Johanna Rios and her sister Carmen grew up in the foster care system after their mother committed suicide in a violent incident when they were children. The legend of the ghost of La Llorona tells of a story of a woman who searches riverbanks for her children, and their mother believed so strongly in this story, that she believed she needed to kill her daughters to stop the haunting. During her attempt, though, she succeeded only in killing herself.

Now, as an adult, Johanna teaches at the local high school, and she's attracted to her principal, Ray Vargas. Ray has spent some time in Afghanistan, and he's determined to not let Johanna know his feelings for his employee. But when one of their students is killed, and begins to leave clues that the killings are replicating the four legends that weave together to form the story of La Llorona, Johanna fears that this is the work of a serial killer and three other killings will follow. Most tellingly, though, Johanna receives a box of clues at work that let her know that she's the killer's fourth and final target.

Ray becomes determined to protect Johanna, although that may mean revealing his feelings for her. And while Johanna is concerned for her own safety, she's also preoccupied with identifying who the potential second and third targets might be and ensuring their safety. Can Ray keep Johanna safe while she's running her own ad hoc investigation to find potential victims before the La Llorona killer gets to them or her? And will their budding romance interfere with the investigation?

The books I generally read by Ms Ramirez are in a different genre (and penned under a pseudonym), so reading CURSE OF PASSION was quite a change of pace for me. But I felt myself instantly drawn in and I sped through this book in record pace. I couldn't stop reading, as I constantly had to know what happened next; to say that the suspense in this book hit the right notes is an understatement! The La Llorona legend was woven into this story seamlessly and made for a thrilling backstory. And the romance between Ray and Johanna progressed nicely, despite my fears that the relationship would be tedious since they each started out privately attracted to the other but not acknowledging said attraction.

CURSE OF PASSION is an excellent read, and I cannot wait to read more of this series!

Book Summary

The ghost of la Llorona is said to haunt the riverbanks, always searching for her drowned child. She also haunts high school teacher Johanna Rios, whose own mother believed so deeply in the legend she tried to drown her daughters. And now the ghost has become real, a young woman murdered, and the safe world Jo created is falling apart.

Since returning home from his last tour of duty to become a school principal, Ray Vargas has fought his attraction for his employee, the sensual woman who’d once been the girl next door. But the Llorona Killer will not stop until he claims his final victim—Johanna—and Ray will do anything to protect the woman he’s come to love.

With a serial killer out to prove the curse is real, will Ray and Johanna’s future be drowned in the ghostly waters of the past? Or will the power of their love give them the strength to stop a killer…and heal their wounded hearts…?