Exactly the escapism I needed, diving into a Valencia with Fallas and without Covid. ( )

I discovered this book by accident while looking to complete a challenge. What a serendipitous find! This is the first book featuring Chief Inspector Max Camara, who has been asked at the last minute to preside over a bullfight as president of the ring. He's less than delighted because he disapproves of bullfighting. He becomes mesmerized by the display put on by famous bullfighter, Jorge Blanco, and accepts an invitation to meet him at a local bar, along with many of his friends, to celebrate his success. When he fails to arrive, a search party is sent out and his brutalized body is soon discovered.

Nobody on the police force wants to investigate this high profile case, especially during a volatile election campaign. It's assigned to Camara, despite his pleas, and when a second victim is discovered, killed in a similar manner, there's even more pressure to find the killer. There are several possible suspects, including Blanco's female fiancee and male boyfriend. Camara teams up with Alicia Beneyto, a local newspaper correspondent who specializes in bullfighting, so he can better understand the whole culture of bullfighting.

The book's title comes from a Spanish proverb: “Either you kill the bull or the bull kills you”. The setting of this book is Valencia, Spain, during Fallas, the five-day festival of fireworks, bonfires and bullfights. The author fairly presents both sides of the bullfighting culture, including the history and pageantry of both man and bull. I really liked Max Camara and have already picked up the second book in the series, A Death in Barcelona.

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Excellent descriptions of Valencia, Spain. Very evocative if you have ever visited that city. ( )

Here's how Jason Webster describes his hero, Max Camara: "...a dope-smoking, Fallas-hating, proverb-quoting, flamenco-loving, Valencia-based murder detective with the Policia Nacional, with a complicated, shattered love life, no social life to speak of, and a career lying in tatters." I would have added brandy-drinking and interesting. A matador is killed, not just "a" matador but "the" matador. A high profile case. Then there's another body, and another. Pressure from the mayor's office (it's election time), pressure from the press. Pressure from the women currently in Max's life. And then there's the fiesta. This is a charming, fun read, one of the few crime fiction stories I have found based in Spain - and it's a very good one. I'll read the next in the series due soon. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. It takes place in Valencia, Spain, and the author makes the city come alive for the reader. A talented matador is murdered and his body left staged in the center of the bullring. The detective charged with solving the murder is a complex, conflicted character. The murder touches him directly has he had been roped into presiding at the bullfight just before the murder, and had awarded the matador two ears and a tail for his great fighting and bravery. Chief Detective Camara doesn't even like bullfighting, and does not see the attraction, and gives the awards based on the experts sitting beside him and advising him. The novel resonated with me especially because as a child in the early 60s I vacationed in Spain with my family and went to a bullfight. Apparently I was disturbed by the cruelty, but I retained the memories of the bullfighting and the colourful spectacle.

The mystery becomes complex as the detective investigates and learns more about the life of the matador. More deaths occur, and politicians become involved, as everyone wants the case solved quickly. In the process, Camara and the reader find out more about the history and attraction of bullfighting, as well as the anti-fighting movement. An exciting climax comes in the midst of a week-long drunken festival, the Fallas, which involves the whole city and firecrackers, fireworks, burning effigies, and huge crowds. Meanwhile Camara's private life proceeds in surprising ways. I very much hope there will be more books with Chief Detective Camara.

Highly recommended for people who like to learn about other cultures, and like complex characterization. ( )