Review
Morgan Hatch delivers a strong debut with Gone to Ground. He takes readers along the streets of Los Angeles with vivid imagery, allowing us to immerse ourselves in the story. Through the Jimenez family’s and background as an immigrants struggling to survive after devastating loss and limitations, the author outlines the reality that these humans endure. The author’s experiences as a public school teacher in LA shines through, along with sympathy for immigrants and their children.
The antagonist, corrupt businessman George Jones, is quite impressive as well. He’s always ten steps ahead of everyone – elected officials, law enforcement, the communities they serve, etc. If anyone stands in his way, he’s got surefire yet shady ways to take care of the problem. He has seemingly unlimited resources to orchestrate big moves and overturn communities for his own gain.
The story is complex, powerful, and suspenseful, offering a fantastic first book of what will be a trilogy. The characters are interesting, the story is paced well, and the final 30 pages of the book took my head for a spin. Needless to say, I will be waiting for the sequel.
Morgan Hatch joins the Cantina Book Club Podcast to talk about his experiences as a debut author and plans for the next book. Keep an ear out for the interview and preorder Gone to Ground, available July 31.
Book
The first in a suspenseful new trilogy, a fast-paced thriller set in the streets of Los Angeles, featuring a Mexican American high school senior embroiled in a conspiracy that threatens to destroy his neighborhood.
Javier Jimenez is on a glide path to college while his brother, Alex, has done a 180 and is heading for trouble. Neither, however, have any idea what’s coming their way when George Jones sets in motion his plan for their neighborhood. “Some people flip homes. I flip zip codes.” It’s a cataclysmic vision of urban renewal replete with manmade disasters, civil unrest, and a tsunami of ambitious Zoomers.
Meanwhile, Alex and Javier’s feud quickly escalates, even as Alex finds himself in way over his head with Denker Street, the local gang. The bodies start falling, and Javier soon realizes Jones has put a target on his back. It’s time to go to ground. Can he keep Alex from falling further into the streets? Can he outplay Jones at his own game? All this and his own hopes, once so bright, now fading like a smog-shrouded LA skyline.
