Two Graves Dug — Penny Mickelbury

Phil Rodriquez is the newest of the New York City private eyes. The Lower East Side is his turf, and the people who live their lives and ply their trades in the narrow tip of Manhattan are his clients. He is a native New Yorker and an ex-cop, but his Puerto Rican heritage both separates him from the pack and endears him to clients who might not trust the cop in him. Phil is hired to find out who's hurting little girls in the 'hood' victimized by a serial rapist and a grown-up woman being harassed by somebody who doesn't want her back in her old neighborhood. Then rape turns into murder, harassment turns into terrorist attacks, and the ugly past rears its head to wreak havoc on the narrow East Village streets. At first reluctant to take the job, Phil changes his mind when it appears that the cops are dragging their feet. Then secrets from the past start to emerge, giving Phil a closer look into the dark corners of some of his hometown-the wealthy Upper East Side and the newly-gentrified Harlem. While Phil seeks answers in the streets, his best friend and business partner, Yolanda Aguillera, works the phones, the computers, and the clients. And it's Yo who knows first that it's the secrets and the lies that are at the root of all the misery. Two Graves Dug presents a New York City of narrow Village streets and tenements, filled with people whose lives are anything but narrow. And it presents Phil Rodriquez, a PI who sees these people as his own, sees their problems as his, and isn't beyond bending-or breaking-a rule to help them.

Penny Mickelbury is the author of eight previous mystery novels in two series. She also is an accomplished playwright. The former reporter teachers journalism at a Los Angeles middle school and oversees publication of the school newspaper.