Night of the Jaguar: A Novel (Jimmy Paz) (original 2006; edition 2009)

Gruber is interesting. His books are clearly genre, but sometimes it's hard to tell exactly which genre. It's several years since we've last seen Jimmy Paz, who has left the Miami PD for a nice quiet life running his Santeria devotee mother's Cuban restaurant as well as marriage and young daughter. But of course he gets sucked back in by a series of atypical (as in impossible, and mystical) murders to which he is personally connected. The book starts out in the Colombian rainforest with a witch doctor (for lack of a better term) determined to travel to Miami to stop the men planning on looting his tribe's paradise for its mahogany. I mean, that's a story in itself. There's so much in this book, and it's not so much a mystery because you know who's doing the killings, but there is a lot of suspense, and action, and metaphysical musing.... Highly recommended. ( )

After a rough start with the first Paz novel, I think I’ve got him now. The mystical side of things doesn’t really bother me anymore. It’s a schtick and I enjoy watching Paz try and reconcile his rational and his spiritual. Each installment is different in its approach, the last one followed Gruber’s then interest in multi-POV narratives and old sects/documents/secrets while this one sticks to the present and grinds the axe of environmentalism, but not annoyingly so. Paz’s domestication is predictably weakening, but the kid is the least annoying kid I can imagine and so doesn’t grate enough to make me stop reading. Hopefully he’ll get his balls back soon and rejoin the force instead of being a nursemaid.

The mystery in this one is never fully resolved for the cops who get a frame job. But it’s a saleable frame job so they accept it and our true culprit goes to his just reward. He is a figure of sympathy so we never really expect anything bad to happen to him. There are plenty of other characters to revile and they do get what they have coming.

Jennifer’s characterization was really interesting. Both Moie and Cooksey saw something deeper in her that no one else was able to see; instead writing her off as simple and controllable. I liked how they, in their individual ways, encouraged this side of her and I’d like Gruber to write about her journey and arrival in Colombia. That would be fun. ( )

Really good yarn. Keeps the story flowing and easy to follow. A bit to 'other worldly' in parts but overall verry good.

I loved Tropic of Night, it was deliciously frightening for me, but I just haven't enjoyed any of the other Paz books. I'm not sure what it is-- maybe that I just don't like the Paz character very much, or how long it takes him to own up to the supernatural events happening around him. I read the second Paz book, Valley of Bones, with some impatience, but enjoyed it enough to attempt Night of the Jaguar... and could not get past the first ten pages. ( )