The Bus to Beulah

Maria Puente, the protagonist of this easy-to-read but flawed thriller from Hanes (Justice by Another Name), is traveling with other migrant workers from her home in Monterrey, Mexico, to Beulah, N.C., on a work visa when she’s suddenly abducted after inadvertently overhearing that the farm labor recruitment program serves as cover for an international prostitution operation. Prominent if unscrupulous businessman Albert “Ruff” Waters, who runs the racket in league with a Mexican drug cartel, fears that the kidnapped Maria now knows too much and plans to ensure she’ll never have the chance to contact the authorities. Meanwhile, her uncle Tomás Delgado, worried by Maria’s failure to arrive in Beulah, enlists the aid of Vietnam vet and Hogg County sheriff Will Moser to try to locate her. When Maria escapes from her captors, a ruthless cartel killer joins Waters in a desperate attempt to get her back. Readers will care about Maria’s fate, but too often the narrative grinds to a halt as characters trot out big lumps of exposition disguised as dialogue. Others have done a better job of dramatizing the serious social issues Hanes highlights. Agent: Jennifer Utner, Utner Agency. (May)