CINCO DE MAYO CRIME FICTION

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo: Read a Mystery!

Cinco De Mayo, the 5th Of May, commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. It's primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state capital city of Puebla and throughout the state of Puebla, with some recognition in other parts of  Mexico, and also in U.S. cities with a significant Mexican population. It is not, as many people believe, Mexico's Independence Day, which is actually September 16.

I've blogged about Cinco de Mayo Mysteries before, but I think it's always good to repost -- with a few additions -- for those who missed it or won't take the extra step to click. No judgement here.

This list is supplemented with Mexican mystery writers and books set in Mexico and on the Mexican-American border. Let me know any titles or authors you think should be included.

Add some Mexican Chocolate Treats to add to your Cinco de Mayo celebration. Check out my other Blog, Dying for Chocolate, for recipes and suggestions of great Chocolate for Cinco de Mayo: Chocolate entrees, drinks and desserts and more desserts. 

Cinco de Mayo Mysteries:

Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler
Cinco de Mayo by Robert E. Cook
Margaritas and Murder by Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain
Cinco de Mayo Murders by Sydnie Goodell

The Cinco de Mayo Murder by Lee Harris
A Corpse for Cuamantla by Harol Marshall
Cinco de Mayo by Michael Martineck (science fiction/but cross-over)
Cinco de Mayo by Don Miles

The Bane of Cinco de Mayo by Nathan S. Mitchell
Cinco de Mayhem by Ann Myers The Cinco de Mayo Reckoning by Terry Money

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And a few Mexican crime writers who set their mysteries in Mexico but not on Cinco de Mayo. They have not all been translated into English.

Mexican Crime Writers:
Paco Ignacio Taibo II The Uncomfortable Dead (and numerous other novels)
Eduardo Monteverde
Juan Hernandez Luna
Martin Solares
Elmer Mendoza

Rolo Diez
Yuri Herrera 

Carlos Fuentes (crime novel: The Hydra Head)

Hector Aguilar Camin

Maria Elvira Bermudez

Hardboiled Fiction on the Mexican-US Border or involved with the drug trade: 

Carlos Fuentes: Cabeza de la Hidra (The Hydra Head)
Joaquin Guerrero-Casaola: The Law of the Garrotte
Sam Hawken: The Dead Women of Juarez; Tequila Sunset
Rolando Hinojosa: Partners in Crime, Ask a Policeman
Elmer Mendoza: Silver Bullets; Kiss the Detective
Gabriel Trujillo Munoz (known for his science fiction and literary criticism, also writes detective fiction):Mesquite Road, Tijuana City Blues Don Winslow: The Cartel; The Power of the Dog; The Border; and more 

Other Crime Fiction set in Mexico

Rafael Bernal: The Mongolian Conspiracy
Roberto Bolano: The Savage Detectives 

Isabel Canas: The Hacienda
Wendy Day: Mexico, Margaritas, & Murder 

Cristina Rivera Garza: The Taiga Syndrome

Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Mexican Gothic
Manuel Muñoz: What You See in the Dark

Lili Wright: Dancing with the Tiger 

Want to find out more?

Read G.J. Demko's Landscapes of Crime: Mysteries in Mexico
"Mexican Detective Fiction" by Jose Ignacio Escribano on A Crime is Afoot

Read Lucha Corpi's: La Bloga on Chicana Crime Fiction: Where to?
Read an essay by Jennifer Insley "Border criminals, border crime: hard-boiled fiction on the American Frontier in Confluencia: Revista Hispanica de Cultura y Literatura

YA Literature? You Don't Have a Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens, edited by Sarah Cortez (Arte Publico Press)

Interested in Crime for the Holidays? Check out Mystery Readers Journal, Volume 25:1.

And a fun fact: Five most popular Tequilas in the U.S.

1. Jose Cuervo
2. Patron
3. Sauza
4. Herradura
5. Cabo Wabo

And, here's one of my favorite roses: Cinco de Mayo! a repeat bloomer with a unique shape, color, and scent!