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The Silence of the Rain (Inspector Espinosa #1)
In a parking garage in the centre 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-f...more
But when the police arrive at the scene, Carvalho's death looks like a straight-f...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
by Picador USA
(first published 1996)
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First in a series starring Rio de Janeiro detective, Inspector Espinosa. The plot involves the death of a businessman that appears as a murder due to accidental circumstances of a petty theif in the parking garage where the suicide occurs. The reader never really knows, through the twists of the story, what exactly has happened--murder or suicide--until the end.[return][return][return][return]There appears to be a good evocation of Rio as it's known to cariocas. There is no appeal to superficial...more
Luis Alfredo Garcia-Roza is a Brazilian known for his ruminative prose, so keenly observant of the changes in his society that his detective Inspector Espinoza is more of a philosopher-poet than a policeman. In The Silence of the Rain, Espinoza investigates the suicide of a rich executive in a plodding fashion, confused as he is by a series of murders that appear related to the suicide. Just when he appears to get no further, help arrives from convenient quarters (this, as much as the concentrat...more
I enjoyed The Silence of the Rain; it’s a solid and intriguing police procedural. Espinosa is a thoughtful, world weary character who reminded me somewhat of Morse. The pace is well judged, the characterisation sound, there is a strong sense of place as the characters move around Rio, and the story has some nice twists. Split into three parts, the first and third parts are written in the third person, the middle part in the first person, putting the reader in the mind of Espinosa. It was a littl...more
You never quite know what the reality is when reading Garcia-Roza. This is the second book I've read by him (first in the series) and I enjoyed it much more than the fourth in the series. This was a page turner with the bibliophile police inspector Espinosa hooking up with an athletic woman who might be a suspect and also being attracted to the rich, intellectual widow of the victim. At times Espinosa must appear Columbo like to his suspects and witnesses. Garcia-Roza is a philosophy professor i...more
Nov 30, 2008
Andrew Hecht
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who are fond of Rio
Shelves:
fiction,
public-library
"His colleagues in a situation like this, would be assiduously interrogating suspects, putting their informants into action, doing what every policeman was trained to do. They only action he'd taken so far was to detain a suspect he'd then immediately released because 'he didn't look like a killer', and who, almost certainly, was sleeping the eternal sleep in a cabinet in the Forensic institute. He knew how rarely the police did anything effective to solve crime. Ninety percent was a cynical gam...more
As I got into The Silence of the Rain, I thought I had yet another "wounded soul" sort of police inspector that within the police procedural we have a sub-genre that includes Morse, Ohayon, Vaara, et al. But wait, aside from the fact that he is divorced and is addicted to used book stores, the reader finds out precious little about Espinosa the person. Or at least significant to warrant comparing to other police detective protagonists.
And I found myself somewhat bemused by other reviewers' writi...more
And I found myself somewhat bemused by other reviewers' writi...more
3rd book I've read by Garcia-Rosa with his always-eating character of Espinosa the introspective detective. This one intriguing not just because it is a who-dunnit and the litany of bodies turns it almost into Agatha Christie; but because for a middle section of the book Espinosa we are Espinosa; but in the rest of this book and in the other novels he is described in the 3rd person. Why this sudden change in perspective? it doesn't add much; when in first person Espinosa still can't resist burge...more
THE SILENCE OF THE RAIN (Police Proc-Brazil-Cont) - G+
Garcia-Ruiz, Luiz Alfredo - 1st in series
Picador, 2003 - Trade Paperback
*** Inspector Espinosa has a strange case on his hands. An executive, found dead in his car, is the victim of an apparent murder and possibly a robbery since victim's briefcase and wallet are missing. The other possibility is an insurance scam. Three women are involved and Espinosa takes a personal interest in two of them; the wealthy widow and the victim's girlfriend. A...more
Garcia-Ruiz, Luiz Alfredo - 1st in series
Picador, 2003 - Trade Paperback
*** Inspector Espinosa has a strange case on his hands. An executive, found dead in his car, is the victim of an apparent murder and possibly a robbery since victim's briefcase and wallet are missing. The other possibility is an insurance scam. Three women are involved and Espinosa takes a personal interest in two of them; the wealthy widow and the victim's girlfriend. A...more
The promotional blurbs are very misleading. The detective is only an intellectual in the sense that he often visits used bookstores to make purchases, he also tries, without success, to organize all the books in his apartment. The writing seems awkward and brusque but it may be the translation. Good enough for airplane reading.
Oct 15, 2011
Laurie (Kwiltreader)
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
no one
Shelves:
mysteries,
un-international-mystery-challenge
Disappointing. There didn't seem to be any explanation or reason for the title. The back and forth flipping of the narration was very distracting. And wasn't always clear who was narrating. The end of the story left me with lots of questions. I didn't really get a clear picture of Espinoza who did a lot of wandering around the streets without telling me anything about Rio.
I don't normally read murder mysteries but I immediately liked his style, his Detective Espinosa and the setting of Rio de Janeiro. Very enjoyable.
Inspector Espinoza in Rio involved with other interesting characters as he solves the death of a business man; a case with many twists.
My second read of this book.... Forgotten some of the plot and 'who dun it'. And even though it came back to me as I read on, I enjoyed re-reading this author.
Really good, really sad, really poetic mystery novel. Brazilian noir.
Wasn't a masterpiece, but I really enjoyed it anyway.
Segundo policial excelente que leio deste escritor brasileiro.
Smart, original, fresh.
I enjoy literate thrillers, especially ones that capture the hothouse atmospherics of Rio de Janeiro when I'm enduring nasty Philly end-of-winter/early-spring slushiness, gross, etc.
Anyway, this book is like most disappointing crime/mystery novels: 3/4 awesome, 1/4 horrible, absolutely PREPOSTEROUS ending. And since a whodunit always hinges upon the denouement, well, I gotta dock you a star or two, Luiz. Maybe next time.
I never finished this book, which is unusual for me. It lacked drama and the protagonist was straight up boring. Nice to read about Rio de Janeiro though - where I will go next.
A must-read. Bautifully written and wonderful story.
a little better than ok. i guess crime fiction has international cliches, though these are treated with more sincerity than usual. interesting only in that it is set in brazil, everything else, not in a bad way, comfortable, familiar.
I finished that one and really enjoyed it. The plot is straight forward, but holds your interest. The book is set in Brazil and gives the story an exotic background. I'll read another of Mr. Garcia Roza's books soon.
Great to be introduced to gentle, pensive, self-deprecating Inspector Espinosa. And of course to be reintroduced to Rio, the city that is beautiful even in its cruelty.
it really bugged me that the death in the beginning was unexplained..................
Un bon policier, malgré quelques répétitions et une chute éclair et particulière.
Jun 17, 2013
Deanna
is currently reading it
Jun 01, 2013
VeganMedusa
marked it as to-read
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Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza is a Professor of Philosophy at Rio University in Brazil.
Series:
* Inspector Espinosa
More about Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza...
Series:
* Inspector Espinosa
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