Perfect for fans of Mick Herron and John Le Carre

"The most important thing that's happened in Mexican literature in the last thirty years" Gaby Wood, Sunday Telegraph.

It's Christmas in Culiacan and Detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta can't believe his luck. An old flame has returned with a teenage son he knew nothing about. Happiness seems to finally beckon for our careworn hero. The only snag is that Jason Mendieta wants to follow in his father's footsteps-even as Mexico's drug war descends a slippery slope toward chaos.

While Lefty pursues a lunatic who has taken to bumping off dentists with a heavy-calibre pistol, a secret agent infiltrates a meeting of the drug lords and hears Pacific Cartel boss Samantha Valdes implore her underlings to stay out of the war. But an audacious murder provokes Samantha to change her mind and launch a wave of grisly killings across the country.

Samantha then persuades Lefty to help her find the killer that pushed her over the edge. The truth he discovers will underline an old adage: revenge is a dish best served cold. No quiet family Christmas for our detective.

About the Author
Elmer Mendoza was born in Culiacan, Mexico in 1949. He is a professor and author, widely regarded as the founder of 'narco-lit', which explores drug trafficking and corruption in Latin America. He won the Jose Fuentes Mares National Literary Prize for Janis Joplin's Lover, and the Tusquets Prize for Silver Bullets.

Reviews
Presents Mexico in a darkly surrealist light: corrupt politicos, a plague of narco-crime and only battered detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta on the side of the angels. -- Barry Forshaw * Independent. *
One of the biggest names in Mexican literature . . . A true novelist . . . No one has captured the exciting and passionate nature of the Mexican vernacular like him. -- Arturo Perez-Reverte.
A vivid glimpse into an ultraviolent world of macho posturing, unorthodox policing and ruthless criminality. * Guardian. *
If you are fed up with formulaic noir novels and looking for something fresher, Elmer Mendoza . . . could be the answer. * Sunday Times. *
Essential reading. * Sunday Express. *
Mendoza's style is spare but fast-paced . . . As the plot moves along the reader is swept along with it. Lefty is a likeable character who has somehow managed to find a way to navigate through all the killing aided by a detachment which serves him well. * Irish Examiner. *



Book Information
ISBN 9781782064947
Author Elmer Mendoza
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint MacLehose Press
Publisher Quercus Publishing
Weight(grams) 180g
Dimensions(mm) 199mm * 130mm * 19mm