For Detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta, tormented by past heartbreak and dismayed by all-pervasive corruption, the murder of lawyer Bruno Canizales represents just another day at the office in Culiacán, Mexico's capital of narco-crime.
There is no shortage of suspects in a city where it's hard to tell the gangsters from the politicians. Canizales was the son of a former government minister and the lover of a drug lord's daughter, and he nurtured a penchant for cross-dressing and edgy sex. But why did the assassin use a silver bullet? And why, six days later, did he apparently strike again? 
Mendieta's hunt for the killer takes him from mansions to low-life bars, from gumshoe reporters to glamourous transsexuals. Unearthing the truth can be as dangerous as any drug.

Silver Bullets

Literature & Fiction

Mendoza, Élmer

Genre Fiction

MacLehose Press

Perfect for fans of Mick Herron and John Le Carré
"The most important thing that's happened in Mexican literature in the last thirty years" Gaby Wood, Sunday Telegraph.
It's Christmas in Culiacán and Detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta can't believe his luck. An old flame has returned with a teenage son he knew nothing about. Happiness seems to finally beckon for our careworn hero. The only snag is that Jason Mendieta wants to follow in his father's footsteps-even as Mexico's drug war descends a slippery slope toward chaos.
While Lefty pursues a lunatic who has taken to bumping off dentists with a heavy-calibre pistol, a secret agent infiltrates a meeting of the drug lords and hears Pacific Cartel boss Samantha Valdés implore her underlings to stay out of the war. But an audacious murder provokes Samantha to change her mind and launch a wave of grisly killings across the country.
Samantha then persuades Lefty to help her find the killer that pushed her over the edge. The truth he discovers will underline an old adage: revenge is a dish best served cold. No quiet family Christmas for our detective.

Name of the Dog: A Lefty Mendieta Investigation (Book 3) (Lefty Mendieta Investigation 3)

An intelligent, atmospheric police procedural series for fans of John Le Carré and Mick Heron "The most important thing that's happened in Mexican literature in the last thirty years" Gaby Wood, Sunday Telegraph. Detective Lefty Mendieta makes a deal with the devil in a gripping new novel from the Godfather of Narco Lit Short of leads on the execution-style murder of a fortune-teller, Detective Lefty Mendieta turns to his contacts in the drug underworld. They oblige, but there is a quid pro quo: Help Samantha Valdés, head of the Pacific Cartel, slip through the net of Mexican army and federal police encircling the hospital where she is recovering after an attempt on her life. Grudgingly he agrees, but then gets caught on camera during the escape and becomes headline news. Fired from the force and on the run from the Feds, Lefty again seeks Samantha's help when he learns that his son Jason has been kidnapped in Los Angeles. There, he must come to terms with the woman who broke his heart, while contending with a thicket of conspiracies, feints and double-crosses that further blur the distinction between crime and the law. Betrayal is certain. To save his son, who will Lefty sell out? Translated from the Spanish by Mark Fried

Kiss the Detective: A Lefty Mendieta Investigation (Book 4) (Lefty Mendieta Investigation, 4)

Travel

Quercus Publishing

AS MEXICO'S DRUG WAR DESCENDS INTO CHAOS, A GRISLY WAVE OF KILLINGS IS BEGINNING IN CULIACAN . . . AND DETECTIVE EDGAR "LEFTY" MENDIETA MUST FIND THE MURDERER.FROM ELMER MENDOZA, "THE MASTER OF NARCO-LITERATURE" (SACRAMENTO BEE) AND "THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT'S HAPPENED TO MEXICAN LITERATURE IN THE LAST THIRTY YEARS" (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH), COMES A THRILLING NOVEL THAT EXPLORES THE CORRUPT POLITICS AND DARK VIOLENCE OF THE CITY THAT MEXICO'S DRUG KINGPINS CALL HOME. It's Christmas in Culiacan and Detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta can't believe his luck: An old flame has returned with his teenage son he knew nothing about, and he couldn't be happier. But Jason Mendieta wants to follow in his father's footsteps--even as Mexico's drug war descends a slippery slope towards chaos. While Lefty pursues a lunatic who has taken to bumping off dentists with a heavy-calibre pistol, a secret agent infiltrates a meeting of the drug lords and hears Pacific Cartel boss Samantha Valdes implore her underlings to stay out of the war. But an audacious murder provokes Samantha into changing her mind and launching a grisly wave of killings across the country. There will be no quiet family Christmas for our detective, as Samantha persuades Lefty to help her find the killer that pushed everything over the edge. The truth he discovers will underline an old adage: revenge is a dish best served cold.

Name of the Dog (A Lefty Mendieta Novel (3))

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

When the mutilated body of Mayra Cabral de Melo, a well-known stripper, is found by the side of a dusty road, detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta has personal reasons for bringing the culprit to justice. Mayra had no shortage of ardent, deluded, and downright dangerous admirers, and Lefty himself is haunted by one steamy night he spent in her generous company. So begins an investigation that will bring him ever closer to the murderous world of the narcos, who are waging a war of bloody attrition against the Mexican state. The country is a powder keg, waiting for a spark, and Mendieta is about to enter the darkest days of his life. Corrupt politicians, failed boxers, and unscrupulous arms dealers all lie in wait along the path to justice. But none of this can prepare him for his run-in with the FBI, when the father of the president of the United States is attacked while on vacation in Mexico. For all these perils it is the weight of his own murky past that Lefty finds hardest to bear. And as he scratches around for clues, faced with a gallery of suspects who all have a motive and none of whom is a stranger to the dark arts of murder, the reappearance of Samantha Valdés, now the boss of the Cartel del Pacífico, adds one more jagged piece to an already unsolvable puzzle.

The Acid Test (A Lefty Mendieta Novel (2))

When the mutilated body of Mayra Cabral de Melo, a well-known stripper, is found by the side of a dusty road, detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta has personal reasons for bringing the culprit to justice. Mayra had no shortage of ardent, deluded, and downright dangerous admirers, and Lefty himself is haunted by one steamy night he spent in her generous company. So begins an investigation that will bring him ever closer to the murderous world of the narcos, who are waging a war of bloody attrition against the Mexican state. The country is a powder keg, waiting for a spark, and Mendieta is about to enter the darkest days of his life. Corrupt politicians, failed boxers, and unscrupulous arms dealers all lie in wait along the path to justice. But none of this can prepare him for his run-in with the FBI, when the father of the president of the United States is attacked while on vacation in Mexico. For all these perils it is the weight of his own murky past that Lefty finds hardest to bear. And as he scratches around for clues, faced with a gallery of suspects who all have a motive and none of whom is a stranger to the dark arts of murder, the reappearance of Samantha Valdes, now the boss of the Cartel del Pacifico, adds one more jagged piece to an already unsolvable puzzle."

Acid Test (A Lefty Mendieta Novel (2))

It's just another day at the office for Detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta: abandoned by the woman he loves, demoralized by his city's (nad his nation's) ubiquitous corruption, and in dire need of some psychotherapy. Against this backdrop, he catches the case of Bruno Canizales, a high-powered lawyer with a double life, who was killed by a single silver bullet. Throwing himself into his work, Mendieta begins to piece together the details of Canizales' life. The son of a former government minister, and the lover of a drug lord's daughter, Canizales it seems had a penchant for cross-dressing and edgy sex. In the sweltering city of Culiacán, Mexico's capital of narco-crime, Mendieta scrambles to follow several leads. His dogged pursuit of the killer takes him from glitzy mansions to drug dens, from down-at-the-heels reporters to glamorous transsexuals. When a second, apparently related murder surfaces, Mendieta discovers that his desire to unearth the truth has become as overpowering as any drug.

Silver Bullets (A Lefty Mendieta Novel (1))

Literary

The Acid Test

Das Pazifische Kartell

Suhrkamp Verlag AG

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mendoza, Élmer. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mendoza, Élmer

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mendoza, Élmer. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Silver Bullets

Name of the Dog: A Lefty Mendieta Investigation (Book 3) (Lefty Mendieta Investigation 3)

Kiss the Detective: A Lefty Mendieta Investigation (Book 4) (Lefty Mendieta Investigation, 4)

Name of the Dog (A Lefty Mendieta Novel (3))

The Acid Test (A Lefty Mendieta Novel (2))

Acid Test (A Lefty Mendieta Novel (2))

Silver Bullets (A Lefty Mendieta Novel (1))

Silver Bullets (A Lefty Mendieta Novel (1))

The Acid Test

Das Pazifische Kartell