The Tzer Island book blog features book reviews written by TChris, the blog's founder.  I hope the blog will help readers discover good books and avoid bad books.  I am a reader, not a book publicist.  This blog does not exist to promote particular books, authors, or publishers.  I therefore do not participate in "virtual book tours" or conduct author interviews.  You will find no contests or giveaways here.

The blog's nonexclusive focus is on literary/mainstream fiction, thriller/crime/spy novels, and science fiction.  While the reviews cover books old and new, in and out of print, the blog does try to direct attention to books that have been recently published.  Reviews of new (or newly reprinted) books generally appear every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Reviews of older books appear on occasional weekends.  Readers are invited and encouraged to comment.  See About Tzer Island for more information about this blog, its categorization of reviews, and its rating system.

Entries in mystery (16)

Thursday
Dec022010

Adios Muchachos by Daniel Chavarria

Published by Akashic Books on May 1, 2001

Alicia is a bicycle prostitute in Havana. She dresses in shorts and wiggles her butt as she pumps her pedals. One pedal is rigged to fall off, allowing her to tumble in front of the foreign men she seeks as customers. When one helps her up, she persuades him to give her a ride home where her mother makes dinner. The mother then leaves while Alicia seduces the man. Pretending to be too proud to accept money from him, she instead accepts gifts of air conditioners and motor scooters, which she stores in the garage until mother sells them. Because Alicia's wiggling butt is irresistible, she is confident that sooner or later the right man will fall in love with her -- the right man being the one who meets her high standards of wealth and virility.

From this premise, written in prose that borders on hilarity, Daniel Chavvaria crafts a novel that is more a comedy than a mystery -- and a very funny comedy it is. Alicia is hired to have sex with men while a couple watch from behind a mirror. The arrangement leads to prosperity for Alicia, but unfortunate circumstances involve her in what seems to be a kidnapping scheme that goes awry. Alicia maintains her cheery self-confidence throughout the novel, an attribute that makes her a very likable character. The phrase "wickedly funny" could have been invented to describe this book. It isn't deep, it isn't a traditional mystery, but it's loads of fun.

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