Catching Up on My Book Reviews...Again

 

This is my latest attempt to share the books I've read with you all. My only excuse is that, for the past few months, I've been much too easily distracted to concentrate on reviews. 

These won't be the size of my normal reviews, but I will provide links to Amazon in each title if you want to learn more about any of the books.

Deadly Remains by Kate Ellis

#29 Wesley Peterson police procedural set in Devon, UK

Rating: B+

My Thoughts: Kate Ellis's Wesley Peterson series has been a "Go To" series for me for years. I love the blend of mystery, history, and archaeology. 

While Wesley and his team investigate the death of a celebrity ghostwriter and his missing laptop, Dr. Neil Watson, with the help of Wesley's teenage son Michael, excavates a crashed World War II plane on Dartmoor.

The mystery is solid, and the ongoing lives of the characters rich and satisfying. You can tell how much I like this series by the fact that it's 29 books long (so far), and I've read every one.

Killer Thriller by Lee Goldberg

#2 Ian Ludlow thriller set in Hong Kong

Rating: A

My Thoughts: After thoroughly enjoying the first book in the series, True Fiction, once again, I found myself in need of some light, fast-paced fun, so I turned to this second. I was not disappointed. 

In fact, his assistant Margo's choice of weapon in a fight had me howling with laughter. There's lots to learn about China and even filmmaking, but if you're in the mood to buckle your seatbelt and sit back for a laugh-filled adventure, I can't recommend this one highly enough.

One of my favorite lines? "The ambiance was so masculine that infertile men could increase their sperm count just by walking in the door."

Ian Ludlow's observations alone are well worth the price of admission. I'm sad that there's only one more book in the series.

Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

Standalone Historical Fiction set in the Egypt and the Middle East

Rating: B+

My Thoughts: Narrated by schoolteacher Agnes Shanklin, we follow her through life with a suffocating mother, through the losses of World War I and the Great Influenza, and right into the creation of the modern Middle East. 

Russell, once again, has a marvelous sense of time and place. I found myself wanting to swat flies as Agnes walked the streets of Cairo, and the friendships she made with people like Winston Churchill, T.E. Lawrence, and Gertrude Bell gave the sheltered woman's life a fairy tale aspect. Few would have expected her to have the bravery to set out on such an adventure by herself.

All in all, Agnes reminded me of a young Eleanor Roosevelt, and I enjoyed her story.

Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey of John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, and the Discovery of the Lost Civilization of the Maya by William Carlsen

Set in Central America

Non-Fiction

Rating: C+

My Thoughts: I have always been fascinated by the ancient civilizations of the Aztec, the Inca, and the Maya, so this book was right up my street.

The sections on the Maya were fascinating, but the book bogged down with the detailed biographies of Stephens and Catherwood. For some reason, the title of the book led me to expect more Maya than it delivered, which was disappointing.

A Fatal Feast at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison

#11 in the Honeychurch Hall cozy series set in England

Rating: C+

My Thoughts: Although the number of cozy mysteries I read has fallen in recent years, there are still certain series that I follow, and this is one of them.

Unfortunately, not all entries in a long-running series can be dazzling. This one is lackluster. There is little humor, nothing about antiques, and the whodunit was easy to deduce. The emphasis is on people's mean-spirited, money-grubbing actions, and that's never been a favorite of mine.

I'd also like to add that I think it's past time for Kat's mother's chickens to come home to roost. I've never liked her allergy to the truth and what it's done to the people in her life, but I doubt it's going to happen. I have a feeling that most readers find her funny. I wish I did!

That's all for now. I'm getting really close to being completely caught up. When that happens, I may have palpitations! 

Ambush by Barbara Nickless

 

First Line: The call came late on an August evening while Jeremy Kane was upstairs, rocking his infant daughter.

 

When she was in the Marines, railway cop Sydney Parnell made a promise to Malik, a young Iraqi boy. Unfortunately, Malik has secrets that an assassin Sydney knows only as the Alpha wants.

 

In order to keep her promise to the boy, Sydney travels to Mexico City and back to Denver, Colorado. With the help of her ex-war dog, Clyde, she is determined to track down the Alpha and keep her promise to Malik. 

 

~

 

Barbara Nickless certainly knows how to write compelling thrillers with strong main characters. Former Marine and railway cop Sydney Rose Parnell suffers from PTSD. In Iraq, she served in Mortuary Affairs, the detail that prepared soldiers killed in action to be returned to their families in the U.S. In her own words, "We were the Marines the other Marines avoided. The pariahs, the bad-luck charms. The ones no one wanted to risk being near." Combine that with her other combat experiences and it's no wonder that she has PTSD. At least, now in her job as a railway cop, she has her former war dog, Clyde, at her side to help her out.

Ambush centers on the promise Sydney made to a young Iraqi boy and the lengths to which she will go to fulfill that promise. The narrow escapes she has from the killer known as Alpha show how determined he is to keep his secrets, but they also show that Sydney refuses to quit. Her guilt and the promise she made to the Iraqi boy, Malik, prove that nothing will stop her in her quest to ensure a good life for the boy-- even if it means getting to the bottom of why Alpha will go to any lengths to cover his tracks. 

Sydney Parnell is a strong, nuanced character that readers can really sink their teeth into, and her investigations can really keep hearts racing. I know I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Ambush by Barbara Nickless

eISBN: 9781503901513

Thomas & Mercer © 2019

eBook, 356 pages

Police Procedural/Working Dogs, #3 Sydney Rose Parnell mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Riding with Cochise by Steve Price

 

 

 

First Line: By 1863, however, both the water and the canyon were controlled by the Apaches, who were being led by an imposing and charismatic leader named Cochise.

 

Using oral histories told by relatives of the legendary Apache warriors Cochise, Geronimo, Victorio, and Mangas Coloradas as well as the personal diaries of others who were involved, author Steve Price paints a vivid and memorable portrait of a people.

 

"The Apache sense of place was essentially their culture." They worshiped one god-- Ussen-- who made them caretakers of the Earth, and if they did not care for it properly, it would be taken from them. They knew their homeland so intimately it was the major reason why they were able to hold off thousands of soldiers in America's longest war. For example, during one time period, Geronimo, along with thirty-four men, women, and children outran and outfought 5,000 American and 3,000 Mexican soldiers.

 

Even though so much Apache history has been wiped clean from their ancestral lands, Price includes many historic places (and the directions to them) that readers can visit. I was pleased to see that I'd been to most of the Arizona locations such as  Cochise Stronghold, the Chiricahua National Monument, Fort Bowie, the Butterfield Overland Trail, and Skeleton Canyon.

But while my knowledge of the area greatly enhanced my enjoyment of Riding with Cochise, it was the history of the Apaches themselves that was vital. I learned so much about Cochise, Mangas Coloradas, Victorio, and Geronimo-- leaders known by their Spanish names because their actual names were too difficult for the Mexicans and Americans to pronounce. 

 

The Apache leaders were honorable men. They wanted peace and did their best to achieve it. They upheld all the terms of any treaties they agreed to. However, it was impossible to trust those with whom they signed those agreements. An American Army officer ordered one Apache leader to be murdered, and the Mexicans loved to bring the Apache in under a flag of truce to then massacre them and collect the bounties on their scalps. No wonder the Apache fought so hard.

Riding with Cochise is a fast-paced, informative history of the American Southwest. The next time I'm traveling in southeastern Arizona, I'll have an even greater appreciation of the Apache, their history, and their homeland.

Riding with Cochise: The Apache Story of America's Longest War 

by Steve Price

eISBN: 9781510774582

Skyhorse Publishing © 2023

eBook, 240 pages

 

Non-Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Purchased from Amazon.

Depth of Winter by Craig Johnson

First Line: I turned my water glass in the slick circle of condensation on the smooth red lacquer of the table between us and studied the man across from me.

At the end of The Western Star, we learned that Sheriff Walt Longmire's daughter, Cady, had been kidnapped by the head of one of the most vicious drug cartels in Mexico. Now in Depth of Winter, he must head south to save her before she's auctioned off to his worst enemies. He's traveling light and traveling fast. The American government is of limited help and the Mexican one even less, so it's one man against an army in the brutal 110° heat of the Mexican desert.

If you're a Longmire fan who's not happy unless Walt is firmly ensconced amongst his friends and they all have an equal part in the action, you won't like with Depth of Winter. This is a one-man show, and characters like Henry and Vic play very limited roles (although I did love Henry's). Me? I'm the type of Longmire fan who'd follow Walt willingly into any one of my own circles of hell (which include rooms of long-haired cats and/or screaming babies), let alone his. I trust Walt to get me out alive and show me a good time while he's doing it.

One of the reasons why I was looking forward to this book was the fact that I'm used to Walt chasing bad guys in the depth of winter on his home turf, with howling winds, blizzard conditions, and snow up to his eyebrows. In Depth of Winter, he's facing an entirely different beast: winter in the desert of northern Mexico, and I wanted to see how he'd deal with blinding sunlight, blazing heat, and not a drop of water around. Walt is a Man On A Mission, so he deals with it as only he can.

Since he's got Henry and Vic handling things for him elsewhere, he manages to scrape together a motley crew to help him down in Mexico, and the rescue of Cady is one wild ride that only someone like Craig Johnson can put together. Walt is a man who goes out of his way not to kill people, but folks down in Mexico keep telling him, "Kindness to a killer builds coffins." After a grueling trek through the desert and coming face to face with "that kernel of madness" he keeps buried deep inside, the finale of Depth of Winter is explosive-- and satisfying.

Once again, I find myself in a familiar place-- all caught up with the series and waiting for a new adventure with Walt. Some authors just don't write fast enough, you know?    

Depth of Winter by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780525522478

Viking © 2018

Hardcover, 304 pages

Police Procedural, #15 Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.


 

Don't Look Back by Gregg Hurwitz

First Line: Terror came as a vibration, a plucked-wire note more felt than heard, primary to the deadening heat, to the flick of unseen insects against her face, to the oppressive night humidity that pressed into her pores.

Eve Hardaway is a newly single mother whose life has dwindled to a handful of exits on the freeway. Wondering when she'd stopped being something worth fighting for, wondering when she'd become a shadow of the person she used to be, Eve decides to take one week off to do something of which she's always dreamed: an eco-tour through the jungles of Oaxaca in southern Mexico.

During lunch break on a hike, Eve wanders off to take care of business and sees a man throwing machetes at a human-shaped target off in the distance. Eve is frightened and takes care to avoid being seen while she's heading back to the group. Along the way she finds a digital camera marked with the name "Teresa Hamilton." The leader of the tour brushes off her concerns, but when they arrive back in camp, Eve takes a look at the memory card on the camera and sees that Teresa took a photo of the same man. Not only that, but in checking her room, she finds things that Teresa left behind. A quick check on the internet tells Eve that Teresa Hamilton has disappeared.

The man in the jungle knows someone was snooping around his house. He's violent, he's utterly ruthless, and he'll do anything to avoid being discovered. A storm that has wiped out the roads and all communication with the outside world has trapped Eve and her fellow tourists in the jungle with a dangerous predator. If she's going to make it back home alive, her determination to live will prove to be the only resource she has with which to fight.

A word of warning: I wouldn't advise you to start reading this book unless you have a large block of undisturbed time. When I began reading Don't Look Back, I lost all track of time, was late for an appointment, and the entire time I was gone, I was champing at the bit to get back to Eve Hardaway's story.

Author Gregg Hurwitz wanted to create a character who could be completely outmatched physically, a character who would be forced to survive by wits alone, hence Eve Hardaway, his first female main character. Eve is superb. Yes, Don't Look Back is a lightning-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller, but more than that it's wonderful character study of a woman forced to rediscover her true self in order to survive. One way Hurwitz conveys how far Eve has wandered from the person she used to be is in conversation with others. She'll think what she really wants to say, but her actual response is always something meek and mild. These responses gradually change, and as they do, readers will cheer her on. 

This is definitely Eve's show, but her fellow tourists and the owners of the tour company are well-drawn. However, I do have to admit that my interest in them was more along the lines of betting which ones would die. The most controversial character is the man hiding in the jungle. His reasons for originally going there are frightening, and although his political rants are difficult to swallow, they do indeed show how his beliefs and his actions have driven him insane.

If you don't want political extremism or the torture and killing of animals in your fiction, Don't Look Back may not be the book for you. On the other hand, you may well find it just as riveting as I did.
 

Don't Look Back by Gregg Hurwitz

ISBN: 9780312626839

St. Martin's Press © 2014

Hardcover, 400 pages

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: publicist

The Girl of the Sea of Cortez by Peter Benchley

First Line: The girl lay on the surface of the sea, looking into the water through a mask, and was afraid.

Peter Benchley is best known for his book Jaws and the subsequent Steven Spielberg movie, but it is The Girl of the Sea of Cortez (published in 1982) that is his most heartfelt book about man's relationship with the sea.

Paloma is a young woman who lives with her mother and brother on an island in the Gulf of California. Her father had a deep and abiding love of, and respect for, the sea. After trying and failing to share his passion with his son, he learns that it is his daughter, Paloma, who will be the one to understand the lessons he teaches. Not only does Paloma take all his lessons to heart, she also seems to have an innate sense that the sea and all its creatures need her protection.

Each day Paloma paddles her tiny pirogue out to a secret destination where she anchors above a seamount-- a submerged volcanic peak-- that is home to a spectacular abundance of marine life-- and it is there that she forms an incredible bond with a manta ray so large that it blocks the sun. Paloma is willing to fight to protect this creature and this bond, for there is something every bit as certain as the sun rising and setting and the ebb and flow of the tides: man's greed. Paloma will have to fight with every ounce of courage and knowledge she has to protect her beloved seamount and the thousands of animals that call it home.

My mother read this book when it was first published in 1982. Almost as if it were yesterday, I can hear her telling me that she thought of me as she read about Paloma. My mother could see me exploring the seamount and swimming with manta rays. For some reason, I never picked up the book to read it. I don't know why. Just as I don't know why I felt compelled to read it now, thirty-one years later.

My salt water swimming pool was the perfect place to read this book. As the pages turned, I found myself nodding my head in agreement with Paloma's father and the lessons he taught her. Jobim taught her many practical things about swimming, diving, the weather, the sea, the marine life, and how to respect them all. He didn't have to teach her to love it; that came naturally. Jobim believed, as I do, that "Nature is one miracle after another. Man can't improve it; he can only change it."  

The Girl of the Sea of Cortez is a beautiful fable, and as I read it, I turned into Princess Paloma. I seldom ever find myself so completely identifying with a character, and when it does happen, it's very special. Paloma's skill was my skill; her wonderment at the beauty of the sea and its creatures was mine; her determination to protect the seamount was mine. This entire book is a song, a poem, and Benchley's love of the sea is evident on each and every page.

This isn't a review as much as it is a sharing my personal reaction to this book, and one thing that occurred to me after I'd finished reading it and was still basking in the afterglow was the similarities my favorite movie ("Avatar") shares with this book. I can understand why The Girl of the Sea of Cortez is a cult classic, and methinks it is a favorite of director James Cameron, too.

Mom, it took me thirty-one years to understand fully why you thought of me when you read this book. Thank you for the compliment.

The Girl of the Sea of Cortez by Peter Benchley

ISBN: 9780345544131

Ballantine Books © 2013

Paperback, 256 pages

Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap 

Dia de los Muertos at the Desert Botanical Garden

Last year, I blogged about how Halloween has never been my kind of holiday. Fortunately I live in Phoenix which has a strong Hispanic influence, so I have access to a holiday occurring at the same time that suits me much better-- Dia de los Muertos. Originally an Aztec festival taking place in the summer in Mexico, it was moved by the Catholic fathers to coincide with All Saints' and All Souls' Days on November 1 and 2.

The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed,  and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased. In most regions of Mexico, November 1 is to honor children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2.

Perhaps it's because all my close family members are dead, but I do appreciate Dia de los Muertos as a time to prepare some of their favorite foods and to remember times I spent with them. When I learned that the Desert Botanical Garden here in Phoenix was having an exhibit honoring Dia de los Muertos, I marked the dates on my calendar. Denis and I went yesterday, and I thought you'd like to see some of the art and decorations typical of the holiday. Some of them may not be quite to everyone's taste, but when I look at them I see the bright colors, the affection, the whimsy, and the art. Hopefully, you will see some of that, too.

The theme for this year's exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden was "Amoro Eterno" ("eternal love"). Click on any of the photos to view them in larger sizes.

Sacred Heart

By Christine Delgado, Angelina Delgado, and Rose Jackson,

Also known as Halfbreed Hermanas 

"We celebrate "Amoro Eterno" the theme of this year's Ofrendas [the Day of the Dead offering] with a sacred heart. The sacred heart is a symbol of Our Lord's eternal love for his children. Eternal love is also what we hold for our loved ones that have been called home to be with the Lord. The Aztecs believe that butterflies are souls of those that have passed and carry them to the Heavens. Please take a butterfly in honor of those that have passed and place it on the sacred heart, and celebrate "Amor Eterno."

Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart detail

Angels in the Desert

By Martin Moreno

"Every year thousands of people perish in the desert, or "la Frontera." Some are never accounted for. My ofrenda is a memorial to those lost, hoping they will find peace, perhaps with the help of "Angels in the Desert."

Angels in the Desert

The Tree of Remembrance

By John Hermosillo and Felix A. Vasquez

"My name is John Alejandro Hermosillo of Cruces de me Madre. I received a phone call on December 8, 2011 at 2 a.m. that changed my life forever. They had found a liver that matched my blood type. Someone had to die so I could live. To receive that special gift of a second chance at life was a true miracle for me. A liver transplant is the most beautiful thing in the world for me and each and every day I feel so blessed.

The tree of remembrance helps us all remember all persons from infants to adults who didn't receive a second chance at life. The tree is decorated with white doves, representing purity, and butterflies, representing freedom and no longer suffering. The white lights represent appreciation and love to those who gave us a chance at life. The different types of shoes painted white in a circle at the base of the tree represent someone's loved on that passed away before they were able to receive that special gift of an organ transplant."  

Tree of Remembrance

 

Tree of Remembrance detail

Wedding Day

By Patrick Murillo

"This is an Ofrenda dedicated to my Grandma Minne Ybarra. She is reflecting on her wedding day from the early 1940s. The items included on the altar are her original wedding dress and weil, a gift from my Grandpa Greg. Also included are her perfume bottle and many other personal items. Even this dresser belonged to my Grandma and was used on her wedding day. I remember as a child playing hide-and-seek under this dresser. It is all representative of her spirit that will live on forever."

Wedding Day

Wedding Day, another view

Little Souls, Pequeñas Almas

By Emily Costello

"This altar is dedicated to innocence lost; children who have died because of abuse and neglect. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that five children die every day as a consequence of child abuse and it is the youngest children that are most vulnerable. Abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education. The U.S. has more child maltreatment deaths than any other industrialized nation in the world. 80% of reported child fatalities as a result of abuse and neglect were caused by one or more of the child's parents or caregivers. Sadly, the statistics continue to rise.

In Mexican tradition, it is believed that the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on November 1, and the spirits of all deceased children ("angelitos") reunite with their loved ones for 24 hours. These little souls have special altars made in their honor that have items that represent what they loved."

Little Souls, Pequeñas Almas

 Azucariño, Sugar Affection

By Carmen de Novais-Guerrero

"La Calaca de Azucar" or the "sugar skull" represents all that is sweet about our lives on this earth and is symbolically eaten during Dia de los Muertos. Sugar is one of our most addictive substances, seducing many into thinking they have a "sweet tooth." Azucariño transforms the image and symbol that sugar has represented to reveal the evil and the deadly effects it has on us. In reflecting on the theme of this year's Exhibition of Ofrendas, "Amor Eterno," I remember so many sweet loved ones; in particular my mother, Anaide, and my father-in-law, Adolfo, in which their over-consumption of sweets may have contributed to their failing health and their eventual demise. May they rest in peace, having finally found the true sweetness of the love we shared in this world!"

Azucariño, Sugar Affection

 

Sugar skull detail

Which ones did you find most striking? For me, it was a toss-up between Sacred Heart and Tree of Remembrance... and Wedding Day made me smile. I almost looked for a little boy peeking out from beneath the dressing table!

Getaway by Lisa Brackmann

First Line: Michelle dropped the sarong she'd started to tie around her waist onto her lounge chair.

Michelle Mason needed to get away from her troubles for a while. Widowed a few months ago, she's been discovering just how secretive and inept a business person her late husband had been. The trip was already paid for, so a few days in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico seemed in order. She'd relax, calm down, get her head on straight, and then return to Los Angeles to finish dealing with the mess.

Trouble is, a handsome man named Daniel approaches her on the beach, they hit it off, have a few margaritas, and Michelle thinks, "Why not?" That one little decision has the power to change the entire course of her life.

Later that night, someone breaks into Michelle's hotel room and assaults Daniel. Her cell phone and Daniel's get switched, and someone named Gary forces Michelle to spy on Daniel. From what little Michelle is able to piece together, this all involves drugs, the people who get rich from selling drugs, and their hired hands who think nothing of torturing and killing to get what they want.  She knows she's in danger but quickly learns that running isn't an option-- or she's going to wind up in the Puerto Vallarta garbage dump.

This book is fast-paced and pulled me right in although I did have a difficult time warming up to Michelle. During the first part of the book, she's a typical consumer housewife, used to spending her days having lunch with the girls and buying the latest fashions. When I talk about sunglasses, I refer to them as sunglasses. When I talk about my purse, I call it a purse, and when I step into a pair of shoes, I have this annoying tendency to call them shoes. Michelle refers to them by their designer labels. She and I don't inhabit the same planet.

Besides her designer leanings, Michelle is used to the protection normally accorded to a woman married to a man of means and living in a big house in a large affluent American city. It's almost as if she's forgotten how to think for herself or how to survive without all the labels. When she first comes into contact with a corrupt Mexican police officer, she's completely unprepared, and she has absolutely no chance of getting past a villain like Gary.

And can she trust Daniel-- someone who seems to be involved in all this drug stuff up to his pearly white teeth? It takes her a while to realize that she is really fighting for her very life, and once she knows the real score, and begins to reason things out and to try to fight back, Getaway really takes off. Michelle doesn't turn into Lara Croft or Wonder Woman or Mrs. Peel, but she finds her backbone, and it's a glorious thing to watch. (I think I even cheered a time or two.)

Getaway may be listed as a thriller, and it does have all the action and fast pace of one. What's unexpected and completely refreshing is the fact that it is also an in-depth character study of a woman caught up in bizarre circumstances who's forced to fight for her survival when there's no one else she can trust.

Getaway by Lisa Brackman

ISBN: 9781616950712

Soho Press  ©2012

Paperback, 320 pages

Genre: Thriller, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Soho Press in exchange for an honest review.

Aztec City of Spies by Simon Levack

Title: Aztec City of Spies
Author: Simon Levack
ISBN: 9781416502548
Publisher: Pocket Books, 2007
Mass Market Paperback, 335 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, #3 Aztec Mystery featuring the slave Yaotl
Rating: A-
Source: Purchased from The Book Depository.

First Line: In my first few days in the slave-dealers' warehouse, I sought to escape my tormentors.


By the time the slave Yaotl no longer tries to escape those tormenting him, he finds himself up for sale. Expecting to be purchased by someone representing his former owner, Chief Minister, Lord Feathered-in-Black, Yaotl is stunned to see that there are two different groups bidding for him. Perhaps he's not slated for sacrifice after all.


Fortune smiles on him, and he is purchased by a former lover, Lily, who has plans of her own. They go to Tetzcoco-- the "second city" of the Aztec Empire, renowned for its poets, artists, and legendary kings. It's also a city torn apart by unrest and filled with spies because there are rival claimants to the throne. Lily's plans go awry after the discovery of a blood-soaked corpse and her arrest for murder. The clock is ticking; Lily's trial will be held in a matter of a very few days. It's up to Yaotl to find the evidence that will prove Lily's innocence-- if only he can evade the lethal traps that are all around him.


Levack's series is one that I wish more people would read. Yes, it does have marks against it in the popularity of book sales: (1) Not only is it an historical mystery, it is set in the last days of the Aztec Empire-- a culture about as far removed from our technology-driven age as possible. (2) It was a violent age, since the Aztecs did believe in human sacrifice. (3) The Aztecs had their own calendar, which is very different from our own. (4) The Aztec language, Nahuatl, dances trippingly over few of our modern tongues. That's a lot of marks against this series, isn't it? Yet, Levack makes the culture accessible for everyone. There are maps, a simple explanation of the Aztec calendar, and a short note about Nahuatl (which he uses very sparingly). They can be referred to as little or as often as needed. 


But really all that's needed is for the reader's mental roadblocks to be removed. So many crime fiction fans love solving mysteries in other countries and in other time periods, and that's exactly what this is-- armchair crime solving at its best. Levack sets his scenes so clearly that I feel as though I'm walking the streets with Yaotl-- and Yaotl is a marvelously drawn character. He is a former priest, so he's familiar with all the various classes of people who inhabit the Aztec world. He's a slave, and although there are strict laws about how slaves must be treated, he still has to be devious enough to avoid getting himself in danger. That very deviousness of his leads to quite a bit of humor. Life is serious in Yaotl's world: war, a rigid class system, religious sacrifice... all the more reason for people to find reasons to laugh. In Aztec City of Spies, Levack even gets to poke some fun at his former occupation, since lawyers and a murder trial are involved.


Levack's plotting is meticulous and really showed me what dangerous times these were for the people who lived them. Rival claimants for a throne... and the endless rumors of a strange hairy-faced, pale-skinned people who sailed across the Divine Sea to land on their shores. The Spanish have landed, but the Aztec have no idea how quickly time is running out for them. All Yaotl and the people he cares for can do is to try to survive one day at a time.


If you enjoy historical mysteries that feature a fascinating culture, excellent plotting, and a marvelous sleuth, I urge you to pick up one of Simon Levack's Aztec mysteries. Seeing an occasional word in Nahuatl is no different from stumbling over Scandinavian street names-- trust me, I know this first hand. Visit Levack's website where you'll find sample chapters of his books. See for yourself!

Aztec City of Spies at Amazon.

Aztec City of Spies at The Book Depository.

Aztec City of Spies at Better World Books.

Along the Arizona-Mexico Border This Wordless Wednesday

Click to view full size. More Wordless Wednesday.

Shadow of the Lords by Simon Levack

Title: Shadow of the Lords
Author: Simon Levack
ISBN: 0743239776, Simon & Schuster UK, 2005
Genre: Historical Mystery, #2 Aztec mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Bookcloseouts

First Line: "Listen!" my brother cried.

This is the second mystery featuring ex-priest and now wily slave, Yaotl, who lives in the sixteenth-century capital of the Aztec empire, Mexico-Tenochtitlan. This second book takes up right where the first, Demon of the Air, left off.

While investigating a death in order to protect his son, Yaotl learns that the god Quetzalcoatl has been seen staggering down the streets of the capital, in full-feathered splendor, and in no time at all he finds himself searching for answers in the elite section of the city that houses the feather workers.

Levack includes maps of the country and capital city, as well as explanations of the Aztec calendar and language to help readers, but after skimming over them, I found myself referring to the map of the city a time or two and that's all. What immersed me in this story is Levack's writing. I could easily picture myself walking the streets or sitting in a boat on one of the canals of Tenochtitlan. I could see the temples. When I looked at characters, I found my eyes starting with their hairstyles and working their way down. I watched workers put together dazzling examples of the feather workers' art. I was there piecing together clues with a crafty man named Yaotl who was trying, not only to protect his son, but protect himself from a beating... or worse.

Since Shadow of the Lords also ends with a cliffhanger and I have the third book in the series sitting on my shelves, I know I can look forward to meeting with Yaotl once again.

If you like to be taken to another time and another place completely alien to your own in order to solve a mystery, pick up an Aztec mystery by Simon Levack. Not only will you be entertained, but the author will leave you feeling you have an idea of what it may have been like to live in the Aztec Empire.