Today we join the blog tour for Repentance that delves in to Argentina’s dark past and gives us Inspector Joaquin Alzada.
Repentance – the blurb
BUENOS AIRES, 1981.
Argentina is in the grip of a brutal military dictatorship. Inspector Joaquín Alzada’s work in the Buenos Aires police force exposes him to the many realities of life under a repressive regime: desperate people, terrified people and – worst of all – missing people.
Personally, he prefers to stay out of politics, enjoying a simple life with his wife Paula. But when his revolutionary brother Jorge is disappeared, Alzada will stop at nothing to rescue him.
TWENTY YEARS LATER…
The country is in the midst of yet another devastating economic crisis and riots are building in the streets of Buenos Aires. This time Alzada is determined to keep his head down and wait patiently for his retirement. But when a dead body lands in a skip behind the morgue and a woman from one of the city’s wealthiest families goes missing, Alzada is forced to confront his own involvement in one of the darkest periods in Argentinian history – a time of
collective horror and personal tragedy.
Move aside Montalbano
I was attracted to Repentance initially because I didn’t know much about Argentina’s past and thought a detective novel would be the perfect in. I wasn’t wrong, especially as this detective – Joaquín Alzada – is right in the thick of some very dark times in Buenos Aires. Alzada in the book is trying to read Montalbano and fans of Camilleri’s series will love the similarities and the nod.
Boy what a life Alzada has lived, glimpsed at via flashbacks, there is a whole series of back story right there. In some ways that’s very much what Repentance felt like, an introduction. It sieves out the most important things but you want to read what’s been passed through. Jorge, Galante, Petacchi are all characters I now NEED to know more about. And doesn’t Estratico just make the perfect side kick?
No body no murder
With so much back story the present day murder is almost not needed. Yet Diaz uses it to perfectly illustrate the difficulties of operating within the system. The dangers of trying to police properly when you are hated by the public and shadowy senior figures block your every move. Do you keep your head down just to get by? Or do you risk everything and try to do what is right? Once again Estratico plays the perfect rookie, naive and hopeful to Alzada’s resigned frustration.
I really appreciated how Diaz steered away from the predictable by making Sorolla different to his father. He may have similarities but he has to battle his own demons. The man he will become is only just emerging and, again, it would be interesting to read more about him. Come on Diaz give us a series, please!
Thanks
My thanks go to Weidenfeld & Nicholson via The Random Thing Tours for a copy of Repentance in exchange for an honest review. It’s a strong, tension filled debut that wets the appetite for further books. I for one am in the queue waiting.