An Easy Thing

Cynical, divorced, insomniac Mexican private eye Hector Belascoaran Shayne weaves and slices his way through the existential fog of Mexico City in this witty, literate, first-rate detective novel. Taibo, president of the International Association of Crime Writers, evokes the morass of Mexico's labyrinthine slums, its bloated bureaucracy and its fierce spirit and hope, as his sleuth simultaneously attacks three mysteries. One involves the kidnapping of an ex-porn star's teen daughter; a second revolves around two murders at a steel plant, possibly connected with a union dispute. The third enigma sends Hector chasing after Emiliano Zapata, famed martyr of the Mexican Revolution, still alive and kicking at age 97, if rumors are to be believed. In complexity of social setting, ingenious plotting and philosophical depth, Taibo ranks with the best. Readers will welcome this delightful novel, Taibo's first to be translated into English. (Jan.)