Blackout - The sixth novel in Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza's Inspector Espinosa series where the Brazilian author proves himself a master of building suspense. Once you begin this scorching thriller, you'll get hooked and find it nearly impossible to put down.
All the elements critical for good crime fiction are on display here. As a way of composing my review, I'll take an immediate jump to the list.
Crime – On a cal-de-sac at the end of a steep, S-shaped cobblestone road on the rocky flank of São João Hill in Copacabana, the police use a plastic sack to cover a one-legged homeless man shot in the chest, a beggar who climbed the steep hill on a rainy night in order to receive his customary handout of leftovers from kitchen help working for the club located at the summit. They place the dead man's crutches on top of the plastic to hold it down. The prime question: Why would anybody murder such a harmless beggar?
Sluth - Prior to turning to writing novels, Garcia-Roza spent his career as a university philosophy professor. We shouldn't be surprised that his main character, Chief Inspector Espinosa, shares a name with one of the great philosophers and is a bookish outsider—incorruptible, inclined to dreamy intuitions as well as rational calculation, a man with a highly refined aesthetic sensibility, and a romantic, uninhibited sensualist when it comes to the lovely, sexy ladies.
Colorful Characters – Here's a trio deserving a special call-out: Aldo Bruno, a interior architect (Aldo likes the sound of the title more than interior decorator), Aldo's wife, Dr. Camilia Bruno, an attractive psychotherapist, and beautiful, fiery Mercedes, Aldo's assistant at his firm. But wait. The more we learn of Mercedes, the more we discover that she's not only an alluring beauty . . . she's a true femme fatale.
Setting and Atmosphere – Rio de Janeiro. Reading Blackout, it's as if we're right there in this vibrant, singular city, walking the crowded streets as we take in the sights and smells. “Despite the heat, Aldo decided to walk to work, which meant crossing all if Ipanema down to the Avenida Atlântica. It wasn't far, three kilometers at the most, but it was extremely hot. He chose the shady side of the street and headed down the Rua Visconde de Pirajá in the direction of the Avenida Atlântica while he thought about the events of the last few days.” Oh, yes, Rio's landmarks and streets are always given by name.
Narrative Momentum – Each scene, each police interview, each clue adds tension, suspense, and intrigue to the unfolding drama that started out with a murdered homeless man. And when a second murdered victim is discovered . . . well, there's ample reasons why Blackout is a knockout thriller.
Foreshadowing - The author inserts three short episodes from the past lives of one or possibly two of the characters. This technique infuses the story with a highly creative way to include dramatic foreshadowing. There are other examples of foreshadowing, all subtle, that can be detected with careful reading.
Red Herrings – Clues are dropped that might incline a reader to point the finger at a specific character. I must admit, this is something that I did and was eventually proven wrong. Ah, a good detective novel!
Satisfying Ending – What we discover on the final pages of Blackout might not shock every reader, but it certainly shocked me — an ending that is not only bizarre but, as Inspector Espinosa unravels in his point-by-point analysis, perfectly logical.
Brazilian author Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza, 1936-2020
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