Yucatán Is Murder: A Ben Candidi Mystery

by Dirk Wyle

Overview

Yucatán Is Murder, sixth in the Ben Candidi Mystery series, is a hard-boiled science-driven mystery-thriller set in Mexico and featuring science- and tech-savvy amateur sleuths.

In the coastal scrubland of Yucatán, Mexico, circling vultures lead vacationing scientist, Ben Candidi, to a corpse. As in an ancient Mayan sacrificial rite, the victim's chest was cut open and heart removed. Ben had fit the vacation around the public health project of his soul mate, Rebecca Levis. But plans change drastically when Rebecca recognizes the face as B'alam Chuc, a student at her host university. Why was B'alam dressed as a peasant, and what is the meaning of the hieroglyph writings found in his pocket? The police insist it was a robbery, and the social welfare bureaucracy does little to help the traditional Mayan parents, who speak no Spanish. When B'alam's eight-year-old brother, Ichik, asks for help, Ben's sixth investigation swings into action. As Ben and Rebecca use their knowledge of Mayan history and culture to interpret clues from the neglected crime scene, the picture of an evil and debauched criminal conspiracy emerges. The truth about B'alam may come at a high price.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781568251899
Publisher:	Rainbow Books, Inc.
Publication date:	10/08/2015
Series:	Ben Candidi Mystery , #6
Pages:	348
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.78(d)

About the Author

Dirk Wyle is the pen name of Duncan H. Haynes, Ph.D., a 30-year veteran of biomedical science. Commercial success of his drug microencapsulation technology enabled an early retirement from the laboratory and medical school lecture hall, allowing him to focus on his passion for literature.

Believing there are no stone walls separating the realms of popular science, serious literature and mystery/thriller fiction, Dirk Wyle creates exciting but realistic stories that play out in all three arenas.

Dirk does not regard work and play as necessarily separate activities. Scientific reading and travel to exotic locations inspire new stories. Visit www.Dirk-Wyle.com.

Editorial Reviews

From traces of Mayan glyphs, wisps of their history and mythology, and from the fiber of their present-day culture, Dirk Wyle has spun an incredible yarn.
-Steve Glassman, author of Cities of the Maya in Seven Epochs, 1250 B.C. to A.D. 1903

From the Publisher

2015-07-30
Modern and Mayan cultures clash in scientist Ben Candidi's sixth adventure (Bahamas West End is Murder, 2005, etc.). Curious about the flight patterns of circling vultures, Ben talks Rebecca, his physician fiancee, into taking a quick detour on the way to the next Mayan village in the Yucatán where she was going to do research. In a clearing, they find a body unnaturally splayed on the rocks. Rebecca alertly observes that the victim's heart is missing, and both she and Ben wonder whether the murder might involve some sort of ritual. They notice a series of handwritten hieroglyphs on the body, which they helpfully point out to the investigating officers. Ben knows better than to trust the police to do what he, a trained pharmacologist, is well-equipped to do, so he resolves to launch a full-on murder investigation. He learns that the victim is B'alam Chuc, born of a Mayan family, who's a student at the local university. Ben speaks with the family through B'alam's younger brother, Ichik, who's equally invested in understanding the crime. As he conscientiously provides many ecological and historical details in his first-person narration, Ben investigates possible motives and peppers the tale with thankfully vague innuendo about his relationship with Rebecca. Each theory Ben considers is interesting and plausible, making the big reveal a little less big and revealing. You can be sure a protagonist like Ben would never cross the line into actual danger. Your nerdy uncle gets creepy, transforming his vacation travelogue into Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Eyes Wide Shut. Worth reading only if that uncle is your hero.

Kirkus Reviews