Days of the Dead - Barbara Hambly

I'm working my way through the entire Benjamin January series. So far, I've enjoyed them all. This one is a little bit different, though. It takes place in Mexico, instead of in New Orleans, and deals with the politics of General Santa Anna's government and the events leading up to the Texas wars. January's friend Hannibal Sefton has been living in Mexico with a woman he met ... and writes a letter talking about how circumstances have changed. To make a long story short, he's being held captive by the woman's family after having been accused of murdering the eldest son. He asks January and his new wife, Rose, to come to Mexico to prove his innocence. This, of course, is easier said than done. There are rival family factions, a head of household who may or may not be insane ... and religious prejudice all over the place. There were a lot of plot twists, including additional murders ... and events that are staged solely to try to frighten the January couple off the track. The book is well-researched; there are notes at the end about the culture and facts described in the tale. I'm just looking forward to Rose and Benjamin being back in New Orleans.