is a raw, muscular first novel with a serious punch. Set in an exotic part of the world that Ian Vasquez knows intimately, this is a sinewy, sweat-soaked story about an honest man struggling to uncover the truth in a tangle of lies and treachery. Miles Young is a cool dude, a man you can trust with your secrets, your cash, and your loved ones, and a hero Id love to see more of.”
---James W. Hall, author of Hells Bay
“Ian Vasquez is an excellent writer, and In the Heat is a terrific debut. Smart plotting, excellent dialogue, and a natural gift for storytelling. Read it, and youll understand what I mean.”
---James Swain, author of Midnight Rambler
About the Author
Ian Vasquez, an avid boxing fan and a copy editor at the St. Petersburg Times, received his MFA while working on a psychiatric ward and counseling at-risk high school students. Raised in Belize, he lives near Tampa Bay, Florida, with his family. This is his first novel.