The Girl in the Glass Box: A Jack Swyteck Novel

Julia Rodriguez, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, works as a barista in a Miami café, in bestseller Grippando’s timely 16th Jack Swyteck novel (after 2018’s A Death in Live Oaks). When she refuses the sexual advances of her boss, he reports her to ICE, and she’s soon arrested by ICE agents, but her daughter, Beatriz, a ninth grader, avoids capture. Attorney Swyteck takes on the challenging task of securing Julia’s release from detention and reuniting her with Beatriz. Julia had fled to America to escape her abusive, gang-member husband, Jorge, but he soon followed her to Miami and will stop at nothing to get her back. Grippando keeps the narrative moving forward at a steady clip, expertly interweaving each character’s point of view into the plot. He brings to life the fear undocumented immigrants face every day, as well as the complicated legalities they confront when arrested. Still, he never forgets that this is a thriller, and Jorge’s ruthless momentum keeps the tension building to a heart-racing climax. Agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management. (Feb.)