Under the Volcano

Detective Alberto Alvarado is a complex man. Dedicated to his profession of tracking down criminals in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, he is also tortured by his inability to stop gambling and his occasional desire to take justice into his own hands. Follow this fascinating character as he navigates the dark corners of Quito in a series of captivating cases that spotlight the inequities of society and justice. Among the crimes that Alvarado must solve are that of a lawyer murdered while fighting against a giant oil company; two American geologists assassinated while searching for lost Spanish gold mines; two priests shot dead on the same day; and an American woman found battered to death in a bucolic cloud forest resort. Full of atmosphere and intrigue, this detective thriller takes you to a different world, but a world in which human weakness and depravity remain on full display.