Needle in a Haystack [Paperback]

Like most Americans, I know almost nothing of Argentine history -- however, unlike most, I do at least know that there was a very nasty internal conflict known as the "Dirty War" some thirty or so years ago (like everything relating to the Dirty War, different people have different ideas on the start and end dates). I knew, in broad terms, that a military junta seized power and waged a brutal campaign of repression against various left-wing elements in society, ranging from armed guerrilla groups to leftist intelligentsia. I know that people were snatched from their homes, the streets, wherever, never to be seen again ("disappeared" in the infamous phraseology), while daily life went on more or less as normal.

What I didn't know is what that era felt like. This first in a trilogy featuring Buenos Aries police Superintendent "Perro" Lascano, takes place in the midst of the Dirty War, and brings it to life. As the book opens, he is called out to look into a report of two bodies lying at the end of a dirt road. However, when he gets there, he finds three bodies -- two executed leftists, and a third man completely unlike the others. What follows is a pretty straightforward procedural, as Lascano methodically assembles clues, interviews people, and figures out who the mystery man is and why he was killed. Of course, his investigation takes him into the murky waters of the junta and its friends, and he has to tread carefully to avoid being disappeared himself.

He's a classic Chandleresque detective, a loner, haunted by the memory of his dead wife, world-weary, etc., but along the way he acquires a love interest who rekindles his spark. The investigation isn't particularly clever, as the Lascano is easy able to trace them, literally picking up clues along the way. But the lurking danger of military involvement hangs over everything and gives the story a deep sense of menace. The book's one big flaw is in how it renders dialogue: speech is set in italics in long unbroken blocks of alternating sentences, so that you have to keep careful track of whose "turn" it is to speak. It's a really strange decision, and makes dialogue a total pain for the reader. For those with an interest in modern Argentine history, or the international crime fiction, it's worth making the effort.

In 1976 in Buenos Aires, Police Superintendent "Perro" Lascano investigates a double homicide. When he arrives at the crime scene, he finds three corpses. Two of the bodies are dressed similar in jeans and polo neck shirts and have numerous bullet wounds, which is evidence that the Junta death squad executed the pair as they share responsibility in case of accountability. The third dead person is different as he is much older and wears a suit and tie; however, the biggest difference is he has one bullet wound. The cop is unauthorized to look into the political killings of the jean wearers as that is disallowed but he can investigate the dead suit.

Lascano meets Eva, a dissident running from the Army. She looks like his late wife Marisa, who died in a car accident. He conceals Eva who gives him a reason to live as he has been despodent since Maria's death. Menwhile Lascano and his friend Fuseli the forensic pathologist identify the older victim as moneylender and Auschwitz survivor Elias Biterman. Lascano learns that Elias' younger brother Horacio introduced him to his decadent friend Amancio. The lender lent money to Amancio. Lascano thinks bankrupt Amancio is the killer or hired the killer, but needs to prove his assertion in a society in which no one seems to care.

Ernesto Mallo uses the official police investigation to focus on the atrocities and moral rationalizations of those in charge. Readers will need to make a slight adjustment to the unusual technique of first person dialogue with no identification as to the speaker; a metaphor of death squads. Once the audience adapts, the story line is fast-paced throughout especially the climax. This is a strong historical that looks deeply at how society failed to protect its citizens especially the young.

Harriet Klausner

For a long time this novel felt like something other than a crime fiction. I enjoyed its pacing and then Mallo completely changes gears and it becomes even better. Highly recommended.