Book 72, Country 78 - Guatemala

Lies – Enrique de Heriz – translated from Spanish and first published in the UK in 2007

A woman dies in a boat accident in a remote part of the Guatemalan jungle.  She is wrongly identified as Spanish anthropologist Isabel Garcia Luna.  When Isabel finds out that her husband and children think she is dead, she decides not to say anything for a while.  Meanwhile back in Malespina in Spain her daughter Serena is obsessed with disentangling the truth from all the lies she has been told about the life and death of her grandfather Simon.  I felt the story could have been told in a more succinct way and there is rather too much introspection for my liking.  However it is an unusual plot and has some interesting details about death customs and rituals and cannibalism in remote tribes around the world.  6/10

10th June 2012

Book 71, Country 77 - Honduras

The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux - first published in the UK in 1981

Allie Fox is a brilliant inventor but he is also paranoid and self obsessed.  He suddenly uproots his wife and 4 children from a comfortable, if unconventional, life in rural America and without consulting them decides they are emigrating to the Honduran jungle.  They settle in a remote place called Jeronimo and at first things go well.  They build a house, plant crops and Allie constructs an ice making factory.  Then unwittingly Allie invites some guests to stay who threaten their security.  Things spiral downhill for the family after this. The story is narrated by Allie's oldest son Charlie.  The book is well written but I vaguely remembered seeing the 1986 film starring Harrison Ford and so couldn't fully enjoy the story knowing that something awful was going to happen.  Allie isn't a likeable character, as he never considers the needs, safety, health or opinions of his wife or children.    7/10

16th May 2012

Book 70, Country 76 - Nicaragua

The Jaguar Smile by Salman Rushdie - first published 1987       

The best thing about this book is that it is really short – even in large print, which was the only version I could get hold of,  it is only 146 pages long.  The author visited Nicaragua in 1986 and talked to people at all levels of society in several different areas of the country.  However I felt it was neither travel writing nor a history but a collection of individuals’ views and personal experiences put together in no logical order.  There is no timeline of events or summary of modern history of Nicaragua, which would have helped it make more sense.  2/10


29th April 2012

Book 69, Country 75 - Costa Rica

Nancy Drew, Girl Detective - Trails of Treachery - Carolyn Keene - first published 2007

This is a children's book but it combines a fast paced thriller with a good description of the Costa Rican countryside.  Nancy's friend George is competing in a coast to coast mountain bike race called La Ruta.   She and mutual friend Bess have come to be her support team.  They make friends with 2 other competitors - Sharine and her boyfriend Derek, who is one of the favourites to win La Ruta.  However someone is trying hard to sabotage his chances of winning and will stop at nothing to ensure that Derek never finishes the race.  Nancy decides to investigate  8/10

13th April 2012

Book 68, Country 74 - Panama

The Tailor of Panama by John Le Carre - first published in 1996

I found this book very very dull and after a while found I was reading the words but not really taking anything in.  Even when I was concentrating I didn't understand the plot.  It is something to do with the politics surrounding the Panama Canal.  I think I must have been reading a completely different book to the one reviewed on the flyleaf, which promised suspense, compassion, wit and an explosively terrifying finale.  I did not find it in the least thrilling.  1/10

11th April 2012

Book 67, Country 73 - Columbia

No One To Trust - Iris Johansen

Elena Kyler is a trained assassin on the run from Columbian drug baron Rico Chavez.  Chavez raped her 6 years earlier and got her pregnant.  Now he wants to kill her and take his son Barry.  Elena enlists the help of tough guy Sean Galen and together they lure Chavez into a trap.  Disappointingly only the first few chapters of the book are set in Columbia and then the action moves to the USA.  The story is action packed but very violent.  Lots of people get killed but most of them are bad guys, although that doesn't really make it ok does it?  There is also a bit of romance and betrayal.   6/10

1st March 2012

Book 66, Country 72 - Brazil

December Heat by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza  translated from Portuguese and first published in English in 2005

A retired policeman called Vieia goes out for the evening in Rio de Janeiro with his girlfriend Magali, who is a prostitute.  He gets very drunk, loses his wallet and wakes up in his bed the next day not able to remember anything.  During the night Magali has been murdered in her flat.  The case is investigated by Inspector Espinosa.  Three more murders follow, including those of 2 homeless children.  There are lots of twists and turns in the case, some of which I couldn’t follow and I didn’t find the final outcome very convincing.   However the novel does give a very atmospheric description of life in the Copacabana area of Rio.    5/10

17th February 2012