Hilarious opening para. Said to be a "Fascinating account of crime, drugs and politics in Mexico. The power of organised crime now holds hostage large areas of the country, including major cities, and terrorises the rest with performances of stupefying violence". Any good fiction about this? - Maxine from Bookmarklet

I'm afraid I've not read any on this subject. I've spotted a few like "Miss Narco" by Javier Valdés Cárdenas. Also understand that The Power of the Dog by Don Winnslow was quite a success in Spain, but Norman's review had put me off.. - Jose Ignacio

Miss Narco at Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book... - Jose Ignacio

Also found that Mexican Journalists José Reveles and Sanjuana Martinez are candidates for the Rodolfo Walsh Award this year in the XXV edition of the Semana Negra in Gijon, thier books Levantones, narcofosas y falsos positivos" y "La frontera del narco". - Jose Ignacio

Thanks, Jose Ignacio. Did you read the first para about the candidate not being able to recall a book he'd read (except one, in which he got the author's name wrong)? ;-) - Maxine

Hilarious isn't it, Maxine? Poor Carlos Fuentes, who has recently passed away. I've read some of his books, mainly his early ones, but have not read The Eagle’s Throne. He's the author of Gringo Viejo which was made into a film starring Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda - Jose Ignacio

Goodreads only lists a Spanish edition of Miss Narco ...and it does not look like fiction (but looks good). I too was put off Winslow (not just by Norman's review!), I don't mind reading upsetting things in fiction but there are limits for me. Perhaps this is not a good topic for sensitive souls to read about.... - Maxine

I forgot to mention The Queen of the South by Perez Reverte, but I've not read it: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Queen-S... - Jose Ignacio

I'm a big fan on Perez Reverete. Queen of the South is one of my favourites. - Sarah Ward

Thanks, that looks good, Sarah and Jose Ignacio. I would not have considered this book as I think of him as a writer of swashbuckling historical novels (which I loved when I was a girl but went off....) - Maxine

There's a fabulous non--fiction book covering this material - Amexica by Ed Vulliamy. Highly recommend it. FIctionwise I imagine that The Dead Women of Juarez would be relevant. - LauraRoot

Thanks, Laura. - Maxine

Sebastian Rotella is a journalist whose Triple Crossing looks at US/Mexican border and deeper into Latin America - interesting. - barbara fister from iPhone

Power of the Dog by Don Winslow - like Traffik in North America. - barbara fister from iPhone

Do they Know I'm Running by David Corbett. Getaway by Lisa Brackmann. - barbara fister from iPhone

Thanks, Barbara! Interesting that Lisa B has moved to Mexico - I just read her Year of the Tiger (US title Rock Paper Tiger) set in China - but though the China setting in the first few chapters was very enjoyable, the rest of it plummeted into a DNF (skimmed the last third). According to the US Amazon reviewers, this one is better (though US Amazon reviews are on average feeble cf the better UK ones). - Maxine

Getaway is about an American woman tourist who gets caught up in narco stuff - sounds fem jeppy (and I suppose it is) but I liked it a car-wreck-watching mode. Setting is Puerto Vallarta (sp?) which is not a hot spot, but it's all too easy to imagine violence in any part of Mexico these days. BTW, Sebastian Rotella wrote an amazing story about massacres in Guatemala that was on a radio program recently, This American Life. His journalism is so good I almost want him to stick to it. - barbara fister