Inspector Espinosa stars in his seventh adventure in Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza’s ALONE IN THE CROWD, and this time, the crime itself is the ambiguity. Dona Laureta comes to visit the inspector, but he is busy. She leaves, vowing to return. But in the interim, she is run over by a bus. Did she jump? Was she pushed? Was it merely an accident? And what did she have to say that was so important she would only talk to Espinosa?
Espinosa and his crew slowly unravel the tale, spending a significant amount of time on what would have been put down as an unfortunate accident in most jurisdictions, and they find that the crime and its perpetrator lead back to an incident in Espinosa’s past.
If you’ve enjoyed the previous books in the series, this one has all the charming features of the rest: the inspector’s odd book-shelving system; his free-and-easy relationship with Irene (although this, too, is threatened in the book); and the glorious setting of Copacabana. The deft translation by Benjamin Moser pulls you quickly along these mean Spanish streets as the police are convinced they have identified a culprit, but how to prove his guilt is the question. An entertaining read. —Mark Rose
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