Hell or High Water

By: Joy Castro

Narrated by: Roxanne Hernandez

Nola Cespedes, an ambitious young reporter at the Times-Picayune, finally catches a break: an assignment to write her first full-length feature. While investigating her story, she also becomes fixated on the search for a missing tourist in the French Quarter. As Nola's work leads her into a violent criminal underworld, she's forced to face disturbing truths from her own past.

Vividly rendered in razor-sharp prose, this haunting thriller is a riveting journey of trust betrayed - and the courageous struggle to rebuild. Fast-paced, atmospheric, and with a knockout twist, Joy Castro's Hell or High Water features an unforgettable heroine as fascinating and multi-layered as New Orleans itself.

©2012 Joy Castro (P)2012 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"Exquisite New Orleans background, intriguing newsroom politics and atmosphere, a flawed but plucky heroine, and skillfully paced suspense makes this a 'stay up way past your bedtime' read." ( Booklist)

"[F]ierce and intense, with both harrowing depictions of New Orleans after Katrina and psychological mayhem for its troubled heroine, who crawls under your skin and lingers there long after you've finished reading." ( Kirkus)

"A terrific mystery, but Hell or High Water is more than just a mystery; it's a heartfelt examination of a second America - poor but undaunted - that was swept under the rug but refuses to stay there...I can't wait to see what Joy Castro does next." (Dennis Lehane, New York Times best-selling author of Mystic River)

This gritty novel exposes the underbelly of criminal minds

Joy Castro paints the city of New Orleans in all its senses: taste the Cuban and Creole spices, smell the stench of the stale booze, feel the fear of dark alleys, see the architecture of the churches and the Quarter, and her the story of Nola. At times the characters are too evil but this story builds and pulls you to keep listening and cheering for Nola to tell it.