by Selva Almada
First published 2020
Selva Almada returns to small-town Argentina in the 1980s, where three young women died violent deaths that no one solved. Andrea Danne, nineteen, was stabbed to death in her own bed. María Luisa Quevedo, fifteen, was raped and strangled before her killer dumped her body in wasteland. Sarita Mundín, twenty, was found disfigured on a riverbank. These murders happened during Argentina's return to democracy, in towns where such violence against women had no name yet. Almada traces the stories of these three victims and other abused women, building a stark picture of gender violence that reaches beyond Argentina's borders. She weaves together investigation and storytelling, creating something between journalism and literature. This is not a police procedural, though Almada investigates. This is not a thriller, though mystery runs through every page. The darkness comes from the hearts of the women she describes and the men who harmed them.
Genres: fiction, historical-fiction, abuse, mystery, crime, dark
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: mystery, true-crime
Setting: Argentina
Period: 1980s
170 pages · Paperback · Charco Press
Content warnings: abuse, death, murder, violence