- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Orion; New edition edition (1 July 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0752863959
- ISBN-13: 978-0752863955
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,210,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
it's a powerful, disquieting novel and Fortunato is a memorable character, an essentially good man gradually torn apart by conflicting emotions. -- Susanna Jager SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'It's a stylish, glamorous novel from a talented and perceptive writer. If your taste is for the noirish, then there's huge satisfaction in the brooding malevolence and careless fatalism of the characters, as well as the slendidly treacherous city itself. If you like accomplished, intelligent and sexy thrillers, this is the perfect read.' -- LOWESTOFT JOURNAL 'Part thriller, pert insight into the under belly of Buenos Aires ... [a] dark and moody thriller.' IRISH EXAMINER 'Cohen handles his material admirably, and the background of underworld Buenos Aires seems authentic.' IRISH TIMES
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Crime Time #36, January 2004
The Stone Angels is a tour-de-force of narrative precision and psychological acuity . . . splendid stuff.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Robert Waterbury's body had been discovered last October in a smoking Ford Falcon on the outskirts of Buenos Aires with six chalks of Chlorhydrate of Cocaine and his skull perforated by a nine-millimeter bullet. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Robert Waterbury's body had been discovered last October in a smoking Ford Falcon on the outskirts of Buenos Aires with six chalks of Chlorhydrate of Cocaine and his skull perforated by a nine-millimeter bullet. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
One of my 2004 reviews not uploaded at the time to amazon.co.uk
***
Comisario Miguel Fortunato has a face that makes him ideal for the work that he does. No one could ever imagine that this kindly, respectful looking middle aged man could be lying to them, or would do anything to harm. The Buenos Aires police department have their uses for such a man.
Fortunato is no different from his colleagues in that a large portion of his time is spent trying to contain the crime that is rampant in the city. That containment is control, and from that control and position of power it is the habit of the police to extort money from the criminals that they investigate. It is not done purely to supplement their salaries; they must reinforce the opinion that the police should never be underestimated or left in the dark. Who has the real control? The criminals or the criminals in uniform employed by the people?
When an American writer is killed in Buenos Aires a human rights professor is sent from the U.S. to seek answers on behalf of the deceased's family. Athena Fowler is young and fresh out of college with her ideals still intact. Under the wing of the kindly Fortunato she is aware that she is being manipulated to see a little, write a little, and go home. Her new friend is saddened by what he must do in order to protect his employers - the same people that once ordered him to kill for reasons he now knows to be false.
The sultry, brooding sense of menace that is portrayed in "The Stone Angels" is masterfully done, making a whole character out of the one city with millions of citizens. The sense of despair is that things will never change and the inherent corruption will always be so, to the frustration of so many. All the passion and the anger, the realization of betrayal with its subsequent retribution contained in the music and the dance of the tango is carried through the storyline as a beating pulse that never lets up. It's too heavy though, and what fails in this novel is that you have a whole pile of two-faced characters that you really care little for. There is no real fall of grace, as they were all ready in the pits to begin with. Droning narratives and clumsy characterization take the sparkle off "The Stone Angels" which could have been so much more with some fine tuning and greater attention given to the creation of rounded, believable leads. An author to watch.
***
Comisario Miguel Fortunato has a face that makes him ideal for the work that he does. No one could ever imagine that this kindly, respectful looking middle aged man could be lying to them, or would do anything to harm. The Buenos Aires police department have their uses for such a man.
Fortunato is no different from his colleagues in that a large portion of his time is spent trying to contain the crime that is rampant in the city. That containment is control, and from that control and position of power it is the habit of the police to extort money from the criminals that they investigate. It is not done purely to supplement their salaries; they must reinforce the opinion that the police should never be underestimated or left in the dark. Who has the real control? The criminals or the criminals in uniform employed by the people?
When an American writer is killed in Buenos Aires a human rights professor is sent from the U.S. to seek answers on behalf of the deceased's family. Athena Fowler is young and fresh out of college with her ideals still intact. Under the wing of the kindly Fortunato she is aware that she is being manipulated to see a little, write a little, and go home. Her new friend is saddened by what he must do in order to protect his employers - the same people that once ordered him to kill for reasons he now knows to be false.
The sultry, brooding sense of menace that is portrayed in "The Stone Angels" is masterfully done, making a whole character out of the one city with millions of citizens. The sense of despair is that things will never change and the inherent corruption will always be so, to the frustration of so many. All the passion and the anger, the realization of betrayal with its subsequent retribution contained in the music and the dance of the tango is carried through the storyline as a beating pulse that never lets up. It's too heavy though, and what fails in this novel is that you have a whole pile of two-faced characters that you really care little for. There is no real fall of grace, as they were all ready in the pits to begin with. Droning narratives and clumsy characterization take the sparkle off "The Stone Angels" which could have been so much more with some fine tuning and greater attention given to the creation of rounded, believable leads. An author to watch.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I thought this was a lovely story - corruption, journalism, redemption, tragedy - and a pleasure to read. It's got a cynical world view about how things happen that is refreshing to read. I re-read the last 50 pages twice in a row. I got the impression that the author has been absorbing Agentinian culture for a long time. I've never been there, but the casual relationship of the descriptions to the mannerisms and actions of the police, and the affection for the city, suggests it's not just research. It's just a good crime read and a book that's ambitious but never gets above itself.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I can't believe I'm the only person to review this book. I've tried several of Orion's "New Blood" series and frankly they are mainly quite ordinary. But this one is totally brilliant. Way outside the normal run of crime writing. Cohen could hold his head in any literary company and yet writes a fascinating and gripping crime novel. Great writing, unusual setting, original story line; I can't wait to see what else this guy comes up with. He should be more known about.
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