The second in the series with American Anthropologist Anna Merino, A Corpse for the Matadora is again set in the central Mexican highlands, in Mexico's smallest and safest state -- Tlaxcala -- where the murder of a torera's business manager draws Anna into the violent world of bullfighting.
A Corpse for the Matadora is the second in Harol Marshall's series with American Anthropologist Anna Merino. Set in the central Mexican highlands, in Tlaxcala, Mexico's smallest and safest state, the novel is filled with intrigue, local color, and a rich caste of characters, as Anna helps investigate the murder of a torera's business manager in town for the weekend fiesta.
When Commander Cortez of the Tlaxcala State Police learns of the involvement of an American tourist, he asks Anna to serve as his translator. She agrees, and together they delve into the violent world of Mexican bullfighting. As Cortez tracks down an elusive killer, Anna finds her own life in danger.
Excerpt
The First Friday in July
Chapter One
The phone call about the murder arrived in the middle of the Comandante's third English lesson with American anthropologist Anna Merino. Commander Cortez, Head of Homicide Investigations for the Tlaxcala State Police, reached across the conference table and picked up the handset.
"Bueno. Si." A frown creased his forehead. "Un momento." Holding his hand over the receiver, he shrugged apologetically. "Excuse me, Maestra, I need to take this call in the other room. I'll be right back."
"No problem, Commander," Anna said, making the switch from thinking in English to speaking Spanish. She crossed her fingers the phone message wouldn't call him out on a murder case since she'd worked hard planning today's lesson on English verbs. They'd barely moved beyond "to be" before his landline rang.
During the Christmas Season, servants Jane Meyers and Alfie Dawkins search for missing persons from opposite sides of the social spectrum: a homeless man and the Duke's son.
