The Wonderland Murders — Kent Braithwaite

Echoes from America's emerging multi-cultural society reverberate through Jesse Ascencio's most personal case. A gorgeous Asian woman is murdered on the Fourth of July. She is hanging from the rafters in Mount Wonder, the signature roller coaster of Wonderland, an amusement park near the fabled California coastline. Ascencio, a poetry-writing Latino private cop who once served time both in Congress and with the FBI, arrives at the theme park. Cooperating with an African-American police detective, he launches his investigation. Fresh homicides occur on the Wonderland grounds. Soon, Ascencio becomes enmeshed in prostitution and smuggling rings. Before long, he discovers his life and the lives of those closest to him are in grave danger. As the murderer strikes daily, Ascencio may become the next victim. Set in Southern California and Northern Nevada, The Wonderland Murders takes place where our nation's traditional ethnic groups mix uneasily with immigrants from every corner of the world and human beings become increasingly expendable.