It is December 2001 and Argentina is in political and economic meltdown. Pablo Martelli, once in an elite branch of the police force known to all as the 'National Shame', is a shadow of his former self, scraping by as a bathroom salesman. He cannot forget the enigmatic woman he met in a dance hall. She left him when she found out who he was working for, and he has never recovered from the blow. Late one evening, Martelli is summoned to a friend's coastal retreat. He arrives to find his friend dead and is drawn into a bewildering sequence of events, on an odyssey that leads him through vast, empty pampas, along endless highways and into ghost towns seething with danger and brutality, to the ailing heart of his country. Before long he is forced to uncover the truth of his past life. It is a dangerous confession: after all, no-one loves a policeman. A highly original crime novel with a rich, dark humour, a host of extraordinary characters and plenty of smoking guns.

About the Author
Guillermo Orsi was born in Buenos Aires, where he still lives and works as a journalist. His novel Suenos de perro won the Semana Negra Umbriel Award in 2004.

Reviews
'...fast-moving, cynical, and witty ... Chandlerian in its steamy narrative, the story is about a country and its people going nowhere very fast indeed ... Set against a backdrop of Argentina in meltdown, it is a strongly atmospheric novel ... Of course, he [Guillermo Orsi] writes like a journalist - immediate, living prose that reads as though it was written yesterday' Bookgroup Info, Paula McMaster. * Bookgroup Info *
'Wonderfully evocative and cynical, it captures Buenos Aires with a delicate precision' Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail. * Daily Mail *
'Pungent and atmospheric ... essentially a Chandlerian narrative yanked out of steamy Los Angeles and sutured into equally sweaty Argentinian locales' Barry Forshaw, Independent. * Independent *
'Dazzling' Joan Smith, Sunday Times. * Sunday Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9780857381477
Author Guillermo Orsi
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint MacLehose Press
Publisher Quercus Publishing
Weight(grams) 198g
Dimensions(mm) 202mm * 140mm * 20mm