- The Black Minutes was a finalist for the Romulo Gallegos International Novel Prize
- Solares was a finalist for the Grand Prix de Litteratu...
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reviews
Apr 04, 2011
Lindsey
rated it: 
It's hard to believe that "The Black Minutes" is Martin Solares' first novel. Elevating the form of detective noir, he weaves an intriguing portrait of a small Mexican drilling community that is both romantic and horrific.
The novel is set in two time-periods. In present day, a journalist is murdered and investigator Ramon Cabrera uncovers his expose on the grisly deaths of several young girls twenty-years prior. The bulk of the book revolves around that story, in which we are int More...
The novel is set in two time-periods. In present day, a journalist is murdered and investigator Ramon Cabrera uncovers his expose on the grisly deaths of several young girls twenty-years prior. The bulk of the book revolves around that story, in which we are int More...
Feb 24, 2011
Sharon
rated it: 
What can I say, this is just about one of the best works of contemporary fiction out there. Hands down the best crime fiction. You can read a good synopsis here. The story, told from multiple perspectives, is flabbergastingly (is this even a word?) multilayered. Martin Solares's interweaving the past with the present puts the reader on a whirlwind roller-coaster ride (the thrilling good kind that gives you lots of endorphins).
However, The Black Minutes isn't great just for its story-telling More...
However, The Black Minutes isn't great just for its story-telling More...
Dec 21, 2010
Terry
rated it: 
I was eager to read this book after seeing very positive reviews -- some said a "police procedural," which I like but my main interest was that it's by a Mexican author and set in Mexico, so I was really looking forward to some real sense of place and culture -- which I didn't really get in this book. It was hard to connect to the characters (it's told from different perspectives) and to keep up with the names and nicknames (a glossary helps, but a little more development of identity
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Jul 22, 2010
Kathleen
rated it:
Masquerading as a crime novel, Martín Solares' The Black Minutes is actually a fine piece of literature . The novel is set in a northern Mexico port city that is riddled with narcotraficos, police corruption and some sketchy Americans whose businesses dominate the local economy. The story begins when a young reporter is found murdered, and one of the local detectives is sent out to investigate. Over time, he finds links to some unsolved crimes, the kidnapping and murder of small girls in the 197
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Mar 08, 2011
katie
rated it:
THIS IS FABULOUS!!! Highly recommended!!!
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Sep 16, 2011
Mac
rated it: 
Well, I had high hopes for this book. Perhaps that contributed to my disappointment.
All told, I think it is a valuable entry into international crime fiction because it incorporates some rather bold literary tools that are otherwise unfamiliar to the genre, not to mention it bills itself as Mexican Noir!
Despite its merits of ambition though, it fell flat in execution. It felt to me like the author was trying to be reminiscent of Bolano in 2666, but just did not have the More...
All told, I think it is a valuable entry into international crime fiction because it incorporates some rather bold literary tools that are otherwise unfamiliar to the genre, not to mention it bills itself as Mexican Noir!
Despite its merits of ambition though, it fell flat in execution. It felt to me like the author was trying to be reminiscent of Bolano in 2666, but just did not have the More...
Nov 15, 2011
John
rated it:
A surreal, postmodern novel masquerading as a police procedural, Solares's book tells the story of two different police investigations in the fictional Mexican town of Paracuán, Tamaulipas. In the first, a none-too-bright detective is assigned to pursue the killer of a young journalist. His story is interrupted when someone tries to kill him, and the novel rewinds twenty years to recount the story of a previous police detective pursuing a serial killer in the same town. The two storylines come t
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Apr 12, 2011
Monica
rated it:
The article was by a new columnist, Johnny Guerrero, a guy from Chihuahua. Rangel didn't like his style. From the first day, he was writing articles attacking the chief, like he was on the mayor's payroll. He interspersed his opinion with the facts and he exaggerated things, but more that that he seasoned his writing with flowery words: he made a bum into a derelict, a prostitute into a strumpet. For him, an autopsy was the legal necropsy and he wrote mean-spirited captions under the phoMore...
Feb 23, 2011
Joshua
rated it:
This crime novel by Mexican author Martin Solares is a mixture of police procedural, serial killer thriller and exploration of corrupt cops set in a seaside Mexican city that started out really energetic and vibrant, but by the end was completely rambling, stumbling to a finishing point. At 430 pages, this novel could have [and should have] used some trimming and tightening up. The unhinged, all-over-the-place way the story is told and writing style of Solares might have been intentional to conv
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Jul 25, 2010
Abandoned. It has an interesting energy, a sly sense of humor--I enjoyed a bit about Cabrera's on-going battle with his wife over the television remote. . . but it felt diffuse, or maybe it's just that I do.
I've picked up about 5 different books the last three days and gotten nowhere. I made it 100 pages into the new Brady Udall before deciding it was trying too hard to win my affections (again, that is probably me and my mood, and no problem of the book, which so many people inclu More...
I've picked up about 5 different books the last three days and gotten nowhere. I made it 100 pages into the new Brady Udall before deciding it was trying too hard to win my affections (again, that is probably me and my mood, and no problem of the book, which so many people inclu More...
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Aug 22, 2010
John
rated it:
This Mexican crime novel was in turns fascinating and frustrating. Solares tells two intertwined stories involving police and criminals today and in the 1970s. Many of the same characters are involved, so that you see how the earlier events influenced the later events. Solares starts the novel in the present, then shifts for hundreds of pages into the past, and the shifts back to the present. There is a large cast of characters, and keeping them straight was difficult. By the end of the book I w
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Jun 29, 2010
Lindsy
rated it:
I feel like in the 400 pages that I read nothing much happened plot-wise. However, it wasn't a painful read by any means. I enjoyed the story, a murder of a journalist takes place as a result of him digging up information about a series murders that happened 20 years ago in Mexico. The plot starts in present-day, then switches to the past for about 3/4 of the book, finally resolving in the present at the end. The only thing that I complain about with this book was the number of characters. W
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May 11, 2011
booklists best crime:
The Black Minutes. By Martín Solares. 2010. Black Cat, $14 (9780802170682).
The sheer exuberant inventiveness of this remarkable Mexican debut may mystify some American crime-fiction fans, used to tamer fare. Set in the made-up port city of Paracuán, on the Gulf of Mexico, the story starts in present time, with policeman Ramón “El Macetón” Cabrera assigned to investigate a journalist’s murder. Soon, though, the story leaps back in time to another investiga More...
The Black Minutes. By Martín Solares. 2010. Black Cat, $14 (9780802170682).
The sheer exuberant inventiveness of this remarkable Mexican debut may mystify some American crime-fiction fans, used to tamer fare. Set in the made-up port city of Paracuán, on the Gulf of Mexico, the story starts in present time, with policeman Ramón “El Macetón” Cabrera assigned to investigate a journalist’s murder. Soon, though, the story leaps back in time to another investiga More...
Jun 27, 2010
Jenny
rated it:
This was a fantastic detective story. A huge cast of characters and the backdrop of an entirely Mexican culture gave it an authentic and disconcerting feel. The culture of machismo and rampant (police and political) corruption did not do much to bring down the sometimes hilarious and sometimes frustrating and dark plot points. The novel plows forward, barely stopping to catch up with its own storyline. The reader is at pace with the lead detective--though there is one for each of the two tim
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Jul 12, 2010
Guy
rated it:
Calling The Black Minutes, Martin Solares' debut novel, a "quixotic adventure" is an understatement; it features a compelling cast of colorful characters and his loose, almost stream-of-consciousness style reminded me a bit of Richard Price's excellent Lush Life. I'm not sure if it's a real genre, but halfway through I began referring to it as Tropical Noir, though Solares' emphasis on vivid characters and imagery over plot makes it all feel more literary than you'd typically expect fr
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Mar 24, 2011
Jeff
rated it:
“…everyone has five black minutes…”
And so begins one of the better detective noir stories out there. While reading, I am constantly reminded of the classics of noir fiction like Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest, one honest detective in a crooked town. Corruption is rampant and obvious, but who is willing to take the risk to put a stop to it. However, in Solares’ case, you get a little Latin American Surrealism with your detective noir. It’s a light version, but for those expectin More...
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Jul 18, 2011
Nick
rated it:
Honest cops battle corrupt cops while tracking a serial child murderer in a fictitious Mexican city. This reminded me of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels. The cops have distinct personas, many with nicknames like "El Travolta" and "Blind Man." Right from the start you know that the policemen with integrity are fighting a losing battle. Solares writes directly and with brutal poetry, he both grieves for and adores his country.
Nov 12, 2010
Leslie
rated it:
The Black Minutes employs Latin American magical realism among other techniques to create a mystery unlike any other. Solares combines jazz, narco culture, and noir into a heady stew of a police procedural, giving the genre a good punch to the gut. A good mystery for fans of Garcia Marquez and his compadres and an even better one for genre fans looking for a taste of something different. Chabon better watch out - Solares gives him a run for his money!
Jan 27, 2011
Kate
rated it:
Compelling, couldn't put it down, modern noir with 80's style under the muggy oppression of the Mexican sun. The great writing and current political themes around the drug cartel wars somewhat mitigate my guilt about indulging myself in another story about a serial killer (but I haven't started watching Dexter again, so I've bought myself a little space).
Sep 17, 2010
Alison
rated it:
What a tough book. It starts off with a three-page cast of characters, many of whom have not just a given name but also a nickname (or two). I was glad for these pages later in the novel when I was like, "Who are these people? Is this guy that guy from before? No? Who the heck is he?"
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Mar 17, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
I'm going to keep an eye on this guy (this is debut fiction). One of the reviews promised a phantasmagorial noir, but I didn't really get that. Based on the beginning, I was expecting a Bolaño like story. It's definitely got post-modern cred, but it never really flew for me.
May 25, 2010
Nancy
rated it:
This is a wild ride - very pulpy yet also very Latin American in its many magical-realism overtones. It's a bit difficult to keep the many characters straight, which is why (no doubt) his American editor had him add a list of characters to the front of the book. I consulted this list constantly - a bit of a distraction from an otherwise enjoyable novel.
Oct 15, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
On one level, just a murder mystery, but fairly interesting for the way it depicts corruption and the general flavor of life in a medium-sized Mexican port town. Nicely written as well, though all the time-switching becomes confusing.
Jun 23, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
It's possible that I didn't like this because I'm stupid, which is why I gave it two stars instead of one. But I think this just didn't work. The mystery wasn't interesting, the characters weren't distinct, the writing wasn't all that...I don't know.
Apr 27, 2010
Tobias
rated it:
An interestingly-structured crime novel with some nicely surreal elements. At times, though, some elements of the translation seem off -- there's a reference to CDs in a scene set in the late 1970s, and a couple of times where "it's" is used where "its" should have been.
Nov 06, 2010
David
rated it:
A very average crime/thriller populated by a predictable plot, cliche characters and an uninspired style. If you like your fiction comforting and transparent you will enjoy this but otherwise I would recommend giving it a pass.
Oct 03, 2011
kt
rated it:
One of the best books I've read this year. Multiple timelines and perspectives, an exotically familiar setting, and colorful characters make for a story I didn't want to put down and that stayed with me after I finished. I'm excited to see where this author goes next.
Feb 22, 2011
i don't know... i just couldn't get into it. i did love "the brief wondrous life of oscar wao," and that author endorsed this book, so perhaps i'll try again one day.
Jul 02, 2010
Jennie
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This book was just weird. I started out really liking it, then the flashback started, and it got confusing. I'm still not sure what happened.... I might have to read it again someday to see if anything changes.
Oct 27, 2010
Amber
rated it:
The writing kept me interested, the story kept me intrigued, and the characters kept me reading. I enjoyed it.
