The Hot Country

Ray Chase's characterization of journalist Christopher Marlowe Cobb sublimely captures his transition from war correspondent Òfiddling around with a metaphorÓ while covering the U.S. Army in Veracruz to undercover operative shooting banditos and figuratively and literally dueling with the German emissary who is funding Pancho Villa's invasion of the U.S. German, Mexican, and even Canadian accents are lightly delivered amid vivid period detail and scene setting. Combat performances range from slow motion to breathless, but Chase is best at Cobb's reflective moments. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

August 20, 2012
Pulitzer Prizeâwinner Butler's ambitious first crime novel introduces Christopher Marlowe "Kit" Cobb, an American war correspondent who has come to Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1914 to cover the country's civil war. A passionate believer in the power of a free press and the moral superiority of the United States, Kit is no mere observer. He assumes a false identity to pursue German diplomat Friedrich von Mensinger en route to a meeting with revolutionary leader Pancho Villa, and the correspondent soon finds himself up to his neck in political intrigue. The large cast includes laundress Luisa Morales, a pretty señorita with whom Kit becomes romantically involved; Gerhard Vogel, an American-born German soldier; and a resourceful pickpocket, Diego, who acts as Kit's eyes and ears. A fine stylist, Butler (A Small Hotel) renders the time and place in perfect detail, though readers should be prepared for a sluggish plot that lingers over the minutiae of the political machinations. Agent: Warren Frazier, John Hawkins & Associates.