Death In Veracruz: A Novel - Softcover

Hector Aguilar Camín is a Mexican writer, journalist, and historian. He is the recipient of Mexico’s Cultural Journalism National Award and three years later he received a scholarship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation while he was working as a researcher for the National Institute of Anthropology and History. As a journalist, he has written for La Jornada, Unomásuno, and Milenio. He edited Nexos, one of the leading cultural magazines in the country, and hosted Zona abierta, a weekly current-affairs show on national television. He received the Literature Award for his book Mazatlan: A Breath in the River and is the author of the novels Galio’s War, Los Mujeres de Adriano, and Mandatos del Corazon, and the memoir Adios a los Padres.

"Among the promising writers making their U.S debuts this year . . . Mexican journalist Héctor Aguilar Camín probes the oil cartels’ takeover of land in southern Mexico through tactics of murder and extortion in his first English-translated noir, Death in Veracruz.” —Library Journal "Death in Veracruz is a gripping read for those who are interested in Mexican culture and history or who enjoy a well-woven, riveting 'who-done-it' with an unexpected ending." —Suzanne Adam, peacecorpsworldwide.org

"Death in Veracruz is not only an extraordinary thriller and love story, but also a heartbreaking critique of Mexican corruption, as relevant today, alas, as it was when it was first published decades ago to great acclaim.” —Ariel Dorfman, author, Death in the Maiden

“Death in Veracruz is a marvel, the book provides us with lyric density we only find in genius. I will immediately read everything he has written.” —Jim Harrison, author, Legends of the Fall and The Big Seven

"Death in Veracruz is a Byzantine knot of friendship, betrayal, love, ambition, politics, money, oil and murder . . . recommended for fans of politics, thrillers, history and Mexico." —Michelle Newby, Foreword Reviews

"This ambitious novel memorably brings together recent history, horrific crimes, and an ever present sense of corruption." —Kirkus Reviews

"Mexican author Camín makes his English-language debut with this gritty and convincing . . . tale of murder and corruption, first published in 1985. Camín’s style recalls Robert Stone . . . he obviously possesses an intimate knowledge of the Mexican sociopolitical landscape." —Publishers Weekly

'Death in Veracruz , the first novel by Mexican author Héctor Aguilar Camín to be translated into English, [is] . . . at its heart, the noir romance of one man’s unquenched passion for an old college friend’s wife." —Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

"I wish Speaking of Mysteries was posting [an] interview with Héctor Aguilar Camín, but I don’t speak Spanish. After reading this book, though, I was sorely tempted to learn. I’m taking Spanish lessons in anticipation of Aguilar Camín’s next book." —Nancie Clate, former editor, LA Times Magazine; author, In the Spirit of Beverly Hills

"Camín’s novel speaks to the truth of today. The violent exercise of power, the brutal methods for retaining that power, and the bloody body counts . . . as portrayed in the novel, remain in place in Mexico, changed only by increases in number and frequency." —Manuel Ramos, Los Angeles Review of Books

"The political scene may have changed . . . but thirty years after its initial appearance in Mexico, Aguilar Camín’s first novel shows noir to still be a fruitful mode for exploring an intricate maze of links between crime and power." —Charlotte Whittle, readingintranslation.com