2005 book 19

nicholas shakespeare's the dancer upstairs
wow, this book was pretty freakin' riveting. it starts with a journalist in peru who wants to write the story of the minister of intelligence, famous for capturing a notorious guerilla leader after 12 years of terror. unable to get the interview and despondent, he randomly goes to a cafe, where he meets the police detective who tracked the guerilla down, and whose story is pretty fascinating. if this wasn't a work of literary fiction, but was a more genre-related mystery, it probably would have a line on the back like, "but will his obsession w/ his daughter's dance teacher get in the way of his investigation?" rejas, the detective, is an extraordinarily well-written character, and the story is a compelling one, highlighting the political chaos in latin america while relating the tale of a man falling in love.