Johanna Rios and her sister Carmen grew up in the foster
care system after
their mother committed suicide in a violent incident when
they were children.
The legend of the ghost of La Llorona tells of a story of a
woman who
searches riverbanks for her children, and their mother
believed so strongly in
this story, that she believed she needed to kill her
daughters to stop the
haunting. During her attempt, though, she succeeded only in
killing herself.
Now, as an adult, Johanna teaches at the local high school,
and she's attracted
to her principal, Ray Vargas. Ray has spent some time in
Afghanistan, and
he's determined to not let Johanna know his feelings for his
employee. But
when one of their students is killed, and begins to leave
clues that the killings
are replicating the four legends that weave together to form
the story of La
Llorona, Johanna fears that this is the work of a serial
killer and three other
killings will follow. Most tellingly, though, Johanna
receives a box of clues at
work that let her know that she's the killer's fourth and
final target.
Ray becomes determined to protect Johanna, although that may
mean
revealing his feelings for her. And while Johanna is
concerned for her own
safety, she's also preoccupied with identifying who the
potential second and
third targets might be and ensuring their safety. Can Ray
keep Johanna safe
while she's running her own ad hoc investigation to find
potential victims
before the La Llorona killer gets to them or her? And will
their budding
romance interfere with the investigation?
The books I generally read by Ms Ramirez are in a different
genre (and penned
under a pseudonym), so reading CURSE OF PASSION was quite a
change of pace for me.
But I felt myself instantly drawn in and I sped through this
book in record
pace. I couldn't stop reading, as I constantly had to know
what happened
next; to say that the suspense in this book hit the right
notes is an
understatement! The La Llorona legend was woven into this
story seamlessly
and made for a thrilling backstory. And the romance between
Ray and
Johanna progressed nicely, despite my fears that the
relationship would be
tedious since they each started out privately attracted to
the other but not
acknowledging said attraction.
CURSE OF PASSION is an excellent read, and I cannot wait to
read more of this series!
The ghost of la Llorona is said to haunt the riverbanks, always searching for her drowned child. She also haunts high school teacher Johanna Rios, whose own mother believed so deeply in the legend she tried to drown her daughters. And now the ghost has become real, a young woman murdered, and the safe world Jo created is falling apart. Since returning home from his last tour of duty to become a school principal, Ray Vargas has fought his attraction for his employee, the sensual woman who’d once been the girl next door. But the Llorona Killer will not stop until he claims his final victim—Johanna—and Ray will do anything to protect the woman he’s come to love. With a serial killer out to prove the curse is real, will Ray and Johanna’s future be drowned in the ghostly waters of the past? Or will the power of their love give them the strength to stop a killer…and heal their wounded hearts…?
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