A Double Dose of Taibo II

Thanks to the smarties at Akashic, the wonderful Mexican writer
Paco Taibo II is getting some major play. He is the editor of one of the company's fine collections of stories, Mexico City Noir which offers brand new tales by Eugenio Aguirre, Eduardo Antonia Parra, Bernardo Fernández Bef, Óscar de la Borbolla, Rolo Díez, Victor Luiz González, F.G. Haghenbeck, Juan Hernández Luna, Myriam Laurini, Eduardo Monteverde, Julia Rodríguez and Taibo II himself.

And then there's a new, expanded edition of The Uncomfortable Dead
by Taibo and Subcomandante Marcos. Says PW, "Mexican crime writer Taibo and a real-life spokesperson for the Zapatista movement, Subcomandante Marcos, provide alternating chapters for this postmodern comedic mystery about good, evil and modern revolutionary politics. Elías Contreras, a detective for the Zapatista National Liberation Army (and Marcos's creation), heads to Mexico City to investigate the case of a nefarious government-backed murderer named Morales. Taibo brings back one-eyed Mexico City detective Héctor Belascoarán Shayne (Return to the Same City, etc. ), who becomes involved in the case when he learns of strange telephone messages about this same Morales. Taibo's expertise ensures a smart, funny book, and Marcos brings a wry sense of humor. The authors mix mystery with metafiction: characters operate from beyond the grave or chat about the roles they play in the novel, and Marcos writes his fictional self into the story."

Taibo II was born in Gijón, Spain, and has lived in Mexico since 1958. He is a professor of history at the Metropolitan University of Mexico City.

Great stuff, especially the one-eyed detective...