The Black Minutes
by Martin Solares
On This Page
Description
"Breathless, marvelous . . . Latin American fiction at its pulpy, phantasmagorical finest . . . A literary masterpiece masquerading as a police procedural." —Junot DiazWhen a young journalist named Bernardo Blanco is killed in the fictional Mexican port city of Paracuán, investigation into his murder reveals missing links in a disturbing multiple homicide case from twenty years earlier. As police officer Ramón "el Macetón" Cabrera discovers, Blanco had been writing a book about a show more 1970s case dealing with the murder of several young schoolgirls in Paracuán by a man known as El Chaneque. Cabrera realizes that whoever killed Blanco wanted to keep the truth about El Chaneque from being revealed, and he becomes determined to discover that truth.
The Black Minutes chronicles both Cabrera's investigation into Blanco's murder and goes back in time to follow detective Vicente Rangel's investigation of the original El Chaneque case. Both narratives expose worlds of corruption, from cops who are content to close the door on a case without true justice to powerful politicians who can pay their way out of their families' crimes. Full of dark twists and turns, and populated by a cast of captivating—and mostly corrupt—characters, The Black Minutes is an electrifying novel from a brilliant new voice.
"Mr. Solares is a graceful, even poetic, writer, especially in his hard-boiled dialogue and his descriptions of the wildly varied landscapes and ethnic types of northern Mexico." —Larry Rohter, The New York Times. show less
Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
This book is like the mainstream version of Roberto Bolaño's 2666. It shares oddly similar plot points, including the mass murder of women (in this one schoolgirls are being murdered instead of the women in 2666), a mysterious German writer, a black pick-up truck, brutal policemen, corrupt politicians, etc. But it doesn't share Bolaño's scope and it neatly answers most of the questions it sets up. It's fun to read but it won't change your life.
From: Mexican Detective Cabrera Listens to Cumbia
http://wp.me/p14mpp-at
Justice is fickle in this fictional Mexican city on the East coast of Mexico in the state of Tamaulipas just south of the US-Mexico border. The Black Minutes by Martín Solares is a violent story of the search for a serial murderer in a fictional world of police brutality, corruption and government ineptitude. There are some comic scenes and there are moving and tranquil moments that lighten the reading, but the overall impact is one of grim reality.
Solares, in his first novel has provided some new insight into the violent history of the Mexican states along the US-Mexican border. But, if you read the novel, be prepared for a sometimes-frightening story in which show more there are no winners. This is fiction noir at its best.
The Black Minutes (Los Minutos Negros), Martín Solares (2006).
Carto
### show less
http://wp.me/p14mpp-at
Justice is fickle in this fictional Mexican city on the East coast of Mexico in the state of Tamaulipas just south of the US-Mexico border. The Black Minutes by Martín Solares is a violent story of the search for a serial murderer in a fictional world of police brutality, corruption and government ineptitude. There are some comic scenes and there are moving and tranquil moments that lighten the reading, but the overall impact is one of grim reality.
Solares, in his first novel has provided some new insight into the violent history of the Mexican states along the US-Mexican border. But, if you read the novel, be prepared for a sometimes-frightening story in which show more there are no winners. This is fiction noir at its best.
The Black Minutes (Los Minutos Negros), Martín Solares (2006).
Carto
### show less
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Global Mysteries
90 works; 6 members
Author Information
9+ Works 328 Members
Awards and Honors
Awards
Notable Lists
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2010
- People/Characters
- Ramón Cabrera; Blanco; Vicente Rangel González
- Important places
- Mexico; Paracuán, Mexico
- Dedication
- To Vesta
- First words
- The first time he saw the journalist, he reckoned him to be twenty years old and he was wrong.
- Original language
- Spanish
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Mystery
- DDC/MDS
- 863.7 — Literature & rhetoric Spanish Literature Spanish fiction 21st Century
- LCC
- PQ7298.429 .O43 .M5613 — Language and Literature French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literatures Spanish literature Provincial, local, colonial, etc. Spanish America
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 223
- Popularity
- 145,676
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.44)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 13
- ASINs
- 3
