Nine Days of Death — Mary Madsen Hallock

In NINE DAYS OF DEATH, Doña Milly's protege, Jaime, returns from the US to Oaxaca and the village where he grew up. He arrives the day of his father's death by murder, and has only the nine days of official mourning, including the funeral, in which to solve the crime before he must return to Colorado to finish medical school. He and his two brothers work together with the aged and mysterious bruja, Lupe Luna. The story incorporates chunks of Zapotec folklore, and even a quick bit of romance. As always, Doña Milly, Oaxaca's Miss Marple, guides all parties with energy, warmth, and an irrepressible sense of humor.

NINE DAYS OF DEATH resonates on the theme of death and redemption as a young Zapotec man who is being educated abroad struggles to find his way home again. In it Mary Madsen Hallock captures the native soul of southern Mexico. That's saying a lot. Her mysteries turn on that point where the runaway missiles of modern international society pierce the rich fabric of Zapotec Indian life. She invests her Zapotec characters with a deep and detailed knowledge of their culture, ways of thought, and dignity, and contrasts them with the often bankrupt minds of 21st century tourists and schemers. Bridging this gap is the indomitable Milly, an octogenarian wonder we all should be so lucky as to have for a wise and mischievous aunt.