Ediciones B México 2013

First novel in the thriller series featuring Christopher Marlowe Cobb by Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction in 1993.

The Hot Country is a gripping espionage thriller set in the years leading up to World War I, in Mexico, where Pancho Villa is waging a civil war. America has occupied Veracruz, and the German secret service is causing significant trouble in anticipation of a European war.

Christopher Marlowe Cobb, a war correspondent for a major American newspaper, travels to Mexico in April and May 1914, during the civil war, the American invasion of Veracruz, and the controversial presidency of Victoriano Huerta, “The Jackal.”

While covering the conflict, he falls in love with Luisa, a young laundress who is not as innocent as she seems, and witnesses a young priest being shot. The bullet bounces off the crucifix he wears around his neck, leaving him unharmed, and Christopher becomes embroiled in uncovering the identity of the sniper. He is also drawn to discover what important German officers are doing in the middle of the night at the port.