DIEGO GALVAN: CHARMER & WARRIOR
No One Heard Her Scream by Jordan Dane (Avon, 2008)
STATS: Mexican stepson of mobster who warns the heroine, a detective investigating the skeletal remains of woman found in a burned down building, that “his benefactor” is a dangerous man. He finds himself drawn to the detective enough to seek her out when he shouldn’t, leaving her single stems of white roses and then “allowing” himself to be blackmailed to feed her inside information on the man he hates.
THE LOOK: “Full head of black hair, well groomed. And he smelled so damned good….But his most memorable feature–his eyes–she’d recognize anywhere….Deep brown honey melting under a July sun. Was that an eye color?”
LEADING LADY: Rebecca Montgomery is still grieving over the presumed murder of her little sister who has been missing for over five months. When she finds the remains of a missing girl, she’s determined to bring her killer to justice. When she meets Diego, she’s not sure if he’s a good guy or bad guy. All she knows is he moves her in a way that is almost irresistible. She takes a leap of faith based on some evidence but also her gut instinct that he’s a good man.
BOTTOM LINE: I found Diego wasn’t your typical hero. He was strong and kick-ass, but also funny and suave. Kind of like James Bond with a Mexican accent. And the reason I liked him so much was that, unlike many heroes portrayed in movies and books, he was more like the Daniel Craig James Bond–one who could get his ass kicked, and experience fear, but still ultimately get the job done. He seemed real and complex. In addition, he never hurt the heroine emotionally or struck out at her because of his own emotional wounds. In fact, he seemed extremely emotionally healthy, which is kind of unusual given the backstory the author set up for him. But it worked.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: Have you ever made an initial judgment of a man (maybe disliked him on sight) and then been forced to reevaluate?
April 30th, 2008
Virna 
in
Charmers, Hero Files, Virna's Heroes, Warriors |
Everyone loves a good hero, but what do readers, agents, editors, and writers love most? Join us as we delve under the covers and find out!
April 30th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Yes, my husband.
When we met, I was dating someone else at the time. My first impression of him wasn’t particularly good but he grew on me. We became very good friends–best friends–and still are today. It only took us a while to realize we loved each other beyond being friends.
I even tried to set him up with a friend of mine but then realized–WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING? (grin)
Thanks for your post on Diego. I LOVED him too. I’ve known many Hispanic men and had to remain true to the romantic nature I’ve seen in many of them, but Diego had special personal qualities that set him apart as a Grade A male. And I loved how you described him as the Hispanic version of Daniel Craig’s James Bond. Yum!
April 30th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Oh yes, my husband, Louie. When we first met over twenty years ago, I thought Louie was the biggest jackass. He had come into booking, (where I was the supervisor), with a irate criminal, who we had to fight into a chair and chain his arrest down. Louie made rude comments to me, and basically was having a real bad day and took it out on me. After Louie completed his paper work, I kicked him out. Telling him, “This is my house, Cowboy, and don’t you forget it!” The next day he showed up in booking, with a box of donuts, and his K-9, Bear Boy. I turned around and there were these big honey brown eyes looking over the counter at me, from between his paws. I was in love, with the dog, not Louie. Louie asked if he could come back into my house again, (meaning booking). I told him only if he brought Bear and behaved, other wise every time he hit my door, he’d have to wait, (something cops hate to do in booking). He had a lot of making up to do, to get my attention, but Bear helped with the process. His partner told him, he was fool for treating me so badly because I was cute, mean as a hornet, was in a place of power to make his life miserable and of course single. There is one thing cops never want to do and that’s piss-off the booking officers, no matter how cute they think they are.
April 30th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Jordan–How fun that you stopped by! I read the book in one sitting last night and really enjoyed it. Diego was complex and sexy and just downright likable! I can’t wait to read next month’s book. Like you and Lee, my first impression of my husband wasn’t that great either but it was actually better than what I had expected. See below for details.
Lee–Sounds like Louie had his work cut out for him, but showing up with that dog proves he’s smart and worthy of you! Before I met my husband, my roommate (who had met him at the pool and wanted to introduce us) said “He kind of has that cocky ‘LA attitude’ but he’s really nice.” My first thought? Blech. But he actually was really sweet and I knew it within a few hours.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I met my husband in the seventh grade, so it’s good first impressions are sometimes wrong. LOL Back then I thought he was a nerdy geek. Now he is the love of my life and I can’t imagine living a day without him.
Once I read this post this morning I went out and bought this book. I can’t wait to begin it.
April 30th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
There’s a definite theme going on here! My answer’s the same. I was on the interview panel when my husband was trying to get a job at the Chinese restaurant I worked at during college. I didn’t like him and didn’t want to marry him. But he was hired anyway and, like Jordan, he became my best friend and still is.
This sounds like a great book, V. And you know my weakness for my own Latino man, so Diego is sure to be a winner for me!
May 1st, 2008 at 9:04 am
Lee–I love how you told your story. It made me laugh out loud. You suckered me with those big brown eyes and your hubby sounds like someone I’d like–even on his bad days.
In my books, I like to cast characters in a wide range of redemption–meaning that not everyone is black & white or redeemable–even the good guys with personality flaws like my FBI guy Mike Draper who is plagued by ego and ambition. But after writing this story, I discovered Diego to have the purest heart–even above Rebecca with her blackmail–because his sacrifice was so selfless.
And being Hispanic myself, I have met many latin men over the years–both in the US and abroad. Their romantic nature can be over the top but endearing.
Thanks for posting this, Virna. I loved reading all the responses. They reminded me how much I love my husband.
And BTW–look in the book and notice that the dedication to my husband John says that he is the “cornerstone to every hero I will ever write”. But Avon ran out of pages and put my dedication on the copyright page. And right below it is written THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. My husband and I had a big laugh over that one and wouldn’t have changed it if we could. It is so us. Sometimes imperfections can be - PERFECT.
May 1st, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Misa–Diego’s great. Has a little of Vic’s rakish charm, for sure.
Jill, you and Patrick’s love story keeps getting better and better! How awesome that he really is the love of your life.
Jordan, It’s great to be reminded about how great our husbands are and what we saw in them despite our first impressions. And I saw your dedication right away and loved it!
June 25th, 2008 at 5:53 am
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