The Silence of the Rain — Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza

“Readers will find much to marvel over” in this psychological thriller, a bestseller in Brazil that “breathes fresh air into the crime novel genre” (Los Angeles Times).

In a parking garage in the center of Rio de Janeiro, corporate executive Ricardo Carvalho is found dead in his car. It appears that he has been robbed and murdered. But the clues are few. Just the kind of case that is always assigned to Inspector Espinosa. 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 rarely as they first seem.

As Espinosa attempts to unravel the mystery of what really happened to Carvalho and his secretary, Rose, who disappeared shortly afterward, he discovers that the businessman had recently taken out a million-dollar life insurance policy. And there's another complication: Espinosa's attraction to Carvalho's beautiful widow, who is also one of the prime suspects. When two more bodies turn up, Espinosa is forced to shift the investigation into high gear before anyone becomes a casualty.

Hurtling to a surprising conclusion, The Silence of the Rain is an intelligent, unconventional detective novel with a distinctly Latin American flavor and a colorful locale. In Espinosa, America is about to meet an irresistible new sleuth.

“The sultry Rio setting . . . and a most unorthodox detective should appeal to police procedural fans with a taste for the offbeat.” -- Publishers Weekly

“Garcia-Roza's Hitchcockian trick of knowing exactly how much to reveal to keep his audience off-balance keeps this melancholic debut simmering.” -- Kirkus Reviews

“Effortlessly . . . displays the mystery novel as a richly expressive medium for ideas.” -- The Washington Post