Ulises Linares (not his real name) is a conman who engages in lonely hearts and romance cons. At almost 30, and after the death of his father, he’s feeling a pressure to pull a con that will give him some stability. He decides to pursue Perla Inclan, a woman whose family once owned a reasonably successful coffee company in Puerco Ahogado (which means “drowned pig”), in the mountains of Veracruz. But Perla is no easy mark. And her niece, Inés, clocks him pretty quickly. The twist is, she’ll help him in exchange for half the money. The other twist is, Ulises falls in love with Inés.
Noir is all about desperation. Ulises, Inés, and Perla are all desperate for something. Perla’s needs and wants are contradictory. I bounced between aching for her and rooting for her downfall. She resents and reveres the shackles of her family’s past status, and she makes that everyone’s problem. Inés, though was my favorite. She’s sharply observant, creative, smart and funny. She knows her aunt is suffocating the life out of her and is desperate to leave before she’s a faded husk of a woman with no chance to live life. Ulises is kind of a hapless loser, and I mean that as a compliment. He’s good looking and knows generally how to con, but he also figures out that Inés makes him a better conman. I love the way he transforms through the book.
The Intrigue builds slowly and has the trademark explosive climax near the end. The dog survives. I hope Moreno-Garcia writes more noir.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Del Rey and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
