by Stuart Archer Cohen (Author)
"The assignment depressed him. He knew that the Waterbury investigation would be a sham, that it was political and that the Chief was in on it. He knew that the reason he'd been appointed to head up the investigation was for the express purpose of not finding the killer. He knew that clearly, because he was the one who had put the bullet in the back of Waterbury's head." Comisario Miguel Fortunato has been in the Buenos Aires police for a long time. Perhaps too long. His pockets have seen more than half a million dollars in bribes over the years. But that's just the way it is. He hasn't done as much wrong as some of his colleagues, but he never managed to tell his wife - just dead from cancer - where most of their money was coming from. Now he has a delicate problem. Some time ago, Robert Waterbury, an American novelist, was found shot dead on Fortunato's patch - officially a drugs deal gone bad. But now the Americans are sending someone over - though nobody's sure why they've sent Athena, a human rights professor - and the case is reopened. Athena soon finds that here in Buenos Aires, the truth is way down anyone's list of priorities. Corruption seeps from the city's every pore in this gritty, atmospheric thriller, where no one is quite what they claim to be, and you have to pick your heroes from the bad, the very bad and the indescribably worse.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Orion
Published: 15 Dec 2003
ISBN 10: 0752859897
ISBN 13: 9780752859897
Book Overview: Film rights have been sold to Tom Cruise Productions, with Al Pacino to star. Brilliant writing - dark, atmospheric and punchy, reminiscent of James Ellroy. Praise for Stuart Archer Cohen: 'Cohen's elegantly written novel is an intriguing mixture of adventure story and philosophical conundrum. Ingenious, atmospheric and unsettling' (The Times); 'Top quality debut suspense novel... a whopping winner. Cohen puts everything into this masterpiece.' (Kirkus Reviews)