"Paradise Valley — five thousand acres of prime, flat, fertile farmland nestled in the Sierra Madre of northeastern Mexico, only a hundred miles from the American border."
Inspired by actual events, several Amish families — finding new state laws impossible to live under because they undermined their faith and way of life — set off in 1922 to begin a new life in Mexico. read more

Seventeen-year-old Caleana's parents go to Mexico to camp out in the jungle near the Palenque ruins, but in the jungle mist the pilot of their small plane loses control and crashes. The father — a gifted archaeologist — is killed and possibly the mother, although because the mother's body had not been found, no one is sure.
Uncle Aiden, Aunt Bette, Caleana and her brother fly back to identify the body of their father, and while there Aunt Bette takes the children to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. Aunt Bette places in Caleana's hand "a beautiful amulet of green jade and crystals around a circle. In the middle of the circle was an ancient Mayan woman with a serpent on her head, and jaguar ears and claws." It had been found at the crash site and it was believed to be Caleana's mother's. read more

I've read a lot of novels in the first ten years of this new century, and I must say that Sweet Spot is one of the three or four I like the best.
The story is set during seven spectacular days of Carnival in Mazatlán, the second largest Carnival in the world. A lot happens during those seven days, including scandal, murder, amoral politics, drug lords searching for our protagonist "Mundo," and bed time with a desirable young revolutionary, the amoral Mijares.
Sweet Spot is incredible. Linton Robinson should be catapulted to the top of the pile of contemporary authors. Why didn't this novel win the National Book Award or the Pulitzer Prize? read more

How about a romance novel set in Mexico? And complete with a beautiful young girl who is of course headstrong and independent; and a bad man who is handsome and powerful and in fact a legendary drug lord; and his equally handsome but not quite-so-bad assistant. read more

When Marianne Ferrucci first learned that her husband was seriously ill from a mysterious viral infection, she went out on the second floor balcony of their house in northern Mexico, gazed up at the sk... read more

Strange, but true. Charles Embree's A dream of a throne, the story of a Mexican revolt, is based on the story of the Lake Chapala area during the 19th century. read more

A tale of haunted guilt set in Mexico City and in the mind of the haunted protagonist, Pablo. . . . Omar gazed at the rifle trained at his chest, and no presentiment crossed his brow. He knew it was Pablo's gun; he had gone pheasant hunting with him and his old man in the past among the gullies of hills of valleys extending to the great volcano of Popocatépetl. . . . read more

Life had never been so good. read more

A hat like that could take a man anywhere that people recognized the strength of a working man, the slowly-earned benefit of labor and the wisdom such labor produced. read more

In the United States those who live on the streets are called homeless, but Martín had a home. When I moved to La Ribera, a small pueblo just north of Cabo San Lucas in Baj... read more

The money kept rolling in because those who saw the boy went away in a state of euphoria. When they returned to their homes, ranches, they would tell their friends and family all about the boy Jesus, t... read more

The other day Deovijilda Lara, who owns a tacos al vapor stand in a nearby pueblo Mercado Municipal, was regaling me with tales of her family's Christmas last year. These mostly had to do with comicall... read more

It's midmorning in Santa Lucía and Claire lies on Pablo's right side watching him sleep. He can't go to sleep unless she watches. This is his belief, and his beliefs infect her, fester like splinters ... read more

  Available from the author Life in Mexico observed by someone who is bursting with affection for his new country. I have reviewed a lot of fiction and non-fiction books for Mexico Connect, but I... read more

When paradise turns to hell... A chilling tale set in a hot environment read more

  From the beginning it had all seemed too perfect, too unreal. At first Vanessa thought it would be the perfect vacation: a full week on Mexico's Mayan Riviera, as the travel agent had called the... read more

Michael Beauregard has retired from Denver to the Mexican village of Refugio de María, where he rents two upstairs rooms from the Widow García and her daughter, María Elena. With a busy career and even Internet technology behind him, Michael experiences a renewed energy as he becomes acquainted with his neighbors and reconnects with life's simpler pleasures.

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THE DANE CHANDOS BOOKS COLLECTING BOOKS ABOUT MEXICO? VILLAGE IN THE SUN HOUSE IN THE SUN CANDELARIA'S COOKBOOK ALL by DANE CHANDOS ... read more

  As Michael stepped off the bus at the edge of Refugio de María, he felt clean, enthusiastic, like a boy on a new adventure. He threw the straps of the large green pack over one shoulder and bega... read more

When Ramon handed the ball to me, I was pleased to find it was latex, not some synthetic material. It was probably very old, made from raw rubber. This one did not have a human skull inside. As I hand... read more

    "A story filled with sex, violence, and drugs, even love, a story of treachery, where only power and money ultimately are valued." Author Belden Butterfield was born in Argentina, educat... read more

The marimba band filled the breezy space with a rippling rhythm, a tropical river of notes and glissandos, bird-light tunes. Sancho responded to the music from home with a roll of the hips and shy smil... read more

How did Robert Mulligan find himself, in August, in a Mexican jungle, running a small flat-bottomed boat up a sleepy little river into the steamy interior, pointing out tiny alligators to the wives of ... read more

The tiny casitaglowed in apricot hues and beamed welcoming blue trim around the doorway. The mixed scent of flowers and earth hung in the air like rich incense. Ducking under a brilliant mauve bougainv... read more

I like this book, but I don't like the title: Drama & Diplomacy in a Sultry Mexican Beach Town. The book is not about "drama & diplomacy." It's about one person's life in Puerto Vallarta... read more