Barbara Seranella (1956–2007)

Munch Mancini and little daughter Asia are doing just fine. Munch rejoices in her job as an auto mechanic at the Brentwood Texaco. She and Asia have a house -- not in tony Brentwood -- and a dog, and Munch has been off drugs for years. She plans to stay that way. It's tough, though, when people from her old life resurface.
Such a person is Lisa Slokum, Asia's aunt. Lisa has always meant trouble, and why should now be any different? It seems she has bolted from the Witness Protection Program show more with her two daughters, fifteen-year-old Charlotte and eleven-year-old Jill, and she needs Munch's help.
Would that it were so simple. Munch will need to call upon Rico Chacón, a fine cop but not-so-fine boyfriend whose commitment to her on the nonprofessional side seems to be wavering. And before Munch can sort out her love life she must try on the role of auntie to Asia's new cousins -- not easy when the teenaged Charlotte goes missing and her mom, Lisa, lands in jail.
Why did Charlotte run away, and where is she now? Is she in danger of becoming one of Hollywood's lost street children? Does she have information about the recent death of school friend Steven Koon? And why was a lock of her hair found stuck to a piece of duct tape in a ransacked storage locker?
Munch must unravel the mystery of young Charlotte's complex life before it's too late to save her. To do that, she needs help from Rico, who's investigating the Koon boy's death. Will their professional alliance rekindle their romance? Should she take him back? Does he want to come back? Can she trust him? show less

First in series of a girl coming up rough on the streets in the mid 70s in CA. Well written characterisation and dialogue. Scenarios are totally believable for that time and place.

Trigger warnings for rape and rascist language

J'ai lit ce livre en francais... s"appelle Tous des Rats. J’ai déjà lit un autre livre de ce séries... je pense que c'était le huitième et dans ce livre, j'ai pensé que Munch était un flic, ou un PI... Mais, ici, elle est un accro ! J’ai du lire le premier partie du livre deux fois avant de comprendre qu’elle n’était pas un flic. Étrange.

I read this book in French. I had previously read another book in this series, I think it was the 8th or so... and wanted to start back at show more the beginning. It was awhile ago that I had read the other book, and for some reason, I went into this book thinking that Munch was a cop, or perhaps a private investigator. Turns out she starts the series as neither: she is a recovering addict, and a former prostitute.

I think this makes her character more interesting - it isn't very often that the main character in a story is actually in the role that is usually "disposable": the addicts and prostitutes are the ones who get killed, or blamed for crimes, not the heros of the story. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series because Munch is a change of pace in this genre.

It is nicely paced with believable character behaviours (even if the characters might be stereotypical... i.e. bad bikers, dirty cops, flawed but legit cops, the helpful and caring stranger-waitress, etc). show less

A mystery novel, split between the detective on the case and the runaway it affected. Much of the story concerns the daily minutia of their lives rather than the investigation of Munch's father's death. Munch is a fascinating and heartbreaking character--an addicted teen with nothing going for her but stubborn will and experience as a mechanic. The mystery isn't great, and the ending is just ridiculous.