The Situation in Mexico

I originally wrote the first Gato Loco novel, Greetings from Buena Rosa, as a reaction to the situation in the Juarez region of Mexico. I had heard about the rash of unsolved murders, and of a U.S. woman who had been tortured by local police into confessing for one of the murders. The levels of police corruption, coupled with (in my mind) an unconscionable number of deaths that were being ignored, did not sit easy with me.

I wanted, as many people living in the region must have wanted, a hero to come in and try and fix things. When it came time to write the first de la Vega Mystery, there was no doubt in my mind what it would involve. And while it was a good yarn, it largely ignored much of the real root of the problems there. My novel did not confront the real evils there...just a shadow of corruption and exploitation. The real problem was much worse. Much darker.

And it has only gone downhill from there.

Once The Panda Sanction is finished, I think it is only right to send Manuel and company back across the border for a multi-book arc.