Reviews Fragility of Bodies
Kirkus: But the story is so gripping and Veronica is such a fascinating departure from crime fiction convention–she's 30, Jewish, brazen, and openly flawed–that the book becomes difficult to put down. Also a very good novel about journalism, it's the first installment of a trilogy. An unusual, intoxicating thriller from Argentina that casts deeper and deeper shadows.
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review: A scalding crime novel set in Buenos Aires. Olguín memorably explores the gulf between the haves and have-nots of her city. Readers will hope to see more of the complex Verónica. (Oct.)
Financial Times: ONE OF THREE BEST THRILLERS OF 2019: The late, great foreign correspondent Nicholas Tomalin once opined that a journalist needed three qualities to succeed: "ratlike cunning, a plausible manner and a little literary ability". Verónica Rosenthal, the protagonist with a chaotic personal life of Olguín's lively new thriller The Fragility of Bodies, has these in spades.
Olguín is a fine writer with an easy style, aided by a very readable translation by Miranda France. This is the first of a trilogy featuring Rosenthal who pursues her leads with courage and determination, as she digs into a suicide that quickly morphs into a deadly conspiracy. The series has already been turned into a television series and I'm looking forward to the next volume.
CrimeReview: This is an excellent story, well told and translated, which sustains a high level of tension throughout. The reader is well aware of the risks to Veronica and those she co-opts in her research, and these culminate in violent and gripping action. In the background we have Buenos Aires, with great disparities of wealth and prevalent corruption, but a strong sense of life being lived to the full.
NB Magazine: The Fragility of Bodies is a powerful tale of murder and corruption set in Buenos Aires; it feels troublingly plausible. It will thrill readers with a taste for dark, gritty, real-world crime fiction. This novel is distilled single malt noir, a gripping reflection on the woes and angst of Argentinian society.
SHOTS Magazine: This is how I like my noir fiction: no cops with unlikely hang-ups, no copycat serial killers, no 'here-we-go-again' plots. Olguín concentrates instead on villains and victims and several dollops of savage sex.
