Desert Blood: The Juárez Murders

Overall, her fictional story does a fantastic job of sending a very real message about what is happening in Juarez. Jul 21, Venessa rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: A chilling fictional account of the terrible and still unexplained murders of the hundreds of women living on the Ciudad Juarez, MX border and El Paso, USA; nevertheless filled with enough factual information to make you cry as you cannot stop reading.

Brilliant expose of the disgusting crimes the police are unwilling to solve, perhaps because of the part they play? Jun 10, Blanca Gaspar de Alba added it Recommends it for: I read this book in 48 hours and I loved it because it was an easy read and since I live in El Paso, Texas I could easily relate to the story.

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Furthermore, I used to go to Juarez on a daily basis and the way the author depicted life on the border is pretty accurate. In summary, even if you've never been to the border you will still enjoy this book Apr 08, Quiet rated it did not like it. If the protagonist was anything other than an absolute bore of an ultra-feminist whose every thought is defined only after running through a "Make sure they get that I'm a strong lesbian woman from this" filter, it probably would have been a pretty good mystery.

As is, you either need to be an alike reactionary or simply illiterate to bear this novel without rolling your eyes so much you get dizzy. It's not a bad mystery. There's a true-crime basis to the heinous affair, but the actual story is f If the protagonist was anything other than an absolute bore of an ultra-feminist whose every thought is defined only after running through a "Make sure they get that I'm a strong lesbian woman from this" filter, it probably would have been a pretty good mystery.

There's a true-crime basis to the heinous affair, but the actual story is fiction. It doesn't really wrap up the way it ought to though. In particular, it's what accentuates the crimes that is never described, which is the usage of coins on victims as well as the Satanic-cult over-arch. It "sort of" explains these things, but it's really whisked in there right at the end and, as far as a mystery novel goes, that's unacceptable.

And yet, there are hardly any. At least, hardly any relevant to the actual mystery; plenty about powerful, overtly-emotional lesbians who prefer temper-tantrums to evaluation though. You'll get the details of them down to the sweat they drip, but as for the actual mystery apparently that wasn't important enough. Lousy novel that didn't have to be. The writing really isn't bad at all. But author Alicia Gaspar clearly had an agenda here with feminism, and it absolutely ruined the story as always happens when an author tries to force their politic down reader's throats.

Aug 29, Rachel rated it liked it. I couldn't say I enjoyed reading this book. It's definitely not something I would have picked up on my own I don't like reading about rape or mutilation. There were definitely some parts that made me queasy. I also didn't like how there was quite a bit of Spanish in the book that wasn't translated. I would have loved a translation at the bottom of the page or something because although there were some translations like in the next sentence I often wondered if it was a translation of the Spanis I couldn't say I enjoyed reading this book.

I would have loved a translation at the bottom of the page or something because although there were some translations like in the next sentence I often wondered if it was a translation of the Spanish that was just said or something entirely different. Overall an interesting read and it opened my eyes to the femicide in Juarez, but not a book I would have picked up on my own. Apr 08, emi k rated it it was ok.

This is a fictionalized account of the Juarez murders based on actual reports, events, etc. The book is very descriptive in the violence inflicted upon the maquiladoras women workers and I had a problem with the sensationalized retelling of the these violent murders and felt uncomfortable in how i was "consuming" this book.

Mar 20, Alnora rated it it was amazing. Really well written mystery set on the Texas-Mexico border! Ivon is a powerful, flawed protagonist and every Spanglish term, every nuance of Ivon's house reminded me of my childhood in Laredo. I wasn't a lesbian while in Laredo the first time but the energy, both good and bad, came through each page.

Gaspar de Alba sets the plight of the maquiladoras along the border cities to a suspenseful and startling work. An important read for women, Latinos, and law enforcement everhywhere. Jul 31, Clara Lucero rated it really liked it.

Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders by Alicia Gaspar De Alba

Since I am from el paso, I could envision the streets and scenery mentioned in the book. The more you read, the more twists and turns the book has. I enjoyed the drama it offered. It's sad knowing that these events are True. And not every story of these murdered women end happy. Jan 03, Michelle Lemaster rated it it was amazing. This book unnerved me an made it hard to sleep at night.

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So horrific yet so needed to be read. Through a fictionalized account of one missing girl, this story reads like a mystery all the while chronicling the very real horrors happening to women of the US Mexico border towns. Aug 02, Devon Valderas rated it it was amazing.

1. God Doesnt Whisper.
2. Der wahre Feind: Kriminalroman (German Edition);
3. Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders;
4. .

Apr 23, Sophia rated it it was ok Shelves: While a smartly written and important book, this novel was not my cup of tea. Ivon, who has moved away from the home she sometimes hated and sometimes loved, returns to El Paso, where she plans to adopt a child. On the plane there, she reads about the disappearances and killings of hundreds of women in El Paso and Juarez, which has been going on for years and did happen in the 90s and early s.

Aghast, Ivon questions those she knows about the murders, in disbelief that this could happen for s While a smartly written and important book, this novel was not my cup of tea. Aghast, Ivon questions those she knows about the murders, in disbelief that this could happen for so long without her finding out about it. Tragedy strikes when the mother of the baby she was about to adopt turns up dead, and just days later Ivon's younger sister Irene disappears.

As the events unfold, the novel reveals a stark and disturbing setting, outlining the violence on the border with frighteningly gruesome scenes. This is absolutely not a book for the fainthearted, nor for anyone with past wounds relating to sexual violence. These scenes really turned me off, and seemed gratuitous. I became almost desensitized to these awful images as I read the novel over many hours of spring break.

This desensitization to the sexual violence was almost worse, and upon finishing the book I just had to pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet for all of those women and their families. It was frustrating to see a poorly-depicted Catholic character in Father Francis, whose organization worked for justice for the women in the novel. He was inconsistent, revealing what someone had said in confession to Ivon and the character Ximena, but upon explaining why he hadn't told the authorities, said something to the effect of "I cannot break the seal of confession.

While hard to read, the issue that this book addresses is entirely true and still a bit of a mystery. People do need to know about what happened to these women, about how we don't really know what happened to these women, about the government's blundering investigation or lack thereof and inaction, and about the families who still carry weight from these tragedies today.

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For that reason I think this book's purpose was certainly achieved. No one knows the exact number of victims. Still other sources estimate as high as or as low as None of these estimates includes the hundreds of women who have disappeared without a trace. Why are these women being killed in the particular way they are being killed? Clearly these crimes are more than murder: They also shared the same physical profile: What is it about them that they hate?

Thus are power relations understood: But Gaspar de Alba holds; all members of modern society accountable. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. December Learn how and when to remove this template message. Multi-Ethnic Literature of the U.