Locura Dirigida (S.I.P., 1961)

# "Locura Dirigida" by Alan Star

This science fiction novel, published by Ediciones Toray in 1961, follows Peter Wilson, an unassuming man arriving on Mars from Earth via spaceship. Wilson checks into a Star-Ville hotel carrying a mysterious dark leather briefcase containing something he believes would provoke violence if revealed. The city is embroiled in municipal elections following Mayor Joseph L. Donner's departure to join the World Council. Wilson contacts Eric Archer, an antiquities dealer masking drug trafficking operations, and Webb Sherman, a liquor merchant controlling the city's gambling houses. Both criminals support candidate Harlow Ward against the favored Anderson. Wilson claims he can guarantee Ward's victory. Meanwhile, Detective Donaldson Budds works in his office with his reluctant secretary Helen, a redheaded optimist clashing with his cynical worldview. The narrative establishes competing political and criminal factions vying for municipal control on the Martian colony world.