How Do Detectives Survive Their Novels? Positionality, Survival, and Literary Universes in Chicana/o Detective Fiction and Mexican Narcoliterature

Abstract:This article analyzes two series of detective novels by Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya (the Sonny Baca tetralogy) and Mexican author Élmer Mendoza (the Edgar "El Zurdo" Mendieta pentalogy). I examine how the positionality of their detective protagonists, over the span of each series, affects their abilities to survive personally and professionally within distinct hostile landscapes on both sides of the Mexico–US border. I also explore potential connections between the detectives' investigative skills, the authors' sociocultural and professional background, and the literary universes they construct in their series.