From Publishers Weekly In this unusual， deadpan thriller， the first of a trilogy by a bestselling Brazilian writer， Inspector Espinosa of the Rio de Janeiro police department， a jaded intellectual who'd rather visit a used bookstore than a crime scene， must catch the murderer of Ricardo Carvalho， a corporate executive found shot to death in a parking garage， his briefcase and wallet missing. Was it a robbery gone wrong or was someone involved in Carvalho's business or personal life out to get him? Thus begins a novel with an intriguing， circuitous plot and mysterious， expertly shaped characters， who are always one step ahead of Espinosa. Garcia-Roza shifts tense and voice， showing the reader what really happened everything except the person manipulating the story， whose identity remains a secret until the surprise ending. Espinosa， a solitary divorc‚， is attracted to two women in the case: Bia， Carvalho's beautiful， indifferent widow， the beneficiary of a $1 million life insurance policy; and Alba， the robust， sexy girlfriend of a man also interested in Bia. A third woman， Rose， Carvalho's loyal secretary and sometimes mistress who claims to have important information， vanishes. When two more people linked to the investigation meet gruesome deaths， Espinosa knows that the elusive Rose is the link to all the crimes and intensifies the search for her. The sultry Rio setting， whose exotic neighborhoods add definition to the action， and a most unorthodox detective should appeal to police procedural fans with a taste for the offbeat.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information， Inc. From Library Journal Inspector Espinosa investigates the supposed murder of a Rio de Janeiro businessman who was shot to death in his own car. However imaginative， Espinosa nevertheless fails to consider suicide because the victim's money and gun are missing. How this came to pass constitutes the bulk of a fanciful and complicated cat-and-mouse plot involving a high-dollar insurance policy， a beautiful widow， an opportunistic thief， an adventurous-but-disappearing secretary， and actual murder. A heady and somewhat exotic mixture of psychological suspense and police procedure， this was a Brazilian best seller. It will appeal to readers who enjoy sophisticated international mysteries. [Holt plans to publish the other novels in Garcia-Rosa's crime trilogy. - Ed.] Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews