A DEATH IN MEXICO

A voluptuous artists’ model is murdered, her mutilated body dumped in the central plaza of the colonial Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende. Inspector Hector Diaz’s murder investigation takes him deep into San Miguel’s gringo expat colony, the corruption of modern Mexico by greed and drugs, and the quirky byways and dead ends of love. Corporal Felicia Goya, a tough cookie, ably assists Diaz in his search for the killer. When ancient Aztec gods or their hallucinations appear to Diaz, he considers the legacy of Mexico’s bloodstained past as a blueprint for justice in the present. Recalling Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union in its mastery of metaphor, wit, moody atmosphere and sense of place, A Death in Mexico is a gritty and gripping quest for revenge and redemption.
Reviews
“A Death in Mexico is an excellent, cool, gritty crime novel.” - Victor Gischler, author of Gun Monkeys and Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse
“An outrageous and unruly mescal-soaked murder mystery...an opiate to be ingested.” - Cullen Gallagher, Los Angeles Review of Books
“Brutal as the kick of raw mescal, A Death in Mexico depicts a nightmarish drug-ridden modern Mexico, where corruption and sadism lie in wait for unwary Americans...powerful.” - Publishers Weekly
“Brilliant & Lowbrow” - New York Magazine
“You’ve seen those stories on the news that warn you about travel to Mexico, right? A Death in Mexico is an even more effective cautionary tale…Its an unusual [police] procedural that will take you down some mean, nightmarish streets, indeed.” – Bill Crider’s PopCultureMagazine.com
Booklist favorably compares A Death in Mexico
to Orson Welles' A Touch of Evil:
to Orson Welles' A Touch of Evil:

FROM A Hard-Boiled Gazateer to Border Noir
by Bill Ott, Editor/Publisher of Booklist
About A Death in Mexico by Jonathan Woods:
In San Miguel de Allende, Inspector Hector Diaz investigates the murder of an American artist’s model, whose mutilated body was dumped in a public square. Though not set on the border, this uncompromising look at racial tensions in a small Mexican town perfectly reflects the mood of border noir. Gritty to the point you want to wash your hands, the novel takes us deep into a world of darkness, capturing that same blend of bleakness and all-consuming corruption that drives Orson Welles’ classic film A Touch of Evil.

Author Appearances
KEY WEST BOOK LAUNCH:
915 Duval St, Key West, FL
Wednesday, May 2, 2013 at 7pm
KEY WEST MYSTERY FEST 2012
Waterfront Playhouse, Mallory Square, KW
Saturday, May 5, 2012 from 3-4pm
Writers' Panel: "The Power of Location"
Westin Key West Resort & Marina
245 Front St, Key West
Friday, May 11, 2012 at 7pm
Meet and Greet
Waterfront Playhouse, Mallory Square, KW
Saturday, May 12, 2012 from 3-4pm
THE HALF KING BAR
Monday, May 21 @ 7pm
BARNES & NOBLE BOOKSTORE
Dallas, TX 75225
Wednesday, June 6 at 7pm
AUSTIN NOIR AT THE BAR
700 West 6th Street
Austin, TX 78703
Thursday, June 7 at 7pm
- Featuring: writers Peter Farris, Jonathan Woods, Barry Graham and Jess Sublett
- Music by: Chris Hoyt & Jesse Sublett
BARNES & NOBLE BOOKSTORE
El Paso, TX 79925
Saturday, June 9 from 2-4pm
BOUCHERCON 2012
October 4 - 7
NOIRCON 2012
November 8 - 11
May 28, 2012



Originaltitel: The Death In Mexico
Aus dem Amerikanischen von Wolfgang Thon
Amanda Smallwood, eine Amerikanerin, wird nachts um zwei auf der Plaza von San Miguel tot aufgefunden. Jemand hat ihr den Hals gebrochen und ihr die Augen herausgeschnitten. Inspector Diaz hat den Kampf gegen die Kriminalität eigentlich längst aufgegeben. Zerstört von zu vielen Zigaretten und Alkohol macht er sich trotzdem an die Arbeit in der Hoffnung, dass ein wenig Gerechtigkeit seiner geschundenen Seele ein wenig Ruhe verschafft.
Er findet heraus, dass die Tote nicht am Fundort umgebracht worden ist. Von einer Freundin der Toten erfährt Diaz, dass Amanda in einer Maler verliebt war und dass sie ihm Model stand. Doch der Maler ist verschwunden. Nur sein Tagebuch wird gefunden, in dem er die Tat gesteht. - Hammett Krimibuchhandlung