Taut, acidly witty, menacingly erotic and often absolutely terrifying: a literary thriller of propulsive force that introduces a powerful storyteller and gifted stylist.

It begins when a meth-addicted grave robber unearths the death mask of Montezuma, setting off a violent struggle for its possession. There is the drug lord who employs him, who would kill for that mask. The expat American collector, sinister and possibly mad. There is the respected curator who, for a fee, will provide provenances for his country’s looted artifacts. And his long-suffering housekeeper, deeply religious, a lesbian in a culture of machismo, who despises her patron. There is Salvador, sensual and mercurial, keeping secrets. And there is the grave digger himself, in over his head and running for his life.

Above all, there is Anna Ramsey, an American with a history of bad choices who was traumatized by her mother’s early death and her father’s descent into alcohol. For her, the mask is a means of restoring her father’s damaged reputation and perhaps recovering the love she knew when her family was still whole. A deeply wounded woman, Anna is nonetheless without self-pity, and her toughness and mistakes make her a heroine for our times.