Or the Bull Kills You by Jason Webster
Chatto & Windus, $39.99
Nervous readers need not fear, Jason Webster's new Spanish detective, Max Camara of Valencia, hates bullfights. Forced to stand in for one of his superiors, he loathes the whole business so when a promising young matador is found murdered, only his professional concern is awakened.
But his feelings are torn when he meets a woman journalist who supports the traditional "sport", and he finds himself involved in controversy as bullfighting becomes a serious political issue in Spain.
Camara investigates the training of the matadors, and subjects himself to a trial run, experiencing the fear and adrenalin which surge through the bullfighter and the courage needed to stand one's ground in the face of rushing horns. Camara is not converted to bullfighting, though he comes to understand the excitement generated by the ring.
He hates it "not for what it did to the bull, but for what it did to him", knowing that it awakens his own bloodlust.
This leads him to a deeper perception of what motivates a psychopathic killer who flirts with a human victim as the matador twirls his cape, and tortures her before committing the final act of slaughter.
Camara is a passionate man, and sex, brandy and flamenco loom large as he pursues his case, running up against ruthless enemies who control the bull farms.
This inner journey of one of the most attractive figures to enter recent detective fiction is set amid a splendidly authentic Valencia, an old city wanting to present a modern image as it struggles with its bloodthirsty past.
There is some fascinating information about the sexuality of the encounter between bull and man. Is the matador taking on a female role; is the fight actually a sexual act? Like the best detective stories, this book becomes a scrutiny of our own most powerful drives and secrets.
- INDEPENDENT
