The dedication of Don Winslow's novel The Cartel is nearly two pages long: a list of journalists who were either murdered or "disappeared" in Mexico between 2004 and 2012 — the period covered in this hugely hypnotic new thriller.
That's only a small number of victims compared to the total number of Mexican citizens tortured and killed by the narco-gangsters during this time. And when they're not warring each other for territory and profits, the gangs employ bribery and intimidation right up to the highest levels of government in their embattled nation.