Η νύχτα του Ιαγουάρου

Jimmy Paz #3

by Michael Gruber, Μαρία-Ρόζα Τραϊκόγλου (translator)

Βαθιά μέσα στη ζούγκλα της Κολομβίας, ένας Αμερικανός ιερέας δολοφονείται.
Λίγες εβδομάδες αργότερα, ένας Ινδιάνος σαμάνος φτάνει στη νότια Φλόριντα. Έχει μαζί του μόνο ένα σακούλι με ιερά αντικείμενα -και την τρομακτική δύναμη του θεού του, του Ιαγουάρου.
Όταν στο Μαϊάμι αρχίζει μια σειρά φρικιαστικών φόνων, η αστυνομία βρίσκεται σε αδιέξοδο, καθώς το μόνο στοιχείο στον τόπο κάθε εγκλήματος είναι τεράστιες πατημασιές αιλουροειδών. Και απευθύνεται για βοήθεια στον πρώην ντετέκτιβ Τζίμι Παζ, που έχει ήδη εξιχνιάσει δυο ανεξήγητα μυστήρια στο παρελθόν. Ο Παζ έχει πια αποσυρθεί, αλλά για λόγους που δεν ομολογεί σε κανέναν δέχεται να αναλάβει την υπόθεση. Όμως δεν φαντάζεται ακόμη πόσο άμεσα τον αφορά...
Εδώ και λίγο καιρό ένας μοχθηρός αίλουρος στοιχειώνει τα όνειρά του. Και καθώς η έρευνα προχωρά, ο Παζ συνειδητοποιεί με τρόμο το νόημα του εφιάλτη του: η εφτάχρονη κόρη του Αμέλια κινδυνεύει. Ο Ιαγουάρος έχει έρθει να τη διεκδικήσει...
Για να σώσει το παιδί του και να βάλει τέλος στους φόνους, ο Παζ πρέπει ν' ανοίξει την πόρτα που οδηγεί στο κρυφό και επικίνδυνο παρελθόν του.
Να ψάξει στις πιο σκοτεινές γωνιές της ψυχής του και να πάρει μια δύσκολη απόφαση που θα αμφισβητήσει όλα όσα πίστεψε ποτέ...

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Paranormal

476 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 28, 2006

About the author

Michael Gruber is an author living in Seattle, Washington. He attended Columbia University and received his Ph.D. in biology from the University of Miami. He worked as a cook, a marine biologist, a speech writer, a policy advisor for the Jimmy Carter White House, and a bureaucrat for the EPA before becoming a novelist.

He is generally acknowledged to be the ghostwriter of the popular Robert K. Tanenbaum series of Butch Karp novels starting with No Lesser Plea and ending with Resolved. After the partnership with Tanenbaum ended, Gruber began publishing his own novels under William Morrow and HarperCollins.

Gruber's "Jimmy Paz" trilogy, while critically acclaimed, did not sell at the same levels as the Butch Karp series in the United States. The Book of Air and Shadows became a national bestseller shortly after its release in March of 2007, however.

Series:
* Jimmy Paz

Reviews

[Will Byrnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third in Gruber’s series about Jimmy Paz, a Cuban American detective in Miami. It is the least of the three.

After an American missionary is killed in remotest Colombia, a local, native shaman, Moie, seeks and receives a vision, in which the deceased cleric offers him four names, identifying those primarily responsible for a planned, illegal, clear-cutting of native lands. Moie sets out on a journey to find the four and try to get them to desist. He is aided in this quest by a powerful native spirit, that of a Jaguar. He lands with an eco-activist collective, a mixed group of true believers and fools. With the help of some group members, he confronts the four. After he is turned away, the responsible are targeted. Moie is filled with the spirit and transforms into a jaguar, a very angry jaguar. The four are soon shredded.


Michael Gruber - image from Wikimedia

Jimmy Paz, married, the father of a young girl, and now a full-time chef at his family restaurant. Is recruited to look into the spooky killings. Gruber brings us back into the world of Santeria so well illustrated in the first two Jimmy Paz novels. The payload of this series of Gruber’s novels is the sub-culture of Santeria and related spiritual goings on that occur in the Miami culture. He has extended that spiritual reach to other parts of the world before, Africa, Siberia, and now South America. It is a Magical Realism world and is effectively done. Yet, this time around, it seemed lacking, somehow. Jimmy’s wife was a real bitch in this one, taking a hard line against his Santerian involvement, despite having had experience enough to know that in this fictional universe the spiritual and the real are very closely entwined. That was jarring. Jimmy being full-time at mom’s restaurant was also a bit hard to accept. Finally, the book felt much less novel than the prior two. A good read but disappointing.

The third entry in this fun series appears to have been victimized by market forces. When the first two did not sell all that many copies, Gruber was pushed to dumb the next one down. He was urged to take out much of the more intellectual material. It shows. The shape-shifting shaman is not exactly a new notion. The ultimate bad guy here has a motive that is credible, but the manipulation involved in getting others to do his dirty work was tough to accept. From a reader satisfaction POV, it was a shame that Gruber was directed away from what had been a very satisfying path.

Others in the Jimmy Paz series that I have read
-----2004 - Tropic of Night (Jimmy Paz #1)
-----2005 - Valley of Bones (Jimmy Paz #2)

Gruber's site

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminds me of an old TV series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Each week Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin, would encounter unexplained phenomena. It usually involved people dying at the hands of aliens/monsters/supernatural beings. The show was the inspiration for The X Files.

This book combines elements of the detective story and the supernatural. Reading it, you encounter witchdoctors, corporate greed heads, Columbian thugs, an odd collection of environmentalists, Santeria, and an ex-detective turned restaurateur, Jimmy Paz, who has had past experience with odd murders.

Michael Gruber deftly melds these disparate elements into a fairly entertaining tale. Highly recommended for fans of detective novels or thrillers who want something outside their comfort zone.

Caveat: There’s conversations here that deal with String Theory, the notion of reality, reason and science. It’s perpetrated by a character named Zwick. It made my head hurt.

[Derek Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the earlier Jimmy Paz novels, so I don't know how this meshes with the others. This one is a supernatural-laced sort of mystery (you know what's going on but not exactly how it all fits together). Gruber seems a man of high intelligence and wide scientific interest who has chosen, from whatever internal bent, to push reason aside in favor of a primitive spiritual outlook.

Paz, a retired detective and son of a Santeria priestess, floats uncomfortably between the "real" world and the realm of the inexplicable. A rationalist much of the time, he finds himself drawn into a case in which a transported Colombian Indian, Moie, seems capable of being taken over by both the spiritual and physical form of Jaguar, a primitive god. Moie has traveled from his native land to Miami to track down and, if necessary, exterminate the heads of a lumbering cartel who intend to obliterate his homeland. Added to the mix is a blundering ecological group intent on saving the rainforest without the least idea of how to go about it.

Gruber paints three extraordinary, solid charters in Jenny, the seemingly vacant teen raised in a series of horrid foster home; Moie, who looks on Americans as "dead people"; and Cooksey, a British etymologist who is a lot more than his apparently disinterested exterior would indicate.

The book would get the fifth star of not for its more puzzling digressions into consciousness theory and similar abstruse topics. If you happen to have recently read the material Gruber uses as a base, as I have, it will seem familiar and unnecessary. If you haven't, it will simply look confusing and offputting. If you get around to reading this, any time Zwick, "the world's smartest man," shows up, skip a few pages ahead. You'll save yourself a headache induced by a pompous loudmouth.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is about the liminal world, between modern scientific materialism and traditional beliefs in the world of spirits and the energies of Nature. Both sides are well represented, and well dramatized. Jimmy Paz has been out of the police force for 7 years or so, married with a precocious daughter. Exploiters of the Colombian rain forest anger Jaguar, the god of he Runiya people, and Moie, the last of the Runiya shamans, paddles his canoe to Miami (more or less) to seek revenge. Jaguar seems to want to take Paz's daughter as a necessary sacrifice, which embroils him in the murder investigation. Santeria helps him out.
All three of the Paz novels have been excellent, the best of Gruber's oeuvre, I think, but I like most everything he has cranked out. Very witty characters, and a solid, believable basis is set up before all the weird shit begins. Amelia was quite convincing as a self-possessed, mature-beyond-her-years 7-year old, especially as the hostess in her abuela's restaurant.
I will remember the ambience of the Miami Cuban community, the growth of Jennifer, the woman-in-distress who conquers-her-fears in this one (a common theme in Gruber's work). I'll remember that I should have anticipated the way the piranhas in the pool figure into the end long before I did--it was the gun hanging on the wall from the earliest scenes at the ecologists' retreat.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope this is not the last of the Jimmy Paz novels, because I like the character evolution and hope Gruber does more with Paz and family, as well as with the ecological and spiritual de-volution of our messed up world.He has his finger on the pulse of the disdain we have for planet Earth, and our struggles to understand the nature of existence and our personal cosmology.His existential musings may be a bit obtuse for some, but I enjoy the fact that he tries to explain the para-normal phenomenon of his novels with intelligent rationale/debate between characters. I also appreciate his verve and courage in making the rituals of Santeria a bona fide, respected religious experience, which they are for many Latino-Americans. He inhabits the world of the dis-located Cuban Americans as few white-bread authors can and probably comes as close as anyone to making the modern Miami(Me-ah-mee) lift off the page into reality.I liked this as well, if not better than Tropic of Night, because of Gruber's ability to inhabit different persona and cultures (you gotta love Moie!) and look forward to him resurrecting and interfacing prior characters (Jane Doe meet Emily) in a new struggle for the soul of the planet.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really don't know any other author who can find a way to mix serious discussions of string and membrane theory, the devastating effects of deforestation, and Colombian drug cartels into a supernatural thriller where a jungle medicine man turns into a jaguar (maybe)to seek revenge. There's a lot more, too, and the ending is just about perfect.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Gruber, typically excellent and convincing. This one provides a very sympathetic impression of what it must be like to be an Amazonian Indian and magic-worker, on a mission to save your home from the ravages of the modern world. Sounds improbable, but when you're reading the book, it's completely convincing.

[Walford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh boy. Gruber is just in a class by himself. I mean, is anyone else writing in this genre at this level? If so, I'd love to hear about them.
It's made me realize how much of the fiction I read, in comparison, is Just Not Very Good. Gotta rethink my priorities, because life is short.

[David Benefry · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Night of the Jaguar” by Michael Gruber – Jungle Blood on the City Streets

Crossing Miami's Dark Side with Michael Gruber

The story in this book really is quite complex and multi-layered, beginning in South Africa where a dying Catholic missionary tries to tell a local Shaman how to fight the capitalist corporation set on destroying the forest. Following that, we are presented with some sort of tree-hugging commune on the fringe of society, filled with people hell-bent on changing the world to suit their own ideals. However, for some of them the worst enemies come from within the group rather than the outside world. Moving on from that, we learn about the plight of Cuban-American businessmen who seem to be getting bumped off one after the other by a wildly dangerous jungle cat, perhaps some sort of jaguar... or so the evidence suggests.

The Colourful World of Jimmy Paz

As you might have noticed, Night of the Jaguar is one of those mysteries which strives to be multifaceted while having numerous concurrent storylines eventually converging into an explosive finale. There are many seemingly independent layers interacting with each other in ways which only become obvious later on, and personally-speaking, I found keeping track of them all was more difficult than necessary.

Speaking of the characters, while it does take a fair amount of time to remember and know all of them, their varied and colourful nature doesn't make it a daunting task in the slightest. There is something notable about each and every one of them, even the smaller background characters having been given some form of personality or distinct characterization.

The Hand from the Other Side

Those of you familiar with Jimmy Paz novels know that none of them is complete without some profound cultural exploration, generally somehow tied in with the protagonist's heritage. There are some supernatural elements, and while they are never exactly prevalent, they still leave a strong impression on the story and play a role in shaping the overall atmosphere. We follow Jimmy as he slowly dives deeper and deeper into a world of mysticism, and to give full credit where it is due, Michael Gruber tied it all in with the main plot thread in masterful fashion.

In addition to providing a profoundly-detailed perspective into the Santeria religion, Gruber has also infused a wide variety of musings and meditations on all sorts of topics throughout the story, including materialism, cosmology, ontology, the nature of reality, and that's just to name a few.

The Final Verdict

With all being said and done, Night of the Jaguar by Michael Gruber is yet another solid Jimmy Paz novel to add to the collection, offering a combination of colourful and diverse characters, complex converging plots with appeals of their own, some philosophy, as well as a cultural window into the realm of Santeria. If you enjoy complicated murder mysteries with a touch of mysticism, then I strongly recommend you give this novel (as well as earlier Jimmy Paz books) the chance it deserves.

This was an abridged version of our review. If you'd like to read the full one, you can do so here: https://bookwormex.com/night-jaguar-m...

[my · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Overall it was solid, with a good story, interesting themes, and compelling characters. I think it's a great read for someone like me; in it for the enjoyment and not too caught up on every little detail or advanced literary thangs.

The beginning of the story was the most slow going, leading the reader through events taking place somewhere in the South American rainforest. I don't remember the specific tribe or region. I found it difficult because there were many foreign words (the tribal language) and a general focus on the tribal activities that didn't exactly interest me or seem related to the "murder mystery" I was expecting. Of course, all this exposition does become relevant but still some persistence was required initially.

This book is seemingly presented as something of a murder mystery / detective / crime-thriller themed novel. I don't think that's true and I wonder if it's an intentional guise. A means of using a more accessible format to introduce and explore more esoteric ideas. That's not to say there were no elements of such themes because there certainly were. The protagonist, Jimmy Paz, is a retired detective, after all. And the plot is centered around a murder mystery that seemingly only he can solve.

Digging deeper, I think the ideas presented were primarily those of religious beliefs and how they don't necessarily exist in direct opposition to scientific ideology. In terms of religious beliefs, there are the separate but seemingly related religions of the South American tribe (I don't remember) and Sateria. Oh yeah, Jimmy Paz is a Cuban-American whose mother happens to be a significant figure among the local practitioners of Santeria. The murder mystery in question conveniently laid out a perfect set of circumstances in which logical, scientific deductions found no satisfactory answer and thus beg the question "just because something can't be explained by science doesn't preclude it from being possible". I found all of the parts focused around such topics to be interesting, thought provoking, and most of all entertaining!

The characters felt a little lacking to me. Not necessarily one dimensional, but I suppose they just didn't feel entirely real as much as they seemed to exist in service of the plot or the discussion of scientific or religious ideas. All the same, I didn't find this to detract from my ability to generally suspend disbelief and enjoy the overall package. The characters were fun and did their part.

Lastly, some words about the ending. Hm, was that it? I felt pretty worked up leading to the finale but unfortunately was underwhelmed.

[Judith Shadford · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, going in, that there will be three utterly disparate elements, plus, fairly soon a dramatic murder. Gruber invests just enough energy into these elements that when he switches to the next, you have a moment of impatience--like a commercial break. Then you get sucked into the flowering of the next element. New characters and exotic settings, something you wouldn't pick up scrolling through Facebook, say. You want to know just a little more before getting back to the previous set of characters, or that murder. And then you're watching Jimmy Paz get out of bed and how nice to see him again and he's married! And has a kid!

It all gets woven together and even as that final tapestry is revealed, I'm still on the edge of my imaginative chair saying, no no, don't stop now! Then there's a teeny little PS tease that says--you think this is all, but you don't know half of it.

I love Michael Gruber's writing. I just do.

[James Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay. There are a lot of places where the author dawdles, with characters going on expansively with their theories of reality while the plot waits to progress. Jimmy Paz seems almost corny here, written to one day be the lead in a television or movie series. The are a few (unnecessary) plot contrivances to place Jimmy in the middle of the action and then a few more (also unnecessary) to more closely connect all the participants and their plots lines. One of the last scenes in the book is the one that comes to mind when I think of this book, and the image is straight out the end of the video for Michael Jackson's Thriller video--silly. I really liked the previous novel I read by this author, which didn't feature this central character, so the things that bug me here might be related to the serialized nature of the Jimmy Paz books--and I'm looking forward to reading some his other stories. This one just didn't work for me.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every bit as good as the first Jimmy Paz novel, in fact it is even better. The maturing of Jimmy and the relationship with his wife and daughter are a treat to read, and the new menace prowling Miami is even deadlier and more inexplicable than books 1 and 2, if possible! No spoilers here so you will have to read or listen to it yourself. I loved the books, especially this one and wish that there was a fourth. Better to keep the audience wanting more I guess. Really, really enjoyed it.

[Robert Dulak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I completed the series and enjoyed each of the three, and that's it for Jimmy Paz.

Although I am not a believer, the introduction to the dark side was enlightened, and with the last two words in the book - Corpus Christi, maybe I should consider opening up somewhat. My birthplace.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Michael Gruber needs to learn the difference between "foreshadowing" and "not so subtle hinting at future plot points."

[Jcurmudge · Rating 4 out of 5]

You start reading this book and wonder why? After a few chapters you get caught up in the tale of Moie cum Jaguar, and you turn off the TV and shut down all other distractions to get it finished.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting thriller but was pretty philosophy heavy. It was a little hard to get into but the characterization was good and I enjoyed it after I got into it.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ecology, Jungles, urban terror , Mysticism, magic, love , heroism, evil doers,drugs,Shamans, witchcraft, Cubans, Miami. What's not to like?

[Adri266 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opat raz mysticky triler. Tentokrat sa detektiv vo vysluzbe stretne s protivnikom, samanom z Juznej Ameriky.
Kedze som mala narocny tyzden, knihu som si az tak velmi neuzila. Zo vsetkych troch by som ju hodnotila ako najslabsiu, hlavne prvu polovicu. Pre mna tam bolo strasne vela teorie, ktora bola sice svojim sposobom zaujimava, ale nemohla som sa sustredit. Druha polovica knihe uz nabrala spad.

[Ralph Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good not great

This was my third Michael Gruber adventure, & the third with this protagonist, & it was also the third best of that pairing. I'm unsure exactly why, that was the case too. I think this one took a bit longer to hook me in, and I still don't know exactly why....Once the story hooked me though? It was compelling enough. Like I said, good but not as good as the first two

[Kristen U · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was decent but I like the Valley of the Bones better. I read the Valley of the Bones first and really like it. This book had some of the same characters so I enjoyed seeing where they ended up 7 years later.

It was very interesting learning more about the Afro-Cuban and Amazon.

[Laurent De Serres Berard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normal writting. The story is not bad, but not incredible. I more or less appreciate the mix of mysticism in the book, along with the investigation novel side.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful mix of realism and arcane spirituality, eco themes, slice of Miami life. Continues with Jimmy Pax, now a restaurateur / ex-dectective, married with kid. Quick read with excellent writing

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one wasn't as good as the first two. It took me about 75% of the book to really get drawn in. I am sad to know this was the third in a trilogy. I enjoyed this series.

[Don]

Key characters in this crime story are compelled to acknowledge supernatural forces are at work.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! I hope there’s another Paz book with his new found powers.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zakończenie trylogii, z której poprzednich części nie czytałam 😂 Połączenie powieści kryminalnej i fantasy, ocierającej się o wierzenia staroindiańskiego plemienia. Całkiem spoko.

[Cynthia Sprout]

Jimmy is not interesting. DNF

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since GoodReads won't allow it, officially this is a three and a half star read. It took a lot of work to get it there. Halfway through this book, I was so frustrated with this book that I nearly quit on it. Three reasons for this: 1. This third book of the series followed two superb novels and this was not living up to the billing. Instead of a page turner, it was becoming a book burner.

2. A pet peeve of mine - a major character within a series has a character flaw, goes through a difficult but inevitable transformation by the end of a book...then repeats it all over again in the next book. This happened in the Pendergast Series of Preston and Child with Laura Hayworth, police detective who took an entire trilogy to be able to understand and respect Pendergast, allowing her husband, a cop friend, to help. Then the very next book, she's right back to where she started. A character achieves growth, then the author forgets that for lack of a better subplot for tension. In "Night of the Jaguar", we have Jimmy Paz's wife repeating the same unsupportive militant atheism that she had to battle through in "The Valley of Bones". To a point, I understand this is realistic. People make a spiritual journey, fall back hard and pretend it's always been that way. However, it makes it frustrating for the reader.

3. Lack of an interesting new character. In book 1 (Tropic of Night) we had Jane Doe, the fascinating anthropologist who was bold, smart and armed with martial arts mastery. In Book 2 (Valley of Bones), we had Emiylou Dieteroff, an eccentric woman with a very interesting background as well as Lorna Wise, soon to become Jimmy's wife, her struggles with her hypochondria and her self-image. In Book 3, we have a lot of new characters, but none that makes the reader want to keep going on.

At the halfway point, the book's action and mystery finally started its downhill slide, intense enough to overcome the shortcomings of the book. Some things about characters become clearer, and the ending is reached on a satisfactory note. Also, as a plus, the supernatural elements are back to the level of the first book, and amped up a notch. So, while this is clearly the weakest of the Jimmy Paz series, and while no reader should dare start with this book before reading the others, fans who have read books one and two should be patient and stick with this to the end.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think most readers will really enjoy this story. I did until it began to reach its conclusion. (I will do my best to explain without spoiling the story.)
First the good part, which is the bulk of the story. Mr. Gruber's characters are excellent. All of the major characters are really well drawn, three-dimensional people with interesting personalities. He presents them, warts and all, as fully formed people. The minor characters drive the plot and have enough depth so that their actions make sense within the author's world. The plot is also very intricate, and well thought out. Even with the supernatural elements it fit together well, made logical sense and was engrossing.
Now the difficult part. Near the end of the of the story the author tries put the metaphysical or supernatural elements of the story together with current scientific understanding. He does this using a "genius" neuroscientist character. Unfortunately, too much of what this character has to say is a mixture of real science and real B.S. So instead of making the book more realistic, Mr. Gruber, makes it more difficult to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the story.
So, if you don't know much about science or can ignore the small amount of psuedoscience towards the of the story, then I highly recommend you read this book. Other than that one flaw it is excellent. If you cannot ignore the psuedoscience, then choose something else.