Desert Blood The Juarez Murders Author:Alicia Gaspar De Alba Desert Blood: The Juárez Murders Alicia Gaspar de Alba, March 31, 2005, ISBN 1-55885-446-0, Clothbound, $23.95 An incisive mystery that delves into the violent deaths of young women plaguing the US / Mexico border Its the summer of 1998 and for five years over a hundred mangled and desecrated bodies have been found dumped on the Chi... more »huahua desert outside of Juárez, México, just across the river from El Paso, Texas. The perpetrators of the ever-rising number of violent deaths target poor young women, terrifying inhabitants of both sides of the border. El Paso native Ivon Villa has returned to her hometown to adopt the baby of Cecilia, a pregnant maquiladora worker in Juárez. When Cecilia turns up strangled and disemboweled in the desert, Ivon is thrown into the churning chaos of abuse and murder. Even as the rapes and killings of "girls from the south" continuetheir tragic stories written in desert blooda conspiracy covers up the crimes that implicate everyone from the Maquiladora Association to the Border Patrol. When Ivons younger sister gets kidnapped in Juárez, Ivon knows that its up to her to find her sister, whatever it takes. Despite the sharp warnings she gets from family, friends, and nervous officials, Ivons investigation moves her deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of silence. From acclaimed poet and prose-writer Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Desert Blood is a gripping thriller that ponders the effects of patriarchy, gender identity, border culture, transnationalism, and globalization on an international crisis.« less