Hell or High Water

Starred review. "Exquisite New Orleans background, intriguing newsroom politics and atmosphere, a flawed but plucky heroine, and skillfully paced suspense makes this a 'stay up way past your bedtime' read." - Booklist
."..fierce and intense, with both harrowing depictions of New Orleans after Katrina and psychological mayhem for its troubled heroine, who crawls under your skin and lingers there long after you've finished reading." - Kirkus Reviews
"A terrific mystery, but Hell or High Water is more than just a mystery; it's a heartfelt examination of a second America - poor but undaunted - that was swept under the rug but refuses to stay there...I can't wait to see what Joy Castro does next." - Dennis Lehane, New York Times bestselling author of Mystic River
"In the tradition of P.D. James, Ruth Rendell and Lucha Corpi, Joy Castro shows how mystery can be much more than the unraveling of crimes concealed. An irresistible and compelling novel." - Lorraine M. Lopez, author of Homicide Survivors Picnic and Other Stories
"Sometimes an audiobook narrator must be a juggler, and this book presents such a situation. Roxanne Hernandez deftly handles this evocative and sometimes creepy thriller... The glue that holds the story together is Hernandez's nuanced presentation of reporter Nola Cespedes, whose intriguing and intense personality dominates the novel..." - AudioFile Magazine
Starred Review. A Best Fiction Book of 2012. "Castro's first mystery is fierce and intense, with both harrowing depictions of New Orleans after Katrina and psychological mayhem for its troubled heroine, who crawls under your skin and lingers there long after you've finished reading." - Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. "Exquisite New Orleans background, intriguing newsroom politics and atmosphere, a flawed but plucky heroine, and skillfully paced suspense makes this a 'stay up way past your bedtime' read." - Booklist
"Hell or High Water is a great book, not only for introducing me to New Orleans beyond her usual beignet and Bourbon Street confinements, but also for offering a realistic, moving, and deeply human story about trauma, resilience, and recovery. But that's not all: Hell or High Water is an edge-of-the-seat thriller, a page turner with so many twists and hidden clues and sudden light beaming down that I have already reread the whole thing, eager to find the early indicators of the great surprises launched by Castro at all the key points of the book." - The Huffington Post
"A terrific mystery, but Hell or High Water is more than just a mystery; it's a heartfelt examination of a second America - poor but undaunted - that was swept under the rug but refuses to stay there...I can't wait to see what Joy Castro does next." - Dennis Lehane, New York Times bestselling author of Mystic River
"In the tradition of P.D. James, Ruth Rendell and Lucha Corpi, Joy Castro shows how mystery can be much more than the unraveling of crimes concealed. An irresistible and compelling novel." - Lorraine M. Lopez,

""Sometimes an audiobook narrator must be a juggler, and this book presents such a situation. Roxanne Hernandez deftly handles this evocative and sometimes creepy thriller... The glue that holds the story together is Hernandez's nuanced presentation of reporter Nola Cespedes, whose intriguing and intense personality dominates the novel..."" - AudioFile Magazine
Starred Review. A Best Fiction Book of 2012. ""Castro's first mystery is fierce and intense, with both harrowing depictions of New Orleans after Katrina and psychological mayhem for its troubled heroine, who crawls under your skin and lingers there long after you've finished reading."" - Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. ""Exquisite New Orleans background, intriguing newsroom politics and atmosphere, a flawed but plucky heroine, and skillfully paced suspense makes this a 'stay up way past your bedtime' read."" - Booklist
""Hell or High Water is a great book, not only for introducing me to New Orleans beyond her usual beignet and Bourbon Street confinements, but also for offering a realistic, moving, and deeply human story about trauma, resilience, and recovery. But that's not all: Hell or High Water is an edge-of-the-seat thriller, a page turner with so many twists and hidden clues and sudden light beaming down that I have already reread the whole thing, eager to find the early indicators of the great surprises launched by Castro at all the key points of the book."" - The Huffington Post
""A terrific mystery, but Hell or High Water is more than just a mystery; it's a heartfelt examination of a second America - poor but undaunted - that was swept under the rug but refuses to stay there...I can't wait to see what Joy Castro does next."" - Dennis Lehane, New York Times bestselling author of Mystic River
""In the tradition of P.D. James, Ruth Rendell and Lucha Corpi, Joy Castro shows how mystery can be much more than the unraveling of crimes concealed. An irresistible and compelling novel."" - Lorraine M. Lopez, author of Homicide Survivors Picnic and Other Stories

Nola Cespedes, an ambitious young reporter at the Times-Picayune, finally catches a break: an assignment to write her first full-length feature. While investigating her story, she also becomes fixated on the search for a missing tourist in the French Quarter. As Nola's work leads her into a violent criminal underworld, she's forced to face disturbing truths from her own past. Vividly rendered in razor-sharp prose, this haunting thriller is a riveting journey of trust betrayed - and the courageous struggle to rebuild. Fast-paced, atmospheric, and with a knockout twist, Joy Castro's Hell or High Water features an unforgettable heroine as fascinating and multi-layered as New Orleans itself.