The Hot Country is the first in the too-short Christopher Marlowe Cobb series by Robert Olen Butler. I read this shortly after it came out in 2012 and loved it. The setting and timing (Mexican civil war, during the US invasion of Vera Cruz, in the run-up to WWI) were unusual to me, and were what bumped this to the top of my books-to-be-read pile. And I’m very glad they did!
Cobb is a journalist, who has been sent to cover the US invasion of Veracruz in 1914. Although the invasion was originally a response to the Tampico Affair, events quickly became tangled up in the roiling mess of Mexico’s civil war between the forces of President Victoriano Huerta and those of Venustiano Carranza, Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. Throw in a German spy or two, a shipment of arms due to arrive soon in Veracruz, a beautiful Mexican who may or may not be the laundress that she seems to be, and Cobb soon has plenty to report – if he survives to do so.
I especially liked the glimpses The Hot Country gave of the Mexican side of things while being invaded by the US. It reminded me of visiting the Monumento a los Niños Héroes (Monument to the Boy Heroes) in Mexico City while I was there on a business trip. It’s a gorgeous monument to six Mexican military cadets who died while defending their country against an earlier US invasion. I think those of us in the US tend to forget to think about things like this from the other side too.
The Hot Country isn’t really a classic mystery – it’s actually more of an adventure/thriller than I usually find to my taste. But I so much enjoyed Butler’s writing, with its vivid depictions of the settings and the characters, as well as the events of the historical background, that I didn’t even notice the lack of a traditional “whodunnit” plot.
I have since read the later three titles in the series which are also quite good, although not quite as great as this one IMO. But they are good enough that I wish Butler would write more titles in the series. Sadly, this is now looking a little unlikely, since the most recent one came out in 2018.
In any case, a nice bonus to this review is that The Hot Country is on sale at Kindle US today (March 13, 2021) for $2.99. Sadly, it’s not on sale at Kobo US, but I’m giving a link for price-checking purposes. And, if you like it, the later titles, although normally rather expensive, tend to go on sale reasonably often, and I’ll be posting about it here if they do. So keep checking back!
The Empire of Night is the third of the four titles in this series. It has dropped to $2.99 at Kindle US, not at Kobo US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JLQ4O4C
And, The Hot Country is still on sale (Kindle US only) at $2.99, if you want to read the first one first! The link in the OP is still good.
The second book in the series, The Star of Istanbul, is now on sale for $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US, and it’s discountable at Kobo! Also the first title, The Hot Country, is still on sale at Kindle US, and now also on sale at Kobo US, so if you want to try in order, you can get the first two titles on sale right now! The links in the OP are still good for that one.
Buy The Star of Istanbul at:
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CIWZ7NS
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-star-of-istanbul-3
Paris in the Dark is the fourth and (sadly) the last in the series, at least for now. It has dropped to $2.99 at Kindle and Kobo US (where it’s discountable), and to £3.50 at Kindle UK.
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFFYCL5
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/paris-in-the-dark-4
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07C29NBQC
Paris in the Dark is on sale again in the US for $2.99, and still discountable at Kobo US, where coupon code “Partners22” is still giving 40% off, at least as of now. The links in the comment just above are still good. It’s not on sale in the UK right now.