"The secret in their eyes" by Eduardo Sacheri follows criminal court investigator Benjamin Chaparro, as he retires and types up the story of his most memorable case--the murder of a young school teacher, Liliana Colotto, whose unexpected killing leaves her banker husband, Ricardo Morales, unable to go on with his life. The couple is in their twenties, and appears to be too young and nice to have had any enemies. But, as Chaparro reasons, Liliana--who was killed while in her own apartment--could have only opened the door to someone she knew. And so begins the investigation--taking place in the late sixties and early seventies, in sun drenched but war torn Argentina. The story jumps back and forth--alternating between the current date, when sixty-year-old retired Chaparro tries to remember what exactly happened, and has a few run-ins with his crush, the judge who was his intern all that time ago, Irene Hornos. Simultaneously, we jump back in time to Chaparro as a young officer investigating the Colotto murder. My thoughts: While this is a mystery novel, there is one thing that distinguishes this book from your average suspense novel--and that is the amount of soul Sacheri puts into his writing. The storyline is emotional, the characters are not devoid of tragic flaws, and the Buenos Aires of the book's time period is a dark place. Instead of being about the mystery, this book is about the story--structured around how every turn of events can change everything. Published by Other Press. October 18, 2011. 320 pages. List price $15.95
