The Stone Angels

by Stuart Archer Cohen

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, before she died, 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 it was 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.

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2008

About the author

Invisible World (Reganbooks/HarperCollins 1998)
The Stone Angels (Orion, 2003)
The Army of the Republic (St. Martin's Press, Sept 2008)

Born Cincinnati 1958.
Walnut Hills High School
Johns Hopkins Univ.
Columbia University, 1981
Moved to Juneau, Alaska 1982
Opened Invisible World, 1985 (Wool and Alpaca)
China, 1991, (Cashmere and Silk.)
Closed Invisible World, 1996
Published first novel, Invisible World, 1998
Ran out of money, 2001, Re-opened Invisible World, 2002
Published 17 Stone Angels in England, 2003, later translated into 9 other languages.
The Army of the Republic, St. Martin's Press, September 2008.
This is How it Really Sounds, St. Martin's, 2014

Reviews

[Abanoob Shenouda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true thriller novel that kept me engaged and captivated as a whole. However, at some point I had to put the book down for long a while due to the lack of progressing events. Apart from this, the book is perfect, the characterization is so accurate that a true visualization of the characters is being embodied in my head. The choice of Argentina, a third world country like mine, as a setting for the novel gives a trait of randomness greatly felt to the extent that I recreated the whole events and assigned equivalently parallel places, people, local names in my home country. For a moment I was thinking that maybe an Arabic adaptation for this novel would be written. Yet, it would be a hugely controversial book. What touched me the most was the protagonist's pursuit of truth even though he knows what would be the end of him; the inner conflict between his good and evil sides were perfectly demonstrated. The protagonist's character was not, like mainstream thrillers, flawless and void of weakness. At some point, the whole world he has created, lived in, and believed wouldn't have come to existence if he had given up on himself. The search for truth was a guide and an uplifting motivation represented in the quotes and the wise sayings that cannot be uttered except by an old man whose face has been portrayed by life's lessons and whose mind has grown old in unraveling the complications and the mysteries of the human nature just through looking into their eyes and listening to their truths and lies.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there one honest cop in Buenos Aires? That depends on how fussy you are about the definition of honest. Two excellent characters--Comisario Fortunato and Dra. Athena Fowler-- lead us into the seamy world of corruption at the highest level of law enforcement in Argentina's capital city. They say it takes two to tango; in this case, it takes a whole police force. This is an engaging story. I heartily recommend it.

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story reminiscent of what is happening in South Africa today. Frightening in so many ways. Corruption at all levels in the police, throughout political structures and in business and one lone policeman with a conscience, trying to right his wrongs. This was a gripping story from beginning to end. I'll be reading more by this author.

[Mike Sigler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever and tangled plot with the hero and antagonist rolled into one. Good characters and sense of place. The heavies are the corporations and corrupt politicians that are first in line at the trough.

[Mar Sán · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sin chicha ni limoná.

[Barakiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not really into books like this, set in a foreign place like Buenos Aires with all the 3rd worldliness that goes with it (reminds me too much of where I live). But this pulled me in and I ended up enjoying the story, in spite of myself.

Pros:
1. Real characters that jump off the page and are easy to care for
2. Believable setting, you can almost smell the cigars and hear the tango music.
3. Good story
4. Mystery + Suspense
5. Underdog type story.
6. One learns about a different culture. I'm not sure how accurate the author's description is, but I have a feeling I know a little more now, than I did before.
7. No explicit sex, so it was a nice, clean read.

Cons:
1. My only real complaint is that there was a little too much government and business politics.
2. The book could have been a little shorter. There were some unnecessary thought processes, that repeated what you already suspected a character felt.
3. The Spanish was a bit annoying, since not all the Spanish words were translated. So sometimes it was impossible to know what was said or meant or insinuated. Perhaps a glossary would have helped? Also noteworthy: I don't remember any French when the French person spoke.

The last few chapters reminded me of The Punisher :D Yay!

Recommended.

[Dorothea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 2nd published novel by Stuart Cohen; unfortunately it was only published in England so it's harder to get a copy, but totally worth the extra shipping. Story takes place in Argentina, with a depth of cultural understanding surprising to find in a gringo author. Possibly his decades of travel there & in other South American countries helped. While I may be biased toward the author because I know him well (used to work for him in Alaska), it's easy to recommend this book because I truly enjoyed it. An involved tale of police corruption & the slim chance of redemption in a struggling nation.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite book, ever....
i relate a lot to it, having grown up in mexico city.
i loved it, and i love that i have a signed copy of it.

[Paul]

Started this novel while on vacation and was too distracted to get into it. Now it's due back at the library. so I'm turning it in. Will check it out again some day. The story is an interesting one.