
Urgent Matters
Paula Rodriguez(Author)
Pushkin Vertigo (Publisher)
Published on 3. November 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-78227-813-9 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
The Yankees are more astute when it comes to matters like these. They say "not guilty". They don't say "innocent". Because as far as innocence goes, no one can make that claim.
A train crashes in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, leaving forty-three people dead. A prayer card of Saint Expeditus, the patron saint of urgent matters, flutters above the wreckage.
Hugo, a criminal on the run for murder, is on the train. He seizes his chance to sneak out of the wreckage unsuspected, abandoning his possessions - and, he hopes, his identity - among bodies mangled beyond recognition.
As the police descend on the scene, only grizzled Detective Dominguez sees a link between the crash and his murder case. Soon, he's on Hugo's tail. But he hasn't banked on everything from the media to his mother-in-law getting in the way.
A train crashes in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, leaving forty-three people dead. A prayer card of Saint Expeditus, the patron saint of urgent matters, flutters above the wreckage.
Hugo, a criminal on the run for murder, is on the train. He seizes his chance to sneak out of the wreckage unsuspected, abandoning his possessions - and, he hopes, his identity - among bodies mangled beyond recognition.
As the police descend on the scene, only grizzled Detective Dominguez sees a link between the crash and his murder case. Soon, he's on Hugo's tail. But he hasn't banked on everything from the media to his mother-in-law getting in the way.
Reviews / Votes
With frenetic pace and a hypnotic, disturbing plot, Urgent Matters is an exploration of how facts are constructed and which of them prevail to become realities. In the post-truth era, it is an essential read -- Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender is the Flesh It has all the ingredients of the police procedurals that totally grip you. It's fast-paced, has action, suspense and great characters -- Claudia Pineiro, International Booker-shortlisted author of Elena Knows It's a flight forwards, an engine that advances to the very heart of fiction, and it sweeps everything away -- K Ferrari, author of Like Flies From Afar One of the pleasant surprises of recent months. [...] Very well structured in a short, very enjoyable read * El Pais * With a frenetic pace and a distinctive mix of bitterness and lucidity, this noir novel by Paula Rodriguez is part of the rich Argentine tradition of quality fiction written with the urgency of journalism * Risbel * Paula Rodriguez belongs to that group of Argentine noir novel writers that is attracting so much interest lately * Harper's Bazaar (Spain) * It has the frantic pace of a story written with an exquisite ear for capturing the small details of the language that prevails in the world of the police, television, new technologies and also religion * Pagina 12 * A raw story that could well share a library shelf with authors like Gabriela Cabezon Camara and Leonardo Oyola -- Patricio Zunini It manages to condense drama and urgency [...] information, reflection and perspective * Radar * With the fast pace of a thriller and the tone of deep bitterness that characterizes the noir genre, Urgent Matters constructs a story in which the mysteries become clear to the reader, but they never come to light in the field of justice * Clarin * Very dark, very full of the tics of the police genre, very suspenseful, very well written -- Carlos Ulanovsky The core of the disquiet in this novel lies not so much in understanding who is guilty or innocent, but rather in revealing which story will end up prevailing -- Pablo Diaz Marenghi As soon as it starts, it grabs you by the neck and doesn't let go [...]. A great critique of journalism by a journalist -- Hinde Pomenariec Exquisite writing. As capable of irony as tenderness, of social and cultural critique as moments of intimacy, and loaded with the frenzied pace of noir' -- Gabriela Cabezon Camara, author of International Booker-shortlisted The Adventures of China Iron [A] breathless procedural... a notable addition to South American noir * Times and Sunday Times Crime Club pick of the week * A vivid and unforgiving depiction of a world in which everyone..is guilty of something * Guardian * Written in the taut, clean style of the classic pulp noir... the story barrels along at a ferocious rate * Irish Times * Part thriller, part telenovela, Paula Rodriguez's bleakly comic novel is all Argentine in its awareness of how society makes accommodation with corruption... [a] well-wrought tango noir. * The Times (Best thrillers of November) * This fast-moving novel evokes the teeming metropolis of Buenos Aires in a vibrant fashion, travelling between its poles of social differences and affording insights into a country still divided by race and class * Crime Time *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pushkin Press
Dimensions
Height: 213 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
252 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78227-813-9 (9781782278139)
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E-Book
10/2022
Pushkin Vertigo
€8.39
Available for download
Persons
Paula Rodriguez is a journalist, editor, writer, comedian, ghostwriter and feminist activist. She has worked for twenty-five years in magazine print journalism. Urgent Matters is her first novel. Paula lives in Buenos Aires.