Skin of Tattoos

"Compelling." "Captivating." "Thrilling." "Real page-turner." "Gut-wrenching." "Authentic." "Brilliant book." "Gritty."
Cyco Lokos gang member Mags comes home to Los Angeles after serving prison time for a robbery. He wants nothing more than to start a new life. However, there's one obstacle he has to overcome first...his old life.
Mags tries to let go of his bitterness and stay out of gang life for the sake of his Salvadoran immigrant family and his girlfriend Paloma. It's tough. He was framed by Rico, the new leader of the Cyco Lokos, and a fresh start after a stretch in prison isn't easy.
Faced with no prospects and Rico's demands to help the Cyco Lokos make money, a broke and disillusioned Mags makes the only choice he can. However, he soon discovers that loyalties have shifted. Life in Cyco Lokos is far more dangerous and uncertain than it used to be.
To make matters worse, Mags's sister is pregnant by a rival gang member, and his own relationship with Paloma, his best homie's sister, is a violation of gang code, Mags is caught in a web of secrets, revenge, and deceit. Then a murder occurs that could cost him everything and everyone he knows and loves.
Drawn from the author's interviews with gang members and reporting on gang issues in Los Angeles and San Salvador, this noir crime novel explores a poor immigrant family's struggle to survive in a gritty world where gangs appear to offer a way out but instead lead to a dead-end.