The Acid Test

The murder of exotic dancer Mayra Cabral de Melo, found executed in a field outside the Mexican city of Culiacán, propels Mendoza’s uneven sequel to 2016’s Silver Bullets. When homicide detective Edgar “Lefty” Mendieta arrives to investigate the crime scene, he recognizes the victim. The two had met in Mazatlán, and their chemistry was unmistakable. When police arrive at Mayra’s home to search for clues, they discover her roommate, dancer Yolanda Estrada, similarly murdered. The search for the perpetrator unfolds against a backdrop of the nightclub where Mayra worked, the city’s drug wars, and a list of suspects that includes the rich, the influential, and the criminal. Mendoza conveys a clear sense of life in Culiacán through the violence of the competing cartels and a simmering expectation and acceptance of corruption. Lefty’s honesty is the exception, not the rule. Most of the convoluted story unfolds through dialogue, but because the conversations lack quotation marks and attribution, they can be confusing. (Jan.)