Review: SUICIDE RUN, Michael Connelly

• Format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 422 KB
• Print Length: 112 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin (October 4, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005SDMDRW
• source: I bought 

Synopsis (Amazon)

In this first collection of three thrilling Harry Bosch stories, Michael Connelly once again demonstrates that he is the greatest living American crime writer.

In SUICIDE RUN, the apparent suicide of a beautiful young starlet turns out to be much more sinister than it seems.
In CIELO AZUL, Bosch is haunted by a long-ago closed case - the murder of a teenage girl who was never identified. As her killer sits on death row, Bosch tries one last time to get the answers he has sought for years.
In ONE DOLLAR JACKPOT, Bosch works the murder of a professional poker player whose skills have made her more than one enemy.
Whether investigating a cold case or fresh blood, Bosch relentlessly pursues his quarry, always on the lookout for the 'tell'.

My Take

This short story collection, quickly read, is an excellent reminder of what is so good about the Harry Bosch stories.

SUICIDE RUN is the perfect illustration of the fact that Harry Bosch always picks up more from a crime scene than others do. Great story.

CIELO AZUL is written in the first person, Harry Bosch's point of view. He shows how he never achieves closure if he can't give a murder victim a name. Again a great story.

ONE DOLLAR JACKPOT - this one is more a novella in length and structure. Harry Bosch has a gut feeling about this one but lacks proof. It demonstrates how often his gut feelings are right.

This is a really quick read, if you are looking for one, but still gives you some essential Harry Bosch.

My rating: 4.4


I've also reviewed
THE OVERLOOK
THE BRASS VERDICT
THE CONCRETE BLONDE
4.3, THE REVERSAL

Review: PERFECT HATRED, Leighton Gage

• Format: I read this on my Kindle via an e-copy ARC sent to me by the author
• Publisher: Soho Crime (February 19, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616951761
• ISBN-13: 978-161695176
• available for pre-order from Amazon

Synopsis (Amazon)

Chief Inspector Mario Silva and his team have a heavy work load with several high-profile cases. First, a suicide bombing that was apparently the work of a militant Islamist group.

Then, a gubernatorial candidate is assassinated in broad daylight at a campaign rally. Could the cases be related? To complicate Silva's investigation, a criminal with a very bad grudge against the Chief Inspector has been released from prison and is plotting ugly revenge.

My Take

First up, let me point out that I have reviewed an ARC of this book courtesy of the author but that it is now available for pre-order from Amazon. Publication date is Feb 19, 2013.

While I pointed out in my recent review of  ALL YOURS by Claudia Pineiro that I felt I hadn't really learnt a lot about life in Argentina, the same cannot be said of PERFECT HATRED which is set mainly in Brazil. The author's awareness of politics and corruption, and the recent appearance of terrorism and jihad in Brazil all come through loud and clear, and the events and themes of PERFECT HATRED are set against that background.

“Just politics and favoritism is an understatement,” Arnaldo said, standing up. “In case you guys never noticed, politics and favoritism is what Brasilia is all about.”

The book begins with a bomb blast in Sao Paulo. A Muslim extremist detonates a bomb hidden in a baby carriage outside the American Consulate.

350 km to the south in Curitiba, Plinio Saldana, apparently squeaky clean, looks like a golden hope for the governorship of the state of Parana. When he is elected, it will signal the end of corruption and nepotism, and his election looks a cert:

The turnout that day was unprecedented. People had flocked into the city from all over the state. The Civil Police later estimated the size of the crowd to have been somewhere between 250 and 300 thousand—the largest ever to witness the assassination of a Brazilian politician

Seemingly without a qualm his wife Stella steps up as the new candidate, while Mario Silva and his team of federal cops try to work out how and why Plinio could have been assassinated by one of his own team.

Are the two events connected or are they both just signs of political disaffection in Brazil? 

A third story joins the plot when wealthy gangster Muniz tries to ensure that he will not go to jail for crimes he has committed by arranging the assassination of both the public prosecutor responsible for the case against him, and the federal cop, Mario Silva, who saw him gun down an unarmed, penniless priest.

PERFECT HATRED is #6 in Gage's Mario Silva series. Do I have to read them in order I hear you ask? Well, I'd recommend that strategy although I realised today that I haven't read them all.

PERFECT HATRED is an excellent read. Be sure to order your copy.

My rating: 4.7

Author's website

Other books in the series I have reviewed

BLOOD OF THE WICKED
4.7, DYING GASP
4.5, A VINE IN THE BLOOD  

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2012: My Contributions

The Crime Fiction Alphabet meme has been run 3 times in the past 4 years on this blog and has proved both challenging and popular.

Some contributors decided on a pattern for their posts.
For example Bill at Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan decided he would put up 26 mystery author profiles of authors whose books he had read. Yesterday he wrote a summary post.

Margot at Confessions from Mystery Novelist decided she would list protagonists used by mystery novelists.

I decided I would select from books/authors I have read and reviewed this year.
Below are my selections.

A: Anne Holt
B: THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE
C: THE CALLER
D: Garry Disher
E: THE FLATEY ENIGMA
F: Gordon Ferris
G: Sulari Gentill
H: Howell, Holt and Horst
I:  Ian Rankin
J:  Jo Nesbo
K: Karin and Katherine
L: Louise and Lovesey
M: Michael Robotham
N: NEXT OF KIN
O: Octavia
P: Louise Penny
Q: THE QUARRY
R: Ruth Rendell
S: Shamini Flint
T: A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
U: Unger
V: Virginia Duigan
W: Martin Walker
X: EXPERT WITNESS
Y: Yvette and Yaba
Z: Zita and Zero

I was very pleased to find that I had overlapped only 3 times!

If you were a contributor to the Crime Fiction Alphabet for 2012 and have written a similar summary post (doesn't matter if you don't have all the letters covered) I invite you to add a link to your post on the Mr. Linky below.

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2012 - the Summary: N to Z

Did you catch the first part of the summary for this fabulous meme yesterday?

Each week for the past 26 weeks participants have suggested an author, a title, or a topic beginning with a letter of the alphabet.They've linked their suggestion to a post on their blog.

In all, there have been nearly 400 crime fiction reading suggestions of both titles and authors.

The letter N
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Edward Stratemeyer's Nancy Drew 2. gautami tripathy (Nemesis) 3. Margaret @ BooksPlease -Now You See Me by S J Bolton 4. Srivalli- The Leopard by Jo Nesbo 5. MiP - NEXT OF KIN by Elsebeth Egholm 6. Peter Reynard - N or M?

7. Scott: N is for Nero Wolfe 8. TracyK (Night at the Vulcan) 9. Bev@My Reader's Block (Meredith Nicholson) 10. Katrina (The new Sonia Wayward) 11. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("N" is for Stuart Neville) 12. The Game's Afoot - N is for Nonídez, Manuel Nonídez

13. Peggy Ann - Natural Causes by James Oswald 14. a hot cup of pleasure - No Comebacks by Frederick Forsyth 15. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - NIGHTMARE CRUISE by Wade Miller 16. MaryR - N is for Name of the Rose

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The letter O
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Denise Mina's Maureen O'Donnell 2. TracyK - O is for Anthony Oliver 3. The Game's Afoot - O is for Oliver, Maria-Antonia Oliver 4. Srivalli -The Great Impersonation by E Philiphs Oppenhiem 5. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Baroness Orczy, The Old Man in the Corner 6. gautami tripathy - (Out at Night by Susan Arnout Smith)

7. Clarissa Draper - Knots 8. Peggy Ann - When the Music Stopped, Elizabeth Ogilvie 9. a hot cup of pleasure - Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie 10. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("O" is for Gregg Olsen) 11. Bev@My Reader's Block (O' Artful Death) 12. MiP - O is for Octavia (THE NOBODIES ALBUM, Carolyn Parkhurst)

13. O is for OLD SCHOOL TIE by Paul Thomas (Crime Watch - Craig) 14. Scott: O is for Outlaw 15. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) 0 One for the Road by Fredric Brown 16. MaryR - O is for Okrant

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The letter P

crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot 2. TracyK - Pardonable Lies, Jacqueline Winspear 3. gautami tripathy - (Paul Byers) 4. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Postern of Fate, Agatha Christie 5. The Game's Afoot - P is for Padura

6. Srivalli- The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain 7. Peggy Ann-Phoebe Atwood Taylor 8. Bev@My Reader's Block (Bernadette Pajer) 9. MiP - P is for Louise Penny 10. Scott: P is for Phillip and Perry

11. Clarissa Draper - Lynda La Plante 12. a hot cup of pleasure - Primal Fear 13. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("P" is for Edward O. Phillips) 14. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - PIZZA HOUSE CRASH by Denise Danks 15. MaryR - P is for Louise Penny

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The letter Q
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Anthony Bidulka's Russell Quant 2. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong 3. The Game's Afoot - Q is for Quinteto de Buenos Aires 4. Srivalli- A Question of Belief by Donna Leon 5. Peggy Ann-Death in the Quadrangle

6. And The Game's Afoot - Q is also for Quílez 7. Scott: Qis for Ellery Queen 8. MiP -Q is for THE QUARRY 9. Bev@My Reader's Block (A Question of Time) 10. a hot cup of pleasure - Question of Blood by Ian Rankin

11. TracyK -- A Quiet Flame by Philip Kerr 12. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - QUEEN IN DANGER by Adam Hall 13. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("Q" is for Kwei Quartey) 14. MaryR (Q is for Spencer Quinn)

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The letter R
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Alexander McCall Smith's Mma. Precious Ramotswe 2. gautami tripathy - (Rosemary Harris) 3. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Bad Boy by Peter Robinson 4. Srivalli- R is for Ruth Rendell 5. Jose Ignacio - The Game's Afoot - Rafael Reig

6. Peggy Ann-Raspberry Jam 7. MiP - R is for Ruth Rendell 8. Scott: R is for Remington Steele 9. TracyK - Helen Reilly 10. a hot cup of pleasure: Rex Stout's Mother Hunt

11. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - REUNION WITH MURDER by Timothy Fuller 12. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("R" is for Robert Rotenberg) 13. Peter Reynard - Jack Reacher 14. Bev@My Reader's Block (Mary Roberts Rinehart) 15. MaryR - R is for Ellen Raskin

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The letter S
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Peter Reynard - S is for Erle Stanley Gardner 2. Margot Kinberg - Karin Fossum's Konrad Sejer 3. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Maigret and the Ghost by Georges Simenon 4. Jose Ignacio - The Game's Afoot - Juan Jose Saer 5. Peggy Ann-A.D. Scott

6. Peggy Ann -The Shole Keys 7. Scott: S is for Sherlock Holmes 8. TracyK - Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie 9. MiP - S is for Shamini Flint & Inspector Singh 10. a hot cup of pleasure: Successor by Ismail Kadare

11. Bev@My Reader's Block (Strange Murders at Greystokes) 12. MaryR - S is for Sayers 13. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("S" is for Josef Skvorecky) 14. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - SALT RIVER by James Sallis 15. Srivalli- The Scarlet Letters by Ellery Queen

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The letter T
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Adrian Hyland's Emily Tempest 2. Srivalli- The Tragedy of Z by Ellery Queen 3. Peter Reynard - Tarquin Hall 4. Jose Ignacio - The Game's Afoot - Paco Ignacio Taibo II 5. Margaret @ BooksPlease - The Four Last things by Andrew Taylor

6. Peggy Ann -Josephine Tey 7. Scott: T is for Travis McGee 8. TracyK - The Tattoo Murder Case by Takagi 9. Bev@My Reader's Block (Will Thomas) 10. MaryR - T is for Traditional

11. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - Traitor's Purse by Margery Allingham 12. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("T" is for Donald Serrell Thomas) 13. a hot cup of pleasure: Twelve Red Herrings by Jeffrey Archer

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The letter U
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Rita Mae Brown's Tally Urquhart 2. Srivalli- U is for Undertow and Upson 3. Bev@My Reader's Block (Unhappy Hooligan) 4. TracyK - U is for Under World

5. Margaret @ BooksPlease (Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson) 6. Jose Ignacio - U is for Ungar, Antonio Ungar 7. MaryR - U is for Upson 8. MiP - U is for Unger

9. Mysteries and More ("U" is for The Battling Prophet by Arthur W. Upfield) 10. Mysteries and More ("U" is for Arthur W. Upfield) 11. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - UNFINISHED PORTRAIT by Agatha Christie

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The letter V
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Srivalli- V is for Villar 2. Margot Kinberg - Håkan Nesser's Inspector Van Veeteren 3. Bev@My Reader's Block (Vera Caspary) 4. Margaret @ BooksPlease (The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas) 5. Jose Ignacio - V is for Villar, Domingo Villar

6. TracyK - S. S. Van Dine 7. MiP - V is for Virginia Duigan, THE PRECIPICE 8. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("V" is for Michael Van Rooy) 9. V is for Vanda Symon's THE FACELESS (Crime Watch - Craig) 10. a hot cup of pleasure: Vision by dean Koontz

11. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - VERONICA'S ROOM by Ira Levin 12. The Maine Massacre by Janwillem van de Wetering - Peggy Ann 13. MaryR - V is for Victoria Dock

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The letter W
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski 2. Scott: W is Without Due Process 3. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death 4. Srivalli- W is for Edgar Wallace

5. Peggy Ann -Episode of the Wandering Knife 6. Jose Ignacio - W is for Wilson, Robert Wilson 7. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("W" is for L.R. Wright) 8. MiP - W is for Martin Walker, THE CROWDED GRAVE

9. Bev@My Reader's Block (The War of the Worlds Murder) 10. TracyK - W is for R. D. Wingfield 11. MaryR - W is for Well Schooled in Murder 12. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - THE WENCH IS DEAD by Fredric Brown

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The letter X
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Exes 2. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("X" is for Qiu Xiaolong Again) 3. Bev@My Reader's Block (E. X. Ferrars) 4. Jose Ignacio - Alfonso X of Castile

5. MiP - X is for DEATH OF AN EXPERT WITNESS, P. D. James 6. Margaret @ BooksPlease - The Expats by Chris Pavone 7. Mysteries and More ("X" is for A Loyal Character Dancer by Qiu Xiaolong) 8. TracyK - X is for XPD

9. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) -BEAST OF THE CAMARGUE by Xavier-Marie Bonnot 10. Srivalli- X is for When Red is Black by Qiu Xiaolong 11. MaryR - X is for Qui Xiaolong

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The letter Y
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Louise Penny's Yvette Nichol 2. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Murder by Yew by Suzanne Young 3. Bev@My Reader's Block (Felicity Young) 4. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("Y" is for Scott Young)

5. MaryR - Y is for Yiddish Policeman's Union 6. Scott: Y is for Alan Geoffrey Yates 7. MiP - Y is for Yvette and Yaba 8. TracyK - The Yiddish Policemen's Union

9. Jose Ignacio - Yanet Acosta 10. Mysteries and More (Murder in a Cold Climate by Scott Young) 11. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - THE YELLOW DOG by Georges Simenon 12. Srivalli- False Pretences by Margret Yorke

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The letter Z
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Donna Leon's Elettra Zorzi 2. Srivalli- Zone Defence by Petros Markaris 3. Bev@My Reader's Block (M. J. Zellnik) 4. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("Z" is for Mark Richard Zubro)

5. Margaret @ BooksPlease - The Whispers of Nemesis by Anne Zouroudi 6. TracyK - Zombies of the Gene Pool 7. MiP - Z is for Zita and Zero 8. Scott: Z is for Zelda

9. Jose Ignacio - Carlos Zanon 10. Mysteries and More (The Truth Can Get You Killed by Mark Richard Zubro) 11. Sergio @ Tipping My Fedora - The Zebra-Striped Hearse by Ross Macdonald 12. MaryR - Z is for Zouroudi

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Review: ALL YOURS, Claudia Pineiro

• Format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 218 KB
• Print Length: 178 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 190473880X
• Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press; Tra Org edition (December 18, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc
• Translated by Miranda France.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005EFWTQE
• Source: I bought it

Synopsis (Amazon)

Ines is convinced that every wife is bound to be betrayed one day, so she is not surprised to find a note in her husband Ernesto’s briefcase with a heart smeared in lipstick crossed by the words “All Yours” and signed, “Your true love.”

She follows him to a park on a rainy winter evening and witnesses a violent quarrel he has with another woman. The woman collapses; Ernesto sinks her body in a nearby lake. When Ernesto becomes a suspect in the case she provides him with an alibi. After all, hatred can bring people together as urgently as love. But Ernesto cannot bring his sexual adventures to an end, so Ines concocts a plan for revenge from which there is no return.

Claudia Piñeiro, formerly a journalist and playwright, is the author of literary crime novels that are all bestsellers in Latin America and have been translated into six languages. All Yours follows on the success of Thursday Night Widows, published in 2010 in the United States.

My Take

Set in Buenos Aires, this novel has an interesting structure: mostly the voice that we hear is Ines herself; but often there are phone conversations between Lali and her friend Paula which is how we know that Lali is in trouble; sometimes we are provided with material photocopied from a Spanish book on forensic practice found in Ines' bedside table. Most incidents are provided without author intervention or description.

Ines has nothing much to do all day except her housework so she keeps her house spic and span. It also means that she hasn't got much else to focus on apart from herself and Ernesto, providing of course you discount their daughter Lali, who is 17, finishing school, and in all sorts of trouble, but neither of her parents are aware of that.

Ines thinks she has now got Ernesto where she wants him, but then she discovers he is still leading a double life, and from that point on she can only see one way out.

Although I've read ALL YOURS for the South American category of the 2012 Global Reading Challenge it doesn't seem to me that I've learnt much about life in Buenos Aires. Having read this and THURSDAY NIGHT WIDOWS I can now see why Claudia Pineiro is such a popular Argentinian crime fiction writer. Her novels are unusual to say the least.

My rating: 4.5

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2012 - the Summary: A to M

Our journey is over for 2012.

Many thanks to those who've contributed every week or occasionally.

Today and tomorrow I'll sum up the posts.







The letter A
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyn - Margot Kinberg 2. Ariadne Oliver - Agatha Christie @ The Book Jotter 3. A for Amnesia @ Tipping My Fedora 4. The A-Ha! Moment - Clarissa Draper 5. A for J. R. L. Anderson (Bev@My Reader's Block) 6. A is for Argemí - The Game's Afoot

7. "A" is for Rennie Airth - Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan 8. And Then There Were None @ a hot cup of pleasure 9. A is for Anne Holt - MiP 10. Arthur Conan Doyle: The Sign of Four -Margaret @ BooksPlease 11. A is for Another Time, Another Life - Fleur Fisher 12. A is for Eric Ambler - TracyK@BitterTea&Mystery

13. Academic murder @ Peggy Ann's Post 14. The Character Depot - Archer, Jeffrey 15. Tea Time with Marce (A - Andrea Kane) 16. A is for Alibi-Srivalli 17. MaryR- Agatha Raisin

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The letter B
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("B" is for Gail Bowen) 2. Jo @ The Book Jotter (B is for Barry Lyga) 3. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves 4. TracyK @ Bitter Tea & Mystery (B is for Robert Barnard) 5. Clarissa Draper - the Back Story 6. The Game's Afoot (B is for Bolaño)

7. raidrgirl3(Blood and Circuses) 8. Peggy Ann 'The Black House' by The Little Sisters 9. MiP - THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE 10. Margot Kinberg - Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch 11. Sergio@Tipping My Fedora (Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey) 12. B for The Bat (Bev@My Reader's Block)

13. Burning Court by John Dickson Carr (Srivalli) 14. Crime Fiction Alphabet - Dan Brown 15. Fleur Fisher: B is for Bolton 16. MaryR - Booktown Mysteries

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The letter C
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Kerry Greenwood's Corinna Chapman 2. C for Champagne for One (Bev@My Reader's Block) 3. C is for John Dickson Carr (Peggy Ann) 4. C is for Cambridge Theorum (TracyK @ Bitter Tea) 5. Clarissa Draper - Crime Scene investigations 6. C is for COLLECTING COOPER by Paul Cleave (Crime Watch - Craig) 7. The Game's Afoot (C is for Cela)

8. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("C" is for Robert Crais) 9. C is for Ann Cleeves @ The Book Jotter 10. C for Crowley, as in Aleister, the notorious British occultist. 11. C is for THE CALLER by Karin Fossum - MIP 12. raidrgirl3(CJ Sansom) 13. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Catriona McPherson 14. Fleur Fisher (C is for Christie)

15. Sergio @Tipping My Fedora - C is for John Dickson Carr 16. MaryR - C is for Cozies 17. Case of the Imaginary Detective (a hot cup of pleasure) 18. Srivalli - A Cold Day For Murder by Dana Stabenow 19. Crime Fiction Alphabet - Cornwell

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The letter D
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Reginald Hill's Andy Dalziel 2. The Game's Afoot (D is for Diez) 3. Bev@My Reader's Block (Dead as a Dinosaur) 4. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Dana Stabenow 5. TracyK @ Bitter Tea (Len Deighton)

6. D is for Damien Seaman (Peggy Ann) 7. Clarissa Draper - Drowning 8. Fleur Fisher (D is for Dickens - Monica Dickens) 9. BLOOD MOON by Garry Disher (MiP) 10. Valli ( The Book of the Crime by Elizabeth Daly)

11. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("D" is for William Deverell) 12. Jo (D is for Daisy Dalrymple or Carola Dunn) 13. MaryR - D is for Dashiell Hammett 14. Sergio@Tipping My Fedora (Death is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury) 15. Crime Fiction Alphabet - author Clarissa Draper

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The letter E
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza's Inspector Espinosa 2. Bev@My Reader's Block (Elizabeth Ironside) 3. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Endless Night by Agatha Christie 4. The Game's Afoot (E is for Escolar)z) 5. Fleur Fisher - E is for Elizabeth 6. E is for Enigma - Kerrie MiP

7. Carter Brown - The Exotic - Scott 8. E is for EDGE by Jeffery Deaver (Crime Watch - Craig) 9. Clarissa Draper - Evidence 10. E is for Eilis Dillon (Peggy Ann) 11. TracyK @ Bitter Tea (An Empty Death, Wilson) 12. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("E" is for Jill Edmondson)

13. Jo @ The Book Jotter - E is for Enid Blyton! 14. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - E is for Stanley Ellin 15. a hot cup of pleasure (E is for Eight of Swords by John Dickson Carr) 16. Ed McBain - JL Campbell 17. MaryR - E is for Evanovich

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The letter F
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Camilla Läckberg’s Erica Falck 2. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("F" is for Zoë Ferraris) 3. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Fatherland by Robert Harris 4. The Game's Afoot (F is for Fonseca) 5. Fleur Fisher - F is for Fitt

6. F is for Ferris - Kerrie at MiP 7. Scott 8. F is for Freeman Wills Croft (Peggy Ann) 9. F is for FRIENDLY FIRE, Michael Wall - Craig at CrimeWatch 10. TracyK - F is for Fer-de-Lance

11. Sergio@Tipping My Fedora - Face to Face by Ellery Queen 12. Jo (F is for Fatal Frost) 13. F is for Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey (a hot cup of pleasure) 14. Peter Reynard - Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie 15. MaryR - F is for Flavia

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The letter G
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Dorte Hummelshøj Jakobsen’s Rhapsody Gershwin 2. Bev@My Reader's Block (The Golden Scorpion) 3. Peter Reynard - Eric Garcia 4. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Sue Grafton 5. The Game's Afoot - Mempo Giardinelli 6. Clarissa Draper - God Complex

7. TracyK - G is for Elizabeth George 8. Scott- Get Off At Babylon by Marvin Albert 9. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan - "G" is for John Grisham (Part I) 10. The Filigree Ball by Anna Katherine Green - Peggy Ann 11. FleurFisher (G is for Greenwood) 12. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan - "G" is for John Grisham (Part II)

13. a hot cup of pleasure - G is for Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman 14. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - William Goldman 15. G is for Grey (Jo @ The Book Jotter) 16. MaryR - G is for Grafton

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The letter H
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Helene Tursten's Irene Huss 2. TracyK - Cyril Hare 3. The Game's Afoot - H is for Hill, Antonio Hill 4. Margaret @ BooksPlease - The Hanging in the Hotel 5. Peggy Ann - The Housekeeper

6. FleurFisher (H is for Hidden) 7. Bev@My Reader's Block (Dorothy B Hughes) 8. Peter Reynard - Hazel Holt 9. a hot cup of pleasure (H is for Hamlet, Revenge! by Michael Innes) 10. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("H" is for Robert Harris)

11. Scott: H is Harry Stoner P.I. 12. H is for Howell, Holt and Horst - MiP 13. Srivalli ( The Holcroft Covenant) 14. MaryR - H is for Hard Boiled 15. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - He Who hesitates by Ed McBain

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The letter I
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Peter Temple's Jack Irish 2. Sergio@Tipping My Fedora (Invisible Green by John Sladek) 3. gautami tripathy (Ice cold Hands) 4. Bev@My Reader's Block (Elizabeth Ironside) 5. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Michael Innes 6. The Game's Afoot - I is for Izzo, Jean-Claude Izzo

7. irene, Impartial Witness 8. Fleur Fisher - I is for Ivy 9. I is for Ian Rankin - MiP 10. TracyK @ Bitter Tea & Mystery (Information Officer) 11. Valli - I Could Murder her and Claude Izner 12. Scott: I is for Injustice For All

13. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("I" is for Greg Iles) 14. a hot cup of pleasure (I is for Ian Rankin) 15. MaryR I is for Interred with their Bones 16. Peter Reynard - Isaac Asimov

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The letter J
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Agatha Christie's James Japp 2. TracyK - J is for Sebastien Japrisot 3. Peggy Ann - Jo Nesbo 4. gautami tripathy (James Lepore) 5. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Peter James

6. Scott: J is For James Hadley Chase 7. MiP - J is for Jo Nesbo 8. J is for Jimenez, Georgina Jimenez - The Game's Afoot 9. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("J" is for Stan Jones) 10. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - J is for Jonathan Latimer

11. a hot cup of pleasure - Jung, Muzaffar 12. Srivalli-Journey into Fear by Eric Ambler 13. MaryR - J is for Josephine Tey

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The letter K
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Martin Edwards' Daniel Kind 2. gautami tripathy (Kari Lee Townsand) 3. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Katherine McMahon, The Crimson Rooms 4. The Game's Afoot - K is for Kohan, Martin Kohan 5. Peggy Ann - Rob Kitchin 6. MiP - Karin & Katherine

7. Scott: K is for Frank Kane 8. Peter Reynard - Kate Summerscale 9. Clarissa Draper - Knots 10. TracyK - Stuart M. Kaminsky 11. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("K" is for Joseph Kanon) 12. Sergio - K is for Kaminsky

13. Srivalli- Rosemary Kutak 14. a hot cup of pleasure - K is for Kashmir Shawl 15. Bev@My Reader's Block (The Key) 16. MaryR - K is for Kincaid

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The letter L
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn 2. The Game's Afoot - L is for Latour, Jose Latour 3. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Lord Edgware Dies, Agatha Christie 4. Peggy Ann - Linda Greenlaw 5. Scott: L is for Lament For A Lousy Lover

6. Peter Reynard - Dennis Lehane 7. MiP - Louise and Lovesey 8. a hot cup of pleasure - Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler 9. TracyK: John Lawton, A Lily of the Field 10. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("L" is for Paul Levine)

11. Srivalli- Leave the Grave Green by Deborah Crombie 12. Judy Harper - LYING 13. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - THE LONG WAIT by Mickey Spillane 14. MaryR - L is for Donna Leon

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The letter M
crime fiction alphabet Participants

1. Margot Kinberg - Åsa Larsson’s Anna-Maria Mella 2. gautami tripathy (BLEED FOR ME - Michael Robotham) 3. Peter Reynard - Murder in the Mews 4. Margaret @ BooksPlease - M R Hall 5. Scott: M is for Minor In Possession

6. Peggy Ann - Mildred Davis 7. The Game's Afoot - M is for Melo, Patricia Melo 8. TracyK - Charles McCarry 9. Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan ("M" is for Seicho Matsumoto) 10. MiP - Michael Robotham's SAY YOU'RE SORRY

11. Srivalli-The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey 12. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) - MURDER ON THE BLACKBOARD by Stuart Palmer 13. a hot cup of pleasure (Miss Timmins' School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy) 14. M is for A MURDER OR THREE by Laurie Mantell (Craig - Crime Watch) 15. MaryR - M is for Ngaio Marsh

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See the rest of the alphabet tomorrow.

Review: WHO KILLED PALOMINO MOLERO?, Mario Vargas Llosa

• Format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 371 KB
• Print Length: 162 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0374525560
• Publisher: Faber and Faber Fiction (August 16, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0095SSMMQ
• Translated by Alfred MacAdam
• Source: I bought it

Synopsis (Amazon)

The setting is Peru in the 1950s. Near an air force base in the northern deserts, a young airman is found brutally tortured and murdered.

Two local policemen, Lieutenant Silva and Officer Lituma, set out to investigate. But they are not glamorous detectives with modern resources at their disposal; they don't even have a squad car and have to hitch rides on chicken trucks and cajole a local cabdriver to take them out to the scene of the crime.

Not that anyone seems eager for Silva and Lituma to capture Palomino Molero's killer. But the two policemen persevere, and the slow and haphazard pace of the investigation only serves to intensify the high-pitched narrative tension, as the novel comes to haltingly rest on the very question with which it began.

Who killed Palomino Molero? is an entertaining and brilliantly plotted mystery. It is also serious fiction. Deftly, unobtrusively, the book takes up some of the great themes of all of Vargas Llosa's novels: guilt and innocence, the impossibility of justice in a society grounded in inequality and the eternally elusive nature of the truth.

My Take

WHO KILLED PALOMINO MOLERO? is quite different to my usual reading fare. It reminded me of someone like Ernest Hemingway in the way it commented on the social structures and times within which is set.

Usually when the murder of a military person occurs off base there is a struggle about who will do the actual investigation. In this case it seems likely that the victim's fellow airmen are fully aware of who killed Palomino Molero and why.
When Lieutenant Silva tries to question personnel on the air force base after the identity of the victim has been established he strikes brick walls, partly because of this conflict between jurisdictions.

"But until a direct order comes, either from the Air Ministry or the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, no Guardia Civil is going to violate the code of military justice in a base under my command. 

Is that clear, Lieutenant Silva? Answer me. Is that clear?” 

“Quite clear, Colonel.”

Officer Lituma, a cholo, sees the interview he and Lieutenant Silva had with Colonel Mindreau very different. He sees the treatment they received as racial. Silva, whose skin is a much lighter colour, is not as offended and believes he is making progress.

“He really put us through the ringer, didn’t he, Lieutenant?” Lituma dried his brow with a handkerchief. “I’ve never met a guy with a worse temper. Do you think he hates the Guardia Civil just because he’s a racist, or do you think he has a specific reason? Or does he treat everybody that way? Nobody, I swear, ever made me swallow so much shit as that bald bastard.” 

“You’re out of your head, Lituma. As far as I’m concerned, the interview with Mindreau was a total success.” 

“Are you serious, Lieutenant? I’m glad to see you can still make jokes. As far as I’m concerned, that little chat was as depressing as it could be.”

 “You’ve got a lot to learn about this business, Lituma,” said the lieutenant, laughing. “It was a bitch of an interview, let me tell you. Unbelievably useful.” 

“That means I didn’t understand a thing, Lieutenant. It looked to me as though the colonel was treating us like scum, worse than the way he probably treats his servants. Did he even give us what we asked for?”

 “Appearances are tricky, Lituma.” Lieutenant Silva once again burst into laughter. “As far as I’m concerned, the colonel yakked like a drunken parrot.” He laughed again, with his mouth wide open. Then he cracked his knuckles. “Before, I thought he knew nothing, that he was fucking around with us because he wanted to protect the precious rights of the military-justice system. Now I’m sure that he knows a lot, maybe everything that happened.”

 Lituma looked at him again. He guessed that behind those sunglasses the lieutenant’s eyes, like his face and his voice, were those of a happy man. 

“You think he knows who killed Palomino Molero? Do you really think the colonel knows?”

 “I don’t know exactly what he knows,"

For Palomino Molero, who was not only a mere airman, but also a cholo but a little lighter skinned than most, and a beautiful singer, had ideas above his station.

An interesting book not only for the well plotted mystery, but also for what it says about Peru in the 1950s. I read it for the South American category of the 2012 Global Reading Challenge

My rating: 4.4

See the review on The Game's Afoot and many thanks to Jose Ignacio for his recommendation.