Or the Bull Kills You

Starred review from July 11, 2011
Webster's remarkable first novel, a baffling mystery centered on the world of Spanish bullfighting, introduces Chief Insp. Max Cámara of the Valencia police. Despite attacks from animal rights activists and politicians hoping to ride public opposition to bullfighting into office, the sport has had a resurrection, thanks to a charismatic young matador, Jorge Blanco. When Blanco's naked body turns up one night in an empty bullring, with two banderilla darts hanging from his back, a matador's sword in his rib cage, and a Spanish flag tied around his neck, Cámara isn't pleased to be assigned what is bound to be a high-profile murder case. Webster makes the bullfighting integral to the plot rather than a mere backdrop, effortlessly conveying the role of the sport in Spanish society. The well-rounded leadâcynical, willing to bend the rules, emotionally woundedâshould be more than capable of sustaining a long series.