Claim Now A Death In Valencia (Chief Inspector Max Cámara, #2) Drafted By Jason Webster File Format PDF
on A Death in Valencia (Chief Inspector Max Cámara, #2)
Max Cámara is under pressure,
Webster paints a vivid mural depicting a deeply Catholic, very corrupt city of Valencia on the southern Mediterranean coast touted as the paella capital of the world, Upon this canvas Webster writes a solid, intriguing mystery that unfolds in an old saltoftheearth district down by the port that is under siege from politicians dreams of modern legacy projects and developers wrecking balls.
Max Camara is chief homicide inspector with the Policia National, Leave aside murderers, Camaras natural enemies are the Guardia Civil, PN is primarily “liberal” Guardia is primarily right wing, with historical roots straight to Franco, Max is not categorical, but thats how it basically divides,
The story starts out as an investigation into the murder of a revered paella chef possibly over his political opposition to City Halls relentless razing of the old port area in favor of concrete towers.
It soon evolves into a left/right battle between PN and Guardia, with the kidnapping of a highprofile abortionist at the heart of it, Rogue elements within the Guardia are suspected, It all unfolds on the eve of the Popes visit to Valencia in the midst of a stultifying July heat wave, Of course the two threads are tied it is for Inspector Camara to figure out how and why,
The jumping off point, the murder, finds Max Camara heartsick over an abortion that personally touched his life and desperately missing the woman who chose this route, then left him.
The story barely gets going when he comes home to find his apartment building, in the targeted district, sunk in the rubble beneath poorly built streets, Thus Max is operating under layers of personal pressure and stress: Hes an openminded man struggling to accept the fact of a womans right to choose, He detests the retro right wing elements pulling strings within the Guardia and at City Hall, He is angry over the loss of a neighbor and her child when the apartment collapses, And he loved the murdered chefs paella,
Webster creates a colorful supporting cast of cops, both good and bad denizens of the old quarter that is being systematically destroyed and selfserving city politicians, Max Camaras partner Paco Torres provides a good foil to Maxs dilemmas, Maxs anarchist grandpa Hilario is a great spiritual adviser to a messed up policeman with too much pressure from too many different directions, Hilario is only ever a voice on the telephone, but their chats are perfect for dark, realistic humor and good advice, One wishes there was more of Hilario like his name, he is quite funny, He adds refreshing dimension.
Still, Max Camaras personal flaws keep him interesting in many ways, more interesting than the plot, Though it touches on several topical issues and perspectives defining modern Spain, the plot is curiously “meat and potatoes” i, e. , strong in its elements, and deftly woven but the manner in which this story plays out is something youve read before, Or more likely seen. Yes, for me this another mystery novel that seems too much like a movie Ive seen too many times, Which doesnt mean I didnt enjoy it, But I wanted it to be something different and it wasnt, Not fair Sorry.
For me, the most compelling element of A Death in Valencia is the city itself, From a writer's perspective, it is interesting how deeply felt, expertly rendered atmospherics can carry a story, Then again, Webster made his mark as a travel writer, He is a master at seeing the color and the societal topography of Spain, I hope he can reach the same level with his crime fiction in my opinion, he has not quite got there with this one,
stars
I will certainly try Or the Bull Kills You in hopes that I was wrong about my feelings about A Death in Valencia, And
I hope there will be more and more deeply realized Max Camara mysteries forthcoming, Because I love the colors and flavors of Spain,
I'm a huge fan of Jason Webster's nonfiction books such as Violencia a thoroughly accessible introduction to Spanish history, I also know Valencia quite well, so marry the two in a detective story set in the city and that's holiday reading sorted, Only it didn't quite live up to my expectations, The cast of characters slightly confused me and the plots even more so, I willingly enough turned the pages, but I wasn't drawn in enough to feel I want to read any other books in the series, I won a copy of A Death in Valencia in a GoodReads giveaway,
I usually select books based on A the author if I've enjoyed their previous books B the A Death in Valencia's blurb if it sounds intriguing or
C recommendation from friends/family but usually, I'm the one making recommendations.
I entered to giveaway based on the A Death in Valencia's blurb as I had never heard of Jason Webster,
But now that I have, I'll keep my eyes open looking for more of his books, . . and I hope there will be a lot more,
At just overpages, it wasn't for me a real fast read as there were a lot of characters/organizations to keep up with that would receive a mention as introduction, then pop back uppages later as part of the story.
While a cheat sheet would have helped, I couldn't be bothered and had to backtrack several times to understand this "newest twist", I did push "bed time" back a couple of hours so I could finish reading,
I got a very good sense of Valencia, Spain in the reading of this book but in many ways was reminded of Andrea Camilleri's Italy and his Inspector Montalbano.
Max Camara is a darker and more "political" version, but his impatience with the bureaucracy and irreverant attitude are the same as Montalbano's, Both Montalbano amp Camara very much enjoy their food, wine and women, I liked his grandfather and the Spanish proverbs sprinkled through the book,
Overall, a very good "twisty" story, likeable and unlikeable characters, and a good sense of contemporary Spanish life, I will definitely be looking for more from Jason Webster, I enjoyed the local color paella, etc, but didn't find the rest of the book too exciting, I had a hard time keeping track of the male characters, most of whom good or bad seemed interchangeable, The only memorable one was the dead one!
,rounded up. Had the makings of a good book as the setting of Valencia is vividly created, but weak dialogue between male characters who are awkwardly cliched kind of spoilt it, Thatsfrom this series Ive read and il leave it now, Websters non fiction is far better,mystery novel with max cAmara, murder detective in valencia with the national police as opposed to the guardia civil, the local police and the rural police and the army secret police and deals with abortion, coastal development , valenician and national politic, the pope visiting, how to make paella, and murder of course.
a bit more coherent than hisst mystery 'the bull kills you" and we understand a bit more why this cop smokes massive amounts of dope, and booze and pills, and everybody hates him and it is entirely mutual.
still though, lots of holes in plot, useless details, unmanageable seeming logistics, so even though publishers weekly gives it star very good sign of quality book i give it only.
Second in the Max Camara series and just as fast paced as the first, While Or The Bull Kills you dealt with bullfighting and its culture old and new, This second book features paella and anti or pro abortion clinics as the main flow coming to a head during a visit by the Pope, all threads that weave in and out again present the various government and municipal authorities playing major roles.
Various police groups not often working together . . town hall again with its reign over the city wrecking havoc to old sections making way for new, This time Max is truly at his wits end being homeless but it does not slow him down nor does the lingering depression he has apparently suffered since book one's outcome.
He is determination personified, often to his own peril,
This writer makes me think of Donna Leon and her marvelous books set in Venice, A city I love. While she shows the elegance combined with the underbelly of the city she long ago embraced as home and its dysfunction and leaves me still loving it best, Jason Webster who is also an expat of long standing that has truly studied his new home and loves it, leaves me quite nervous to ever visit Valencia let alone set foot in Spain again!
But I cannot wait for another in this series.
. . This is a book about more than a singular death, it is an exploration of the nature of death and what constitutes murder, Max Cámara, the Valencia detective introduced in Or The Bull Kills You, cannot sleep: his street is being dug up as the new Metro line is being built, the summer heat pulsates, and Valencia is crazy as it prepares for the arrival of the Pope.
The city buzzes with pro and antiCatholic emotions, with prolife and prochoice campaigners lining up their arguments for the Pope, Meanwhile the police force prepares security for the visit, as a developer is ripping up the old fishermans quarter El Cabanyal to build new apartment blocks, On the first page, a dead body is washed up on the shore, A wellknown paella chef.
Max has eaten the chefs paella but is taken off the case to help hunt for a kidnapped woman, a gynaecologist who performs abortions, The eve of the Popes visit is the worst possible time for this to happen, As always seems to happen in crime novels, two seemingly separate incidents are linked, The link, in this case, is carefully plotted so I didnt spot it until the end, For me, this is a deeper more intelligent novel than the first in the Max Cámara series there are now four, perhaps because the author is settling into the genre and the character.
I must add that Valencia simply rocks in this book, it comes alive off the page, the heat, the tension, the grief, I can smell the summer dust, A deep mystery in Sunny Valencia, dark amp quirky characters, flashing with insight, A fine read. Not a bad book. Just not my style. I had a tough time getting through the book because I didn't care about the detective, the dead guy, the Pope or anyone else in the book, The politics just didn't do it for me,/stars. My first Jason Webster book, He paints a picture of Valencia that feels so real, one I can really see, He wastes no words but puts in what is needed, Camara is a complex character, not all good, He is a good homicide detective, I do not like his drug use, Hopefully he will find love in future books, Good murder mystery evocatively set in the wonderful city of Valencia This was a great crime fiction story located in Valencia, Chief Inspector Max Camara is hunting a murderer who has killed a renowned local paella chef who washed up on the local beach, There is plenty of intrigue and political corruption as it emerges that he was heavily involved in fighting the development plans for the local area that would have closed his business and home.
In the meantime, Camara's flat and the building he lives in collapses, Two people die and everyone is out to evade blame and avoid paying compensation of any kind, A local abortionist is kidnapped in a fevered atmosphere where the pope is shortly to visit and the police are implicated, In a twisted trail, Camara finds connections between the murder and the kidnapping, Camara determinedly investigates despite being homeless,
This is an intricately plotted story that kept me gripped throughout, Where the book really excels is in its ability to bring Valencia alive as a location both historically and culturally, Spain's dark history of the Civil War scars its relatively recent emergence as a democracy, There are forces at play that would like to go back to Franco's time and this includes the Catholic Church, There is so much corruption politically that it is an essential part of the book, The characters feel real and complex, I am pleased to have discovered Jason Webster as a new author, I found this book surprisingly hard going for much of it's length, It is well written and has a good deal to say about modern Spain and the attitudes and rivalries which compete there, but as a story it took a very long time to get going and by pageI thought it was heading forat best.
In fact it picked up quite well and the second half of the book did draw me in and made it worth reading,
I think my problem with the book is that it is largely about Spanish politics: the struggle between the relatively new democracy there and those who want to return it to a deeply reactionary Francostyle state, the influence of the Church, corruption in the police and government and so on.
It's well enough done, but doesn't leave a lot of room for plot and character although I did find Camara himself to be rather well drawn, Given what seemed like rather long periods away from the investigation of the crimes I also found that I had forgotten who various witnesses, suspects and so on were by the time they reappeared, which isn't something I usually have a hard time with.
Once things began to move and gel together a little I did enjoy the book although I could have done without the clichéed Cornered Killer Climax and have given it four for that reason and because I liked the writing which is unobtrusive, unpretentious and enjoyable.
You need to be prepared for a long slog in the first half of the book, though, so I can only give this a qualified recommendation, Introduces the reader to Valencia, Well written, and enjoyable to read, However,the main character is a bit like many other police detectives in fiction, good at his job, bad at being where he should be and reporting in, Will probably read other titles by the author,
A renowned paella chef has been found dead the town hall are set on demolishing El Cabanyal, the colourful fisherman's quarter on Valencia's seafront an abortionist has been kidnapped and with the Pope due to visit the city, the police are summoned to offer protection from crowds of the faithful and the danger of antireligionists alike.
When one of Cámara's long term adversaries is put in charge of the missing abortionist case, tensions are quickly running high, and with ominous cracks spreading across the walls of his flat, Cámara soon has nowhere to turn.
Webster paints a vivid mural depicting a deeply Catholic, very corrupt city of Valencia on the southern Mediterranean coast touted as the paella capital of the world, Upon this canvas Webster writes a solid, intriguing mystery that unfolds in an old saltoftheearth district down by the port that is under siege from politicians dreams of modern legacy projects and developers wrecking balls.
Max Camara is chief homicide inspector with the Policia National, Leave aside murderers, Camaras natural enemies are the Guardia Civil, PN is primarily “liberal” Guardia is primarily right wing, with historical roots straight to Franco, Max is not categorical, but thats how it basically divides,
The story starts out as an investigation into the murder of a revered paella chef possibly over his political opposition to City Halls relentless razing of the old port area in favor of concrete towers.
It soon evolves into a left/right battle between PN and Guardia, with the kidnapping of a highprofile abortionist at the heart of it, Rogue elements within the Guardia are suspected, It all unfolds on the eve of the Popes visit to Valencia in the midst of a stultifying July heat wave, Of course the two threads are tied it is for Inspector Camara to figure out how and why,
The jumping off point, the murder, finds Max Camara heartsick over an abortion that personally touched his life and desperately missing the woman who chose this route, then left him.
The story barely gets going when he comes home to find his apartment building, in the targeted district, sunk in the rubble beneath poorly built streets, Thus Max is operating under layers of personal pressure and stress: Hes an openminded man struggling to accept the fact of a womans right to choose, He detests the retro right wing elements pulling strings within the Guardia and at City Hall, He is angry over the loss of a neighbor and her child when the apartment collapses, And he loved the murdered chefs paella,
Webster creates a colorful supporting cast of cops, both good and bad denizens of the old quarter that is being systematically destroyed and selfserving city politicians, Max Camaras partner Paco Torres provides a good foil to Maxs dilemmas, Maxs anarchist grandpa Hilario is a great spiritual adviser to a messed up policeman with too much pressure from too many different directions, Hilario is only ever a voice on the telephone, but their chats are perfect for dark, realistic humor and good advice, One wishes there was more of Hilario like his name, he is quite funny, He adds refreshing dimension.
Still, Max Camaras personal flaws keep him interesting in many ways, more interesting than the plot, Though it touches on several topical issues and perspectives defining modern Spain, the plot is curiously “meat and potatoes” i, e. , strong in its elements, and deftly woven but the manner in which this story plays out is something youve read before, Or more likely seen. Yes, for me this another mystery novel that seems too much like a movie Ive seen too many times, Which doesnt mean I didnt enjoy it, But I wanted it to be something different and it wasnt, Not fair Sorry.
For me, the most compelling element of A Death in Valencia is the city itself, From a writer's perspective, it is interesting how deeply felt, expertly rendered atmospherics can carry a story, Then again, Webster made his mark as a travel writer, He is a master at seeing the color and the societal topography of Spain, I hope he can reach the same level with his crime fiction in my opinion, he has not quite got there with this one,
stars
I will certainly try Or the Bull Kills You in hopes that I was wrong about my feelings about A Death in Valencia, And
I hope there will be more and more deeply realized Max Camara mysteries forthcoming, Because I love the colors and flavors of Spain,
I'm a huge fan of Jason Webster's nonfiction books such as Violencia a thoroughly accessible introduction to Spanish history, I also know Valencia quite well, so marry the two in a detective story set in the city and that's holiday reading sorted, Only it didn't quite live up to my expectations, The cast of characters slightly confused me and the plots even more so, I willingly enough turned the pages, but I wasn't drawn in enough to feel I want to read any other books in the series, I won a copy of A Death in Valencia in a GoodReads giveaway,
I usually select books based on A the author if I've enjoyed their previous books B the A Death in Valencia's blurb if it sounds intriguing or
C recommendation from friends/family but usually, I'm the one making recommendations.
I entered to giveaway based on the A Death in Valencia's blurb as I had never heard of Jason Webster,
But now that I have, I'll keep my eyes open looking for more of his books, . . and I hope there will be a lot more,
At just overpages, it wasn't for me a real fast read as there were a lot of characters/organizations to keep up with that would receive a mention as introduction, then pop back uppages later as part of the story.
While a cheat sheet would have helped, I couldn't be bothered and had to backtrack several times to understand this "newest twist", I did push "bed time" back a couple of hours so I could finish reading,
I got a very good sense of Valencia, Spain in the reading of this book but in many ways was reminded of Andrea Camilleri's Italy and his Inspector Montalbano.
Max Camara is a darker and more "political" version, but his impatience with the bureaucracy and irreverant attitude are the same as Montalbano's, Both Montalbano amp Camara very much enjoy their food, wine and women, I liked his grandfather and the Spanish proverbs sprinkled through the book,
Overall, a very good "twisty" story, likeable and unlikeable characters, and a good sense of contemporary Spanish life, I will definitely be looking for more from Jason Webster, I enjoyed the local color paella, etc, but didn't find the rest of the book too exciting, I had a hard time keeping track of the male characters, most of whom good or bad seemed interchangeable, The only memorable one was the dead one!
,rounded up. Had the makings of a good book as the setting of Valencia is vividly created, but weak dialogue between male characters who are awkwardly cliched kind of spoilt it, Thatsfrom this series Ive read and il leave it now, Websters non fiction is far better,mystery novel with max cAmara, murder detective in valencia with the national police as opposed to the guardia civil, the local police and the rural police and the army secret police and deals with abortion, coastal development , valenician and national politic, the pope visiting, how to make paella, and murder of course.
a bit more coherent than hisst mystery 'the bull kills you" and we understand a bit more why this cop smokes massive amounts of dope, and booze and pills, and everybody hates him and it is entirely mutual.
still though, lots of holes in plot, useless details, unmanageable seeming logistics, so even though publishers weekly gives it star very good sign of quality book i give it only.
Second in the Max Camara series and just as fast paced as the first, While Or The Bull Kills you dealt with bullfighting and its culture old and new, This second book features paella and anti or pro abortion clinics as the main flow coming to a head during a visit by the Pope, all threads that weave in and out again present the various government and municipal authorities playing major roles.
Various police groups not often working together . . town hall again with its reign over the city wrecking havoc to old sections making way for new, This time Max is truly at his wits end being homeless but it does not slow him down nor does the lingering depression he has apparently suffered since book one's outcome.
He is determination personified, often to his own peril,
This writer makes me think of Donna Leon and her marvelous books set in Venice, A city I love. While she shows the elegance combined with the underbelly of the city she long ago embraced as home and its dysfunction and leaves me still loving it best, Jason Webster who is also an expat of long standing that has truly studied his new home and loves it, leaves me quite nervous to ever visit Valencia let alone set foot in Spain again!
But I cannot wait for another in this series.
. . This is a book about more than a singular death, it is an exploration of the nature of death and what constitutes murder, Max Cámara, the Valencia detective introduced in Or The Bull Kills You, cannot sleep: his street is being dug up as the new Metro line is being built, the summer heat pulsates, and Valencia is crazy as it prepares for the arrival of the Pope.
The city buzzes with pro and antiCatholic emotions, with prolife and prochoice campaigners lining up their arguments for the Pope, Meanwhile the police force prepares security for the visit, as a developer is ripping up the old fishermans quarter El Cabanyal to build new apartment blocks, On the first page, a dead body is washed up on the shore, A wellknown paella chef.
Max has eaten the chefs paella but is taken off the case to help hunt for a kidnapped woman, a gynaecologist who performs abortions, The eve of the Popes visit is the worst possible time for this to happen, As always seems to happen in crime novels, two seemingly separate incidents are linked, The link, in this case, is carefully plotted so I didnt spot it until the end, For me, this is a deeper more intelligent novel than the first in the Max Cámara series there are now four, perhaps because the author is settling into the genre and the character.
I must add that Valencia simply rocks in this book, it comes alive off the page, the heat, the tension, the grief, I can smell the summer dust, A deep mystery in Sunny Valencia, dark amp quirky characters, flashing with insight, A fine read. Not a bad book. Just not my style. I had a tough time getting through the book because I didn't care about the detective, the dead guy, the Pope or anyone else in the book, The politics just didn't do it for me,/stars. My first Jason Webster book, He paints a picture of Valencia that feels so real, one I can really see, He wastes no words but puts in what is needed, Camara is a complex character, not all good, He is a good homicide detective, I do not like his drug use, Hopefully he will find love in future books, Good murder mystery evocatively set in the wonderful city of Valencia This was a great crime fiction story located in Valencia, Chief Inspector Max Camara is hunting a murderer who has killed a renowned local paella chef who washed up on the local beach, There is plenty of intrigue and political corruption as it emerges that he was heavily involved in fighting the development plans for the local area that would have closed his business and home.
In the meantime, Camara's flat and the building he lives in collapses, Two people die and everyone is out to evade blame and avoid paying compensation of any kind, A local abortionist is kidnapped in a fevered atmosphere where the pope is shortly to visit and the police are implicated, In a twisted trail, Camara finds connections between the murder and the kidnapping, Camara determinedly investigates despite being homeless,
This is an intricately plotted story that kept me gripped throughout, Where the book really excels is in its ability to bring Valencia alive as a location both historically and culturally, Spain's dark history of the Civil War scars its relatively recent emergence as a democracy, There are forces at play that would like to go back to Franco's time and this includes the Catholic Church, There is so much corruption politically that it is an essential part of the book, The characters feel real and complex, I am pleased to have discovered Jason Webster as a new author, I found this book surprisingly hard going for much of it's length, It is well written and has a good deal to say about modern Spain and the attitudes and rivalries which compete there, but as a story it took a very long time to get going and by pageI thought it was heading forat best.
In fact it picked up quite well and the second half of the book did draw me in and made it worth reading,
I think my problem with the book is that it is largely about Spanish politics: the struggle between the relatively new democracy there and those who want to return it to a deeply reactionary Francostyle state, the influence of the Church, corruption in the police and government and so on.
It's well enough done, but doesn't leave a lot of room for plot and character although I did find Camara himself to be rather well drawn, Given what seemed like rather long periods away from the investigation of the crimes I also found that I had forgotten who various witnesses, suspects and so on were by the time they reappeared, which isn't something I usually have a hard time with.
Once things began to move and gel together a little I did enjoy the book although I could have done without the clichéed Cornered Killer Climax and have given it four for that reason and because I liked the writing which is unobtrusive, unpretentious and enjoyable.
You need to be prepared for a long slog in the first half of the book, though, so I can only give this a qualified recommendation, Introduces the reader to Valencia, Well written, and enjoyable to read, However,the main character is a bit like many other police detectives in fiction, good at his job, bad at being where he should be and reporting in, Will probably read other titles by the author,
Jason Webster