The Acid Test

When the mutilated body of Mayra Cabral de Melo is found in a dusty field, Detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta has personal reasons for bringing the culprit to justice. Mayra, a well-known stripper, had no shortage of ardent, deluded and downright dangerous admirers, and Lefty himself is haunted by the night he spent in her company.

As Mexico's drug war ramps up, Lefty's pursuit of a gallery of jealous and powerful suspects, all with a murderous glint in their eye, leads him to Samantha Valdes, the godfather's daughter, who is battling to retain her father's empire. And as the mystery deepens, the bodycount rises.

“Essential reading.”

One of the biggest names in Mexican literature . . . A true novelist . . . No one has captured the exciting and passionate nature of the Mexican vernacular like him

The literary representative of modern-day Mexico in its narco-incarnation . . . The most important thing that's happened in Mexican literature in the last thirty years - Sunday Telegraph

If you are fed up with formulaic noir novels and looking for something fresher, Elmer Mendoza . . . could be the answer - Sunday Times

Presents Mexico in a darkly surrealist light: corrupt politicos, a plague of narco-crime and only battered detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta on the side of the angels - Independent

Mendoza conveys a clear sense of life in Culiacan through the violence of the competing cartels and a simmering expectation and acceptance of corruption - Publishers Weekly

- Sunday Express.

A vivid glimpse into an ultraviolent world of macho posturing, unorthodox policing and ruthless criminality. - Guardian.

Elmer Mendoza was born in Culiacan, Mexico in 1949. He is a professor and author, widely regarded as the founder of 'narco-lit', which explores drug trafficking and corruption in Latin America. He won the Jose Fuentes Mares National Literary Prize for Janis Joplin's Lover, and the Tusquets Prize for Silver Bullets.

When the mutilated body of Mayra Cabral de Melo is found in a dusty field, Detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta has personal reasons for bringing the culprit to justice. Mayra, a well-known stripper, had no shortage of ardent, deluded and downright dangerous admirers, and Lefty himself is haunted by the night he spent in her company.As Mexico's drug war ramps up, Lefty's pursuit of a gallery of jealous and powerful suspects, all with a murderous glint in their eye, leads him to Samantha Valdes, the godfather's daughter, who is battling to retain her father's empire. And as the mystery deepens, the bodycount rises.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.