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Three choices to buy from
Pig Behind The Bear, a novel by Maria Nieto. ISBN:
1-888205-45-8 $24.95
 It’s
1971, one year after the killing of famed LA Times reporter, Rubén Salazar. A
junior reporter, Alejandra Marisol, who works for the LA Times is asked to write
a commemorative piece on Salazar in recognition of the one-year anniversary of
his death. While doing work for the piece, Alejandra finds that she is embroiled
in a murder mystery that appears to have ties to Rubén Salazar’s death.
Alejandra uncovers a world of evil and corruption with the help of an unlikely
collection of people who become heroes and who challenge us to think differently
about ourselves and the world we live in; Rocky the philosophizing WWI veteran,
Sumire, the clairvoyant ex-Japanese internment camp prisoner, Tía (Aunt) Carmen,
the wise-cracker who can wield a powerful left leg jab with a retractable
prosthesis, Tony and Chucho, the neighborhood homeboys, and Gato the wonder cat.
Alejandra also gets help from a dancing Jesus who feels misunderstood, and from
his mom, Mary, who bestows Alejandra with a tube of lipstick that helps
Alejandra unleash her inner strength. The reader will travel through streets and
townships where rich Angelino culture comes to life, and where tragedy and
despair are transformed into hope. María Nieto’s “Pig Behind the Bear” is
definitely a double treat: a fast-paced mystery story and a coming of age novel.
At the center of both stories is Alejandra Marisol, a young L.A. Times
journalist, who is as smart and courageous as she is charming and sensitive.
While researching a story about the late L.A. Times reporter Rubén Salazar in
1971, she stumbles across a number of ritualistic murders and other crimes
against the most vulnerable among us: the children and the immigrants. Her
outrage fuels her determination to bring to justice the criminals. María Nieto
has penned a most intriguing crime story, featuring a young heroine but also
plenty of engaging characters of all ages—and yes, with plenty of romances for
all ages, too! “Pig Behind the Bear” is sure to capture the attention of both
younger and older readers, who will keep turning the pages as fast as they can
till the thrilling and satisfying end! Brava, María! Encore: otra, otra! Lucha
Corpi, author of “Eulogy for a Brown Angel: a Gloria Damasco Mystery.” Maria
Nieto grew up in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles and moved from
the area in 1984 to attend a Ph.D graduate program in Immunology at UC Berkeley.
Maria currently resides in Oakland and is a Professor of Biology at California
State University, East Bay where she has been engaged in
underrepresented-minority student recruitment, teaching, and research for over
23 years. As a researcher and educator, Maria’s writings have taken the form of
scientific journal publications, and more recently popular press articles. Pig
Behind The Bear represents Maria’s first work of fiction..
The first five chapters of the book focus on character development before the
mystery is staged and begins to unfold. The book is intermixed with pen and ink
drawings that dot the book’s landscape and enliven some of the story’s props.
"La Pared Que Habla, Canta y Grita”
(“The Wall that Speaks, Sings and Shouts”)
by Paul Botello, assisted by Adalberto Ortiz,
Gerardo Herrera, and Gustavo Sanchez.
María Nieto’s Pig and the Bear is definitely a double treat: a fast-paced mystery
story and a coming of age novel. At the center of both stories is Alejandra
Marisol, a young L.A. Times journalist, who is as smart and courageous as she is
charming and sensitive. While researching a story about the late L.A. Times
reporter Rubén Salazar in 1971, she stumbles across a number of ritualistic
murders and other crimes against the most vulnerable among us: the children and
the immigrants. Her outrage fuels her determination to bring to justice the
criminals. María Nieto has penned a most intriguing crime story, featuring a
young heroine but also plenty of engaging characters of all ages—and yes, with
plenty of romances for all ages, too! Pig and the
Bear is sure to capture the
attention of both younger and older readers, who will keep turning the pages as
fast as they can till the thrilling and satisfying end! Brava, María!
Encore: otra, otra!
Lucha Corpi, author of Eulogy for a Brown Angel: a Gloria Damasco
Mystery.
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