My rating: 4 stars

A fun read! In 1965, Mexican American private detective Sunny Pascal is hired to be Johnny Weissmuller’s bodyguard at the Acapulco Film Festival, after the aging actor’s drinking and gambling habits put him on the wrong side of local gangsters. Sunny can’t leave well enough alone, and develops some gangster problems of his own, leading to a confrontation with nobody less than Frank Sinatra himself. In this well-told detective story, Haghenbeck follows the traditions of the genre, but places it in a lively, star-studded period atmosphere. Adding to the fun, each chapter starts with the recipe and history of a famous traditional cocktail… and wouldn’t you know, someone in the chapter invariably drinks one.

Es 1965, el mundo se esta recuperando del asesinato de Kennedy y baila al ritmo del rock. Su amigo, el productor de cine Scott Cherries, contrata a Pascal para que vuele a la turistica playa y sirva de guardaespaldas de Johnny Weissmüller, alias Tarzan, durante el afamado festival de cine. El viejo campeon olimpico y estrella de cine, se ha metido con la mafia local y debe una buena cantidad por su aficion al juego y bebida. Sunny debe sacarlo del embrollo, pero su afan de meterse en problemas lo envuelve en un trama de caracter internacional contando con la ayuda del mafioso mas seductor: Frank Sinatra.