The Good Suicides: A Thriller by Antonio Hill

Hector Salgado is back at work.  His ex-wife is still missing, presumed dead by most everyone, and his son is living with him.  He's facing a complex case where several of the employees of the same company have committed suicide.  At first, it was thought it might be murder, but it's not so.  What happened in that company to make this so?

Crown Publishing and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It was published July 17th, so you can buy a copy now.

Hector is a very interesting police inspector.  He's intelligent, focused, and intuitive but he likes to stretch the reach of the law every now and then.  Threats are made, people are pressured, and most talk to him to make him go away.  However, this makeup company seems to be immune to him.  They care not what he says and offer no insight into their employee's deaths.  They do express sorrow but it's not genuine.  He wonders what is not said.

I like reading of other countries and their culture.  As different as they may be from the US, there are similarities.  The core of this mystery is what happened when the staff was away for a team building exercise.  Something unseen has seriously affected them all.  But what?  Dead dogs hanging in a tree is an ugly thing, but shouldn't upset them enough to make them kill themselves.  So why does an email with that photo set off the suicides?

While this case is proceeding, the cop who is off duty due to her pregnancy decides to do some more investigating into the disappearance of Hector's ex-wife.  What she finds is interesting but doesn't tell me anything new.  I don't see the significance of the new knowledge yet.

As Hector wraps up his case and the detective has her baby, this book comes to a close.  But Mr. Hill has held back a final card to play:  Ruth makes an appearance and the man she opens the door for on her last day at home is a total shock!  Now I can't wait for the next book to see just what did happen to Ruth and what new case Hector will be working on.  These are unusual mysteries and a good read both.  Give them both a try.

The Summer of Dead Toys by Antonio Hill

Did he fall or was he pushed?

Crown Books and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so you can grab a copy now.

This story is set in Barcelona.  It's a good mystery, but it's also fun for me to read about other countries and learn about the area as I read.  The author does a good job of adding the flavor of the countryside and the people to his story.

Inspector Hector Salgado was put on administrative leave after beating a doctor involved in a child prostitution ring.  He almost killed the man with his fists.  He doesn't want to admit why he did that, but he also knows he needs to control his temper if he wants to keep his job.  Now he's back on the job and must visit the police psychologist as part of his rehabilitation.  The chief gives him a safe assignment:  Investigate a death and assure the mother that the boy committed suicide.  Sounds simple enough, but Hector knows someone is not telling him the whole story.  His friends all have convenient excuses, but no one saw him jump and they all claim they did not push him.  Who's lying about what?

One thing I appreciate about reading international mysteries written over the pond is that the authors add little side plots and really delve into the personalities of their characters.  I don't normally find that character nuance charming in American stories, but European characters seem to need that element to make the story work well and help you understand the conflict. In this story I learned a lot about Hector, those he works with, and how they take care of each other but still follow the law. 

I didn't see the end coming in this story.  I thought it was probably a bad deed done by a drug gang member.  It was not.  I'm sure you'll be surprised, too.  See if you can determine it earlier in the book and let me know if you do.  Or just tell me if you were as surprised as I was to find out who was perpetrating the crime.  The side mystery is just as bad.  This author weaves tangled tales...