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The Book of Murder by Guillermo Martinez — book cover

The Book of Murder

by Guillermo Martinez, Sonia Soto
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Overview

A chilling new tale of literary intrigue from the author of the international sensation The Oxford Murders

When Guillermo Martínez 's novel The Oxford Murders was first published in the United States, The New York Times Book Review called it "a scholarly whodunit [for] anyone who loves a good mystery." Now Martínez returns with a worthy followup: the mesmerizing The Book of Murder. A young writer finds himself unexpectedly tangled up in the story of Luciana, his former assistant and Kloster, bestselling author and rival. What he discovers about the deaths surrounding Luciana will make him question everything he had always believed-and taken for granted-about chance and calculation, cause and effect.

Synopsis

A chilling new tale of literary intrigue from the author of the international sensation The Oxford Murders

When Guillermo Martínez 's novel The Oxford Murders was first published in the United States, The New York Times Book Review called it "a scholarly whodunit [for] anyone who loves a good mystery." Now Martínez returns with a worthy followup: the mesmerizing The Book of Murder. A young writer finds himself unexpectedly tangled up in the story of Luciana, his former assistant and Kloster, bestselling author and rival. What he discovers about the deaths surrounding Luciana will make him question everything he had always believed-and taken for granted-about chance and calculation, cause and effect.

Publishers Weekly

The unnamed narrator of this fine novel of psychological suspense from Argentinean author Martínez (The Oxford Murders) struggles as a young novelist to compete in a world dominated by international superstar Kloster. A literary giant with the attitude of Norman Mailer and the commercial success of Stephen King, Kloster has become the obsession of Luciana B, who once took dictation for both Kloster and the narrator. Reappearing after a decade, Luciana tells the narrator an outrageous tale of horror, claiming that Kloster is slowly murdering her family. Is she a bitter fanatic, or could Kloster be Latin America's cleverest serial killer? Believing she's marked for death, Luciana persuades the narrator to figure out whether the recent events in her life are part of a deadly game of cat-and-mouse or a series of tragic coincidences. This riveting tale will appeal to readers of literary fiction and thriller fans alike. (Sept.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author, Guillermo Martinez

Guillermo Martínez is the author of several highly acclaimed novels and short story collections.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

The unnamed narrator of this fine novel of psychological suspense from Argentinean author Martínez (The Oxford Murders) struggles as a young novelist to compete in a world dominated by international superstar Kloster. A literary giant with the attitude of Norman Mailer and the commercial success of Stephen King, Kloster has become the obsession of Luciana B, who once took dictation for both Kloster and the narrator. Reappearing after a decade, Luciana tells the narrator an outrageous tale of horror, claiming that Kloster is slowly murdering her family. Is she a bitter fanatic, or could Kloster be Latin America's cleverest serial killer? Believing she's marked for death, Luciana persuades the narrator to figure out whether the recent events in her life are part of a deadly game of cat-and-mouse or a series of tragic coincidences. This riveting tale will appeal to readers of literary fiction and thriller fans alike. (Sept.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Reviews

A writer becomes the reluctant arbiter in a real-life game of mortal combat. When the unnamed narrator gets a distress call from Luciana, whom he hasn't heard from in a decade, he rushes to her side. Ten years ago, after a wrist accident had left him temporarily unable to write, his editor Campari had hired typist Luciana to help him complete a book. He'd become enamored of Luciana-although he never acted on his attraction-and intrigued by the fact that she worked for an intimidating literary lion named Kloster. The beauty who captivated him back then is barely recognizable in the bland and lumpy Luciana of today, who tells a compelling if slightly outrageous story, beginning with her accusations of sexual harassment against Kloster. After his unwilling divorce, the Machiavellian Kloster was determined to destroy her life, murdering everyone around her. He began with her boyfriend Ramiro, who unaccountably fell ill at a seaside resort, then moved on to other family members. No evidence implicates Kloster, but Luciana, certain of his guilt, convinces the writer to visit Kloster and get the truth. He anticipates hearing a different story from Kloster, but he's surprised at how different and how convincing the great man's account is, and utterly blindsided by Kloster's next move. Mart'nez (The Oxford Murders, 2005, etc.) crafts a page-turner in which eminently believable obsession and paranoia drive dangerous behavior.

Book Details

Published
July 1, 2009
Publisher
Penguin Group (USA)
Pages
224
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780143115809

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