The Silence of the Rain - Hardcover

Alfredo Garcia Roza, Luiz

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0330490915 ISBN 13: 9780330490917

Publisher: Picador, 2002

Synopsis

In a parking garage in the center of Rio de Janeiro, young executive Ricardo Carvalho climbs into his car, takes a few drags of his cigarette and shoots himself dead. Handsome, rich and married to a beautiful wife, Ricardo seemed to have everything to live for. So why did he take his own life? But when the police arrive at the scene, Carvalho's death looks like a straight-forward case of robbery gone horribly wrong, since the victim's gun and briefcase are nowhere to be found. And so Inspector Espinosa is called in to investigate. Not your typical detective, the world-weary Espinosa has the mind of a philosopher, the heart of a romantic, and enough experience to realize that things are not always as they seem.

About this title

About the Author

Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1936, and still lives there today. He has an academic background in philosophy and psychology, and is a full professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. The Silence of the Rain is his first novel and was honoured in 1997 with the Nestle and Jabuti prizes - the two greatest literature prizes given in Brazil. His most recent novel is December Heat, the second in the Espinosa series.

From Booklist

(*Starred Review*) A best-selling Brazilian novelist sets his beautifully atmospheric, hard-boiled crime novel (originally published in Brazil in 1996) in the sensual and steamy neighborhoods of Rio. Inspector Espinosa from the First Precinct isn't your typical Rio cop: "That he'd never been corrupted made him different." He's presented with a puzzling case when an important executive is found shot to death in his car in the parking lot of a downtown office building. The victim's wife, an internationally renowned designer, falls quickly from the radar screen as a suspect (although she certainly remains an alluring figure to the beauty-loving inspector). There's also Julio, a friend of the new widow--yet Espinosa really doesn't suspect him, either. Then the late executive's secretary, Rose, stops coming to work. What's the connection? But that's not the complete picture; there's also Max, a petty thief who inadvertently stumbles on some important pieces of evidence concerning the executive's death. Max and Rose are compelled to put their mutually distrustful heads together to maneuver the situation to their advantage, and the focus of their plan is to secure a big wad of insurance money. Where does this leave Inspector Espinosa? On a trail that is growing increasingly colder. Two more murders and a kidnapping occur before Espinosa can grab onto a fruitful lead in solving the out-of-control case. Readers will be grateful to know that the other two books in this luscious crime trilogy are forthcoming from Henry Holt. Brad Hooper
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About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0330490915
• ISBN 13: 9780330490917
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256