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Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery
In Lucha Corpi's story, ''Hollow Point at the Synapses,'' her unique narrator a bullet describes the instant before killing a young Peruvian ''I feel the pull of the hammer. The pressure mounts. I am now in place. The moment is upon me. Swiftly and efficiently, I will do what I must, what I was created for. In an instant, I am off, traveling at a speed reserved only for death.''
This groundbreaking anthology of short fiction by Latino mystery writers, Hit The Best of Latino Mystery , features an intriguing and unpredictable cast of sleuths, murderers and crime victims. Reflecting the authors' and society's preoccupation with identity, self, and territory, the stories run the gamut of the mystery genre, from traditional to noir, from the private investigator to the police procedural, and even a ''chick lit'' mystery.
''The Right Profile'' features a Miami private investigator who goes undercover to prove a deadbeat father can pay child support, and she delights in testifying against him in court. In ''The Skull of Pancho Villa,'' someone has stolen the family heirloom and it's up to Gus Corral to get it back. And in ''A New York Chicano,'' a successful bachelor from El Paso a graduate of NYU working for Merrill Lynch in Manhattan gets his revenge against a xenophobic newscaster.
Hit List collects for the first time short fiction by many of the Latino authors who have been pioneers in the mystery genre, using it to showcase their unique cultures, neighborhoods and realities. Contributors include award-winning writers such as Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Rolando Hinojosa, Manuel Ramos and Sergio Troncoso, as well as emerging writers who deserve more recognition.
This groundbreaking anthology of short fiction by Latino mystery writers, Hit The Best of Latino Mystery , features an intriguing and unpredictable cast of sleuths, murderers and crime victims. Reflecting the authors' and society's preoccupation with identity, self, and territory, the stories run the gamut of the mystery genre, from traditional to noir, from the private investigator to the police procedural, and even a ''chick lit'' mystery.
''The Right Profile'' features a Miami private investigator who goes undercover to prove a deadbeat father can pay child support, and she delights in testifying against him in court. In ''The Skull of Pancho Villa,'' someone has stolen the family heirloom and it's up to Gus Corral to get it back. And in ''A New York Chicano,'' a successful bachelor from El Paso a graduate of NYU working for Merrill Lynch in Manhattan gets his revenge against a xenophobic newscaster.
Hit List collects for the first time short fiction by many of the Latino authors who have been pioneers in the mystery genre, using it to showcase their unique cultures, neighborhoods and realities. Contributors include award-winning writers such as Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Rolando Hinojosa, Manuel Ramos and Sergio Troncoso, as well as emerging writers who deserve more recognition.
- GenresMysteryShort Stories
191 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2009
10 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Cortez
25 books16 followersSARAH CORTEZ, resident of Houston and member of the Texas Institute of Letters, is the author of two poetry collections and winner of the PEN Texas literary award in poetry. Her mixed-genre memoir, Walking Home: Growing up Hispanic in Houston, was published by Texas Review Press in 2012. She has edited six anthologies, ranging from crime fiction to memoir to poetry.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 9, 2011
This anthology features the work of Mario Acevedo, Lucha Corpi, Sarah Cortez, Carolina García-Aguilera, Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Carlos Hernandez, Rolando Hinojosa-Smith, Bertha Jacobson, John Lantigua, Arthur Muñoz, R. Narvarez, L.M. Quinn, Manuel Ramos, S. Ramos O'Briant, A.E. Roman, Steven Torres and Sergio Troncoso. All accomplished authors in their own right.
As the title hints, the stories included in this anthology have Latino undertones, yet these aren't your traditional chupacabra stories. These here run the gammut of losing souls to teaching people lessons. With each story being short, the longest of them running only about 10 pages long, I was able to get a feel about all these authors just enough that I moved to look up further works by them.
I must admit when I first began reading this book, I was confused. Half way through the first story I was wondering where the mystery was. Once I reached the second story, I realized this collection is a throwback to pure mystery rather than the "in your face" type we often read nowadays. It was such a pleasure reading knowing that the authors wrote while thinking of the reader. I had to try to figure out what the twist was going to be in the end. I knew one was coming and most of the time I was caught off guard.
I enjoyed these short stories and the fact that the book was published by, edited by and written by Latino authors was icing on the cake for me.
As the title hints, the stories included in this anthology have Latino undertones, yet these aren't your traditional chupacabra stories. These here run the gammut of losing souls to teaching people lessons. With each story being short, the longest of them running only about 10 pages long, I was able to get a feel about all these authors just enough that I moved to look up further works by them.
I must admit when I first began reading this book, I was confused. Half way through the first story I was wondering where the mystery was. Once I reached the second story, I realized this collection is a throwback to pure mystery rather than the "in your face" type we often read nowadays. It was such a pleasure reading knowing that the authors wrote while thinking of the reader. I had to try to figure out what the twist was going to be in the end. I knew one was coming and most of the time I was caught off guard.
I enjoyed these short stories and the fact that the book was published by, edited by and written by Latino authors was icing on the cake for me.
May 26, 2013
Many are Cliche mystery stories with the lead character names changed from Anglo to latino. l.m. Quinn wrote the horrific dialog for Zulma a Cuban maid " I no like police. They no like Zulma, too" the stand out story is the skull of Pancho Villa by Manuel Ramos. It's clever funny and Latino without the extra accent that many writers add to the genre.
October 31, 2015
Enjoyable stories/
November 12, 2021
This was a wonderful compilation of mysteries by Latino writers. My cousin, L.M. Quinn, is one of the writers and I was thrilled to read her work - so well done culturally, researched, and written - truly captivating to me who also grew up in L.A. County. Thank you for having this book on GoodReads - it is a must read!
February 15, 2023
Read these from this book: Foreword by Ralph E. Rodriguez
Introduction by Sarah Cortez
“In My Hands” by Sarah Cortez
“Shortcut to the Moon” by Alicia Gaspar de Alba
“Los Simpdticos” by Carlos Hernandez
“A Reunion with Death” by John Lantigua
“Nice Climate, Miami” by Rolando Hinojosa-Smith
Loved shortcut to the moon and los sinpdticos
Introduction by Sarah Cortez
“In My Hands” by Sarah Cortez
“Shortcut to the Moon” by Alicia Gaspar de Alba
“Los Simpdticos” by Carlos Hernandez
“A Reunion with Death” by John Lantigua
“Nice Climate, Miami” by Rolando Hinojosa-Smith
Loved shortcut to the moon and los sinpdticos
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews