Ex-con Gus Corral is fresh out of jail and intent on keeping his nose clean. He's living in his sister's basement, which he shares with a cat or two, Corrine's CDs and their father's record collection. The blues music in particular strikes a chord, matching the way he feels about his current state. Things start to look up when Gus gets a job working as an investigator for his attorney, Luis Montez. An activist in the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Montez is slowing down and getting close to retirement, and he figures the felon can do the legwork on his cases. When Maria Contreras comes to see the lawyer about her dead husband's "business partner" someone she has never heard of who's demanding his share of the profits of a business she knew nothing about Montez has Gus look into the situation. Narrating the story in alternating chapters, Gus and Luis recount their run-ins with suspicious characters as they learn that there's more to the case than meets the eye. The widow's husband owned and operated a local bar, not Aztlan Treasures, a Mexican folk art import company. And word on the street is that he was murdered on his boat in the Sea of Cortez. Soon, the dead bodies are piling up and the pair is surrounded by shadowy figures that point to money laundering, drug smuggling and even Mexican crime cartels. The follow-up to Desperado, Ramos' first novel featuring Gus Corral, My Bad races to a walloping conclusion in a Rocky Mountain blizzard, leaving fans of crime novels and Chicano literature eagerly awaiting the next installment in his mile-high noir. Ramos vividly and affectionately portrays the Mile High City's Mexican-American heritage and culture. --Publishers Weekly Ramos captures the fast-changing landscape on the west and north sides of Denver, largely due to gentrification... The plot thickens like a slow-simmering pot of pozole. The contrast in characters is vivid. Gus is eager to do the right thing, to shed his old skin as troublemaker, a banger. Luis knows the end of his career is coming, but doesn't know what's next. He's looking ahead, a bit anxiously, and taking in the fast-changing city with a touch of nostalgia. Can a Mile High Noir finish on the upbeat side? Don't forget, the sun shines more often than not. --New York Journal of Books My Bad is arguably Ramos' finest novel. It is the people, the dialogue, the humor and the sense of place that make [it] so compelling. Ramos bring to life the old Northside, its culture, its people, its music and color. My Bad is a fine mystery with an unexpected ending, but it is also a view by an insider into the life of one of Denver's unique neighborhoods that may one day disappear. --The Denver Post Ex-con Gus Corral is fresh out of jail and intent on keeping his nose clean. He's living in his sister's basement, which he shares with a cat or two, Corrine's CDs and their father's record collection. The blues music in particular strikes a chord, matching the way he feels about his current state. Things start to look up when Gus gets a job working as an investigator for his attorney, Luis Montez. An activist in the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Montez is slowing down and getting close to retirement, and he figures the felon can do the legwork on his cases. When Maria Contreras comes to see the lawyer about her dead husband's "business partner""€"someone she has never heard of who's demanding his share of the profits of a business she knew nothing about--Montez has Gus look into the situation. Narrating the story in alternating chapters, Gus and Luis recount their run-ins with suspicious characters as they learn that there's more to the case than meets the eye. The widow's husband owned and operated a local bar, not Aztlan Treasures, a Mexican folk art import company. And word on the street is that he was murdered on his boat in the Sea of Cortez. Soon, the dead bodies are piling up and the pair is surrounded by shadowy figures that point to money laundering, drug smuggling and even Mexican crime cartels. The follow-up to Desperado , Ramos' first novel featuring Gus Corral, My Bad races to a walloping conclusion in a Rocky Mountain blizzard, leaving fans of crime novels"€"and Chicano literature"€"eagerly awaiting the next installment in his mile-high noir. MANUEL RAMOS is the recipient of several literary awards and the author of numerous novels, including Desperado: A Mile High Noir (Arte Publico Press, 2013), The Skull of Pancho Villa and Other Stories (Arte Publico Press, 2015), Brown-on-Brown: A Luis Móntez Mystery (University of New Mexico Press, 2003) and The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz (St. Martin's Press, 1993; Northwestern University Press, 2004), and Edgar Award finalist. He lives and works in Denver, Colorado.