The Foreign Girls - (Veronica Rosenthal Mystery) by Sergio Olguín (Paperback)

About the Book

"Two foreign girls are murdered after a high society party in Yacanto del Valle, northern Argentina. Their bodies are found in a field near sacrificial offerings, apparently from a black magic ritual. Verâonica Rosenthal, an audacious, headstrong Buenos Aires journalist with a proclivity for sexual adventure, could never have imagined that her holiday would end with her two friends dead. Not trusting the local police, she decides to investigate for herself."--

Book Synopsis

"Olguín, an acclaimed Argentinian novelist, delivers a layered, gripping story, finely translated by Miranda France." Best New Crime Thrillers, Financial Times

THE TIMES BOOK OF THE MONTH.

"The Foreign Girls is very much a literary novel rather than simply a thriller. More slow-burning tango than brisk paso doble.
The realities of life in Latin America offer little escapism perhaps, but in the gutsy, raunchy Veronica they have a contemporary heroine to cherish." The Times

Two foreign girls are murdered after a high society party in Yacanto del Valle, northern Argentina. Their bodies are found in a field near sacrificial offerings, apparently from a black magic ritual. Verónica Rosenthal, an audacious, headstrong Buenos Aires journalist with a proclivity for sexual adventure, could never have imagined that her holiday would end with her two friends dead. Not trusting the local police, she decides to investigate for herself.

Review Quotes

STARRED REVIEW. "Olguín's stunning sequel to 2019's The Fragility of Bodies finds Buenos Aires reporter Verónica Rosenthal vacationing in the province of Tucumán. Olguín exposes copious examples of moral bankruptcy en route to the devastating ending." Publishers Weekly

"Olguín, an acclaimed Argentinian novelist, delivers a layered, gripping story, finely translated by Miranda France." Best New Crime Thrillers, Financial Times

"THE TIMES BOOK OF THE MONTH. The Foreign Girls is very much a literary novel rather than simply a thriller. More slow-burning tango than brisk paso doble. The realities of life in Latin America offer little escapism perhaps, but in the gutsy, raunchy Veronica they have a contemporary heroine to cherish." The Times

"A quirky, un-put-down-able thriller by a veteran Argentine novelist. Kirkus

"Olguín narrates as brilliantly as Maradona played football."-- Süddeutsche Zeitung

"Just like its predecessor, The Foreign Girls is an excellent thriller, with a fully-developed, wholly engaging protagonist." CrimeFictionLover

"A passionate story of intrigue and a broad fresco of contemporary Argentinean society." La voz del interior.

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.