December Heat
An Inspector Espinosa Mystery
-
-
4.7 • 7 Ratings
-
-
- $12.99
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
The second in the acclaimed Brazilian series featuring Inspector Espinosa, the detective hailed by critics for "his existential sensibility, his exotic beat, and his literary merit" (San Francisco Chronicle)
A retired policeman spends a typically alcohol-filled evening with his girlfriend, a prostitute. When he wakes up the next morning, his wallet and car key are missing, his girlfriend has been murdered, and he can remember none of the events of the previous night. Called in to investigate is Inspector Espinosa, veteran detective and friend of the ex-cop. It's a seemingly open-and-shut case, but Espinosa is convinced there's more here than meets the eye, and when other bodies begin turning up, he finds himself not only racing after a killer but falling in love.
The first Espinosa mystery, The Silence of the Rain, won over American audiences with its steamy evocation of exotic Rio de Janeiro, its singular narrative approach, and, above all, its highly appealing protagonist. In December Heat, the second in this atmospheric, erotic series, Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza once again delivers a story as unusual as it is complex, with a resolution sure to elude—and ultimately delight—even the most discerning crime readers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Brazilian Garcia-Roza's second meandering mystery to feature Inspector Espinosa (after 2002's The Silence of the Rain), an old friend, retired officer Vieira, calls on the taciturn Rio de Janeiro cop for help. Vieira has been tied literally, in a sense to the murder of a prostitute named Magali, found suffocated, her head in a plastic bag and her feet tied with Vieira's belt. Vieira doesn't deny that he spent time with Magali, but he was too drunk on the night in question to remember a thing. Another prostitute, Flor, decides to look after Vieira after he's brutally attacked, though that such a woman would commit herself to an old policeman on a pension is unconvincing. Espinosa starts tracking down leads, including a street kid who might have stolen Vieira's wallet. One boy living on the streets is set on fire; another has his head bashed in. It's clear that someone is desperate, but who and why remain unanswered questions. Meanwhile, Espinosa meets an attractive artist, Kika, and he struggles over the difference in their ages. Several beautiful literary turns of phrase are nearly lost in the extensive mechanical descriptions. The befuddling, sluggish plot, however, does finally stumble into an exciting ending.
