Celebrating Mysteries: the Americas

 

It's time for me to share the latest addition to my series that celebrates mysteries with a strong sense of place. For one reason or another, I haven't done nearly as much traveling as I'd like, so I've been forced to do the next best thing: read books set in the countries I'm curious about. I love finding authors who can seamlessly weave an area's landscape and culture into their stories to give me a deeper understanding of the world around me. 

This installment will list some of the mystery series I enjoy that are set in the Americas-- excluding the United States, which will have a chapter all its own. Of them all, I need the most help in gathering new authors to read from Canada and Central and South America, so if you have any recommendations, please leave a comment! I do admit that I like to add to your reading lists, but I also look forward to your help in increasing mine. Turnabout's fair play, eh?

Oh! Before I head off into my list, I'll include links to the other posts in this series just in case you missed one... Africa & Australasia, Europe, and Asia. If I missed any good ones in any of those posts, your additions are very much appreciated. 

 

The links will take you to authors' websites, to my reviews of the books, or to Amazon if my review isn't available. Now it's time to get down to work!

Bolivia

 

City of Silver is a standalone historical mystery by Annamaria Alfieri that absolutely knocked my socks off. 

 

I will be the first to admit that my knowledge of South American is woefully inadequate, but I'm taking up some of the slack by reading marvelous books like this. 

 

The setting is Potosí in what is now Bolivia in the 1650s. At the time, it was the largest city in the Western Hemisphere (comparable in size to London), and-- at an altitude of 14,000 feet-- it's the highest city in the world. Add its fabled silver mines to the mix, and you have a place that was the world's richest city for well over a century.

 

The way Alfieri created an intriguing mystery and then seamlessly wove in all the details of the setting still makes me drool. This is the sort of book that I love, and I'm so glad I had the good fortune to find a copy and read it.

 

 

Brazil

 

Pancreatic cancer took Leighton Gage away from us much, much too soon. I absolutely love his Inspector Mario Silva series and have lost track of the number of times I've recommended it to someone. The seven-book series takes readers to various locations throughout Brazil, and I came to a much better understanding of the country through reading them. 

 

The first three books in the series are:

 

Blood of the Wicked

Buried Strangers

Dying Gasp

 

 

The British Virgin Islands 

 

 

 

John Keyse-Walker writes a series featuring Constable Teddy Creque, the sole police officer on the remote island of Anegada. Not only are the mysteries good, I've learned a lot about Caribbean island life and the British Virgin Islands. i was so happy to see that the third book in the series, Palms, Paradise, Poison will be available in the UK at the end of this month and in the US at the beginning of January.

 

Sun, Sand, Murder

Beach, Breeze, Bloodshed

 

 

Canada

 

 

Barbara Fradkin has written a series with a main character who eventually annoyed me so much that I don't intend to read any further, but I have to admit that I will miss the series because I loved how much I learned about various areas in Canada. If you are much more tolerant of a "squeaky wheel" than I am, chances are you'll really enjoy Fradkin's Amanda Doucette series for more than the landscapes.

 

There are currently four books in the series:

 

Fire in the Stars

The Trickster's Lullaby

Prisoners of Hope

The Ancient Dead

 

M.J. McGrath wrote a trilogy about Edie Kiglatuk, a former polar bear hunter and the best guide in her isolated Inuit community in the Canadian Arctic. Not only did I enjoy following force-of-nature Edie around while she solved mysteries, I enjoyed learning about the Inuit culture of Canada.

 

White Heat

The Boy in the Snow

The Bone Seeker

 

 

Mexico

 

Simon Levack wrote a series of historical mysteries set in Precolumbian Mexico on the eve of the Spanish colonization of the Americas and feature as the protagonist Yaotl, a fictitious slave to the chief minister in the Aztec state of Tenochtitlan under Emperor Moctezuma II. Demon of the Air, the first book in the series, won the Debut Dagger Award, given by the UK Crime Writers' Association, in 2000.

 

Besides the amount of fascinating historical research that brought these mysteries to life, I enjoy the mysteries, the humor, and the help it's given me with pronunciation of what look like tongue-twisting names. I've been hanging on to the fourth book-- saving it for just the right time, I suppose-- but I really think I need to read it soon.

 

Demon of the Air

The Shadow of the Lords

Aztec City of Spies

Tribute of Death

 

 

There you have it-- my list of mysteries from the Americas that have such a strong sense of place that you feel as though you're living with the characters as you read.

 

Did I leave anyone out? Please let me know!

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.

Scene of the Crime with Author Simon Levack!

Perhaps if a few more readers were interested in history, this week's featured author would see a well-deserved jump in his book sales. Simon Levack may have trained as a solicitor (that's "lawyer" to us Americans), but he's written an excellent historical mystery series set in sixteenth-century Mexico when Montezuma is the ruler of the Aztec Empire... and the conquistadors have landed on the coast. This is the perfect setting for the wily slave, Yaotl, to teach us about the world in which he lives while he's solving his latest crime. Levack's books are a skillful blend of setting, culture, characterization, humor and complex plotting-- and I recommend them highly!

Simon Levack

Here are some links so you can learn more about the author and his books:

Simon Levack's website

Simon Levack on Facebook

Simon Levack's books

I really hope that you take the time to visit Simon's website. I enjoyed reading about what inspired him to write his books, what it's like writing about the Aztecs, and how to pronounce Aztec names. He does an incredible job in bringing the Aztecs and their culture to life!

Time for the interview!

What was the very first book you remember reading and loving? What makes that book so special?

Biggles Flies North by Captain W.E. Johns. I was given it as a Christmas present at the age of, I should think, around seven. It would seem terribly dated now but I loved the bleak setting and the straight-from-the-shoulder heroics. It gave me a taste for adventure stories set in exotic and unfamiliar environments which I've never really lost although these days I like a bit more moral ambiguity about my characters.

Outside of your writing and all associated commitments, what do you like to do in your free time?

I play the piano rather badly. I only took it up seriously three or four years ago and it has been a steep learning curve, but I love music and it relaxes me and gives me a sense of achievement at the same time.

If I were to visit your hometown, where would you recommend that I go? (I like seeing and doing things that aren't in all the guide books.)

Sittingbourne in the 1930s

There's nothing much to recommend about my hometown, which is a nondescript place called Sittingbourne. Chaucer's pilgrims may have passed through here but that was a very long time ago! I'd recommend you skip the town itself and tour the villages and countryside around it.

You have total control over casting a movie based on your life. Which actor would you cast as you?

Gary Oldman

After seeing his performance in the movie of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", Gary Oldman.

Who is your favorite recurring character in crime fiction?

Philip Marlowe. Not for the wisecracks so much as for his ability to see the world as it really is.

Name one book that you've read that you wish you had written. What is it about that book that made it come to mind?

It probably wouldn't be a detective story. The book that comes to mind right now is Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve - or any of the other Hungry Cities books. I wish I had half his ability to make an imagined world believable, and the moral courage to put his characters through the ringer the way he does.

How did you celebrate when you first heard you were to be published? What did you do the first time you saw one of your books on a shelf in a bookstore?

I took my wife out to dinner, twice. Oddly I can't remember the first time I saw one of my books in a bookstore but I probably offered to sign it.

I don't know if you've seen it, but I love Parnell Hall's video about book signings. What is the most unusual experience you've had at a book signing or author event?

The oddest experience I've had at an author event, and certainly the most uncomfortable, was finding myself on a panel moderated by someone who clearly didn't like my books and took great care to make sure everyone in the audience knew it. I'm afraid it rather put me off doing that sort of event again.

What's the best thing about eBooks? What's the worst?

The best thing is their portability. I can carry a thousand or more books around on my Kindle and slip it in my coat pocket. The worst thing is that many ebooks are appallingly badly formatted, but that will change as ebooks take over from print as the predominant medium - as I don't doubt they will.

Available Now!

Thank you for letting us get to know you a bit better, Simon. May your book sales do nothing but increase!

I hope everyone stops by tomorrow to read my review of the third book in Simon Levack's Aztec Mysteries series, City of Spies!

Celebrating Mysteries: Native American Historical Mysteries

Since August is Native American Heritage Month, I thought I'd spend it celebrating one of my favorite types of crime fiction: mysteries with Native American main characters and settings in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Although I've read a good many books that meet these criteria, I have a feeling that, as the month progresses, I'll find an author or two to add to my wishlist!

Tony Hillerman

I would be completely remiss if I neglected to mention the man who was almost single-handedly responsible for putting this sub-genre on the map: Tony Hillerman.

His word pictures brought the beauty of the Southwest to life, and his characters-- Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn-- had much to teach readers about the rich Navajo culture.

If you've never had the pleasure of reading one of Hillerman's mysteries, here is a list in chronological order for you. Please try one!


This week, the celebration starts by shining the spotlight on authors who have written excellent historical mysteries featuring Native American main characters.  Let's get started!

Mardi Oakley Medawar is an Indian activist of Cherokee descent, a consultant for HONOR (Honor Our Neighbors Origins and Rights) as well as being the Red Cliff Representative for TRIAD (Team Response: Indians Against Defamation). She speaks at reservation schools and colleges. She lives on the Red Cliff Reservation in northern Wisconsin.

She has written an historical series featuring Tay-bodal, a nineteenth-century Kiowa healer in Oklahoma. There are four books in the series: Death at Rainy Mountain (1996), Witch of the Palo Duro (1997), Murder at Medicine Lodge (1999), and The Ft. Larned Incident (2000).

Here's what Booklist had to say about Death at Rainy Mountain:

"More than a mystery, Medawar's novel is a beautifully written, life-affirming, heartwarming story full of adventure, humor, and tears. Set in 1866 on the western frontier, the tale concerns Tay-bodal, a Kiowa Indian who has been a relative nobody among his tribesmen. Always an outsider, Tay-bodal has no family and would rather spend time with his healing herbs and potions than attending councils of war. But then the respected and much loved Chief Little Bluff dies, and the Kiowas must come together to name his successor. When Coyote Walking, one of the three candidates for the highly revered position of tribal chief, is brutally murdered, chaos and disorder erupt. Tay-bodal, wiser than he knows, takes on the daunting task of finding out who killed Coyote Walking. His investigation, which is ultimately successful in unmasking the villain, changes his life forever, not only earning him a respected place among his tribesmen but also winning him a beautiful woman, a young son, new friends, and a happiness he thought he could never experience. Medawar has written a cunningly plotted story that is as devilishly funny as it is charmingly told. Tay-bodal is a true, if unsuspecting, hero who proves that love, respect, and wisdom can overcome even the greatest adversity."

I have this book sitting on my to-be-read shelves, but I don't think it will be there much longer. My hands are itching to get hold of it!

Simon Levack

Simon Levack grew up in a small town in Kent, England, went to the local grammar school, earned a law degree, and became a solicitor (lawyer to us Americans). A voracious reader as a child, he was always writing, but it wasn't until he was recuperating from a serious illness when he was in his twenties that he became serious about putting pen to paper.

He's written a marvelous series of books centered on Yaotl, slave to the chief minister in the Aztec state of Tenochtitlan under Emperor Moctezuma II. These books are rich in historical detail, complex plotting, humor, and often graphic violence (which fits the time period).

There are four books in the series: Demon of the Air (2004), The Shadow of the Lords (2005), City of Spies (2006), and Tribute of Death (2007).

Publishers Weekly enjoyed Demon of the Air as much as I did:

"Historical novels, let alone debuts, don't get much better than British author Levack's outstanding effort, set in the heyday of the Aztec empire two years before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. Already, rumors of pale, bearded men with strange weapons have reached the emperor, Montezuma. When a human sacrifice to the war-god goes wrong—the intended victim makes an ominous prophecy before jumping to his death off the Great Pyramid—the ensuing uproar threatens the power of the emperor and his chief minister, Black Feathers. Both Montezuma and Black Feathers charge Yaotl, a disgraced priest now the minister's slave, with discovering the reason for the suicide. Yaotl, who narrates this rich tale, doggedly pursues a twisted trail of plots and counterplots toward the truth. Levack makes comprehensible and familiar a society that seems at first glance alien. Sixteenth-century Mexico comes to wonderful life in this gripping, multifaceted mystery, winner of the 2004 CWA Debut Dagger Award."

I have read and enjoyed the first two books of this series, and have the third waiting for me on my overloaded to-be-read bookcases.

Michael and Kathleen Gear

Kathleen O'Neal Gear and her husband, W. Michael Gear live at the corner of the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming with a herd of buffalo and two Shetland sheep dogs. Kathleen is a former state historian and archaeologist for Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska for the U.S. Department of the Interior. Michael is a writer and archaeologist who, along with two partners, has his own archaeological consulting company.

Together, they've written three books loosely referred to as the Anasazi Mysteries, which should appeal to readers with a love of archaeology, as well as those interested in Native American culture. All three books-- The Visitant (1999), The Summoning God (2000), and Bone Walker (2001)-- are set in two time periods: the present day and the thirteenth century. The lives of a consistent set of characters are woven throughout the three books. If you wonder what it was like to live in the Southwest during the period when the Anasazi were morphing into today's Puebloan cultures, these are the books to read.

Publishers Weekly had this to say about The Visitant:

"In the upper Sonoran desert of present-day New Mexico, a charismatic yet troubled archeologist named Dusty Stewart is unearthing a mystery that began about A.D. 1200. While excavating a site of the Chaco Anasazi Indians, Stewart and his team discover mass graves containing the bodies of young women, all with their skulls smashed. Using flashbacks to merge past and present into a relatively seamless tapestry, the Gears depict an ancient, waning Anasazi people plagued with drought, declining resources and rampant tuberculosis. Ash Girl, the wife of the tribal war chief, Browser, has been found dead, her head crushed and a wolf mask at her side. Young girls continue to disappear from surrounding villages, and Browser, with the aid of his shrewdly eccentric uncle, searches for a serial killer. Meanwhile, in the present, a team of archeologists and anthropologists, most notably Dr. Maureen Cole, who's the heroine of this series launch, are also trying to solve the puzzle of the graves, using not only 20th-century technology, but, in addition, extrasensory perception that links them to the spirits of the past. Breathtaking descriptions evoke the harsh beauty of the desert in both winter and summer, while the lucid, erudite historical perspectives are informed by the authors' own extensive archeological experience."

Between Hillerman, Medawar, Levack, and the Gears, you have some excellent reading in store if you're in the mood for rich historical mysteries with Indian characters. Don't forget to stop by next weekend when I'll be celebrating more Native American mysteries!

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.