Tequila Blue Rolo Diez, Translated by Nick Caistor Bitter Lemon Press £8.99 Rel: May 2004 Reviewed by Ayo Onatade

For a sharp, sexy and gritty look at Mexico warts and all then Rolo Diez’s Tequila Blue is certainly a good place to start. Dark, noirish and at times downright sinister, Tequila Blue is the tale Mexican police officer Carlos Hernandez (or Carlito as he is known to the various women in his life) whose existence is extremely problematical. He has a family with both his wife and his mistress, and his boss’s secretary is flirting with him as well. To cap it all he never seems to have any money to call his own. To make ends meet he tries some subterfuge of his own, resorting to dealing in arms and laundering money on the side.

Diez draws on all that is wrong and seedy in Mexico to write this intriguing squalid tale. We follow Carlito as he investigates the death of a rich American with a fondest for blue movies whose body has been found in a dubious hotel. As it is things are not that easy and Carlito soon finds himself knee deep in other problems. Not only is he investigating a death but also assassinated prostitutes, crooked politicians and a maze of gang wars.

In a country where death is common place, Tequila Blue is a damming indictment of a nation torn by the run of the mill corruption that has a major hold on it. Translated from Spanish, it is stylishly told with brutal honesty. It is also a savagely droll satire on life in Mexico and what one must do to survive. Certainly a book to read not only for its insight as to how to survive in Mexico but also for the sexy crime adventure that it ultimately is.