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A Window in Copacabana: An Inspector Espinosa Mystery (Inspector Espinosa Mysteries) | 
 enlarge | Author: Luiz Alfredo Garcia-roza
Publisher: Picador
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
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Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 514198
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 031242566X
Dewey Decimal Number: 869.342
EAN: 9780312425661
ASIN: 031242566X
Publication Date: January 24, 2006
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Amazon.com Review
Cop killings never fail to excite interest--especially when, as in A Window in Copacabana, Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza's fourth slow-burning police procedural (after Southwesterly Wind), those murders are committed methodically and surgically, with "no passion, revenge, emotion: cold as ice." As Espinosa, the uncommonly thoughtful chief of Rio de Janeiro's 12th Precinct, postulates, "Whoever killed them was hired by someone. And furthermore, the real criminal is trying to send a message to other potential victims, a message that only they can understand." It hardly matters that the three deceased officers weren't popular, or even well known. ("They're all cops who never stood out, who lived hidden lives, and who were as invisible and silent as their deaths.") The fact that each succumbed to "a single point-blank shot," coupled with suspicions that their slayings were somehow connected--by drug dealing, perhaps, or a bribery scheme--makes capturing their assassin crucial, not only to civic peacekeeping but to departmental morale. The stakes increase when those cops' mistresses start dropping violently, as well. Someone, it appears, wants to keep a tight lid on information that was shared between the policemen and their paramours. But who? And what, if anything, can be concluded from the subsequent, supposed suicide leap of a woman who was evidently mistaken by the killer for one of the cops' lovers? As Espinosa wades into the morass of avarice and secrecy at the core of this case, and begins to shed his preconceptions about the crimes, he's also distracted by a pair of young lovelies--one, the wife of a high-ranking government economist, obsessed with that dubious suicide; the other, a smart and resourceful ex-cabaret dancer on the run--whose attentions may do as much to foil his investigation as warm his heart. Brazilian Garcia-Roza is a patient plotter, exposing each new development with the deceptive indifference of an exotic dancer shedding veils, knowing just how to build and maintain anticipation. And in Espinosa he has found his ideal partner in crime, a clever, compassionate, and oddly bookish, 40-something cop reconciled to the manifold disappointments of life and serene in the face of human tragedy. Although this author denies his cops, other than Espinosa, much depth of personality, A Window in Copacabana's Hitchcockian twists, sensual atmosphere, and unwillingness to deliver cliched "perfect" justice in the end all make it an excellent entry in one of the coolest, most captivating crime series going. --J. Kingston Pierce
Product Description
Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. Three policemen have been killed over the course of a few days. Espinosa, chief of the 12th Precinct, doesn't have much to go on. When the body of a woman connected to one of the dead cops is found on the sidewalk below her apartment window, things get even more complicated, as a reputed "witness"--the wife of a high-ranking government official--becomes obsessed with the case, and with Espinosa.
Nothing is quite as it first appears as Espinosa finds himself in his old haunts of Leme and Copacabana, and in the all-too-familiar terrain of corruption, greed, and fear.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Murder in the Tropics April 19, 2005
Debra Hamel (TwitterLit.com)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The three policemen found shot to death execution-style over the course of a few hot summer days in Rio de Janeiro had more in common than the circumstances of their deaths. Each of the men, importantly, had had sufficient cash to support a mistress and keep a separate apartment intended for their assignations--a sure sign that the officers had been on the take. Investigating their deaths and the corruption that may have led to the murders is the unhappy task of Detective Espinosa, chief of Rio's 12th district, a somewhat melancholy character who tries vainly to combat the encroaching boredom of his increasingly routine work by walking to and from his apartment by different routes.
Given its challenges, Espinosa's latest case provides at least a temporary respite from tedium, particularly when the mistresses of the dead policemen prove to be in peril themselves. Two of the three women are murdered at once, and Espinosa undertakes to protect the third. One woman's death--she falls from a tenth-floor window--is witnessed by a neighbor watching from her apartment across the street, a happenstance which provides the police with one of their few clues and gives author Garcia-Roza his book's title.
A Window in Copacabana, translated into English from the original Portuguese, is the fourth book in Garcia-Roza's Detective Espinosa series. The peculiar circumstances of the murders under investigation and the surprising identity of the killer make the novel a good mystery. But what sets the book apart is the mood it sets--the languid air of a city in the tropics--and the philosophical, bibliophilic Espinosa, whose character emerges slowly, without fanfare, as the story progresses. Mystery readers, and anyone enticed by a Copacabana setting, should give the series a look.
Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece
A police crime story, Brazilian style March 27, 2008
Judy K. Polhemus (LA)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
"A Window in Copacabana" is unlike any other police crime story; Inspector Espinosa is unlike other chiefs of precincts. The story is set in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
How this novel differs from others is its shocking absence of description. I have often heard readers say that they didn't complete certain books because of too much description or others say they skip it. On the other hand, I love description because it takes me into another place or another time. Without it, this novel could have been set in my city, except for the beach and the neighborhood names--Copacabana being the notable one. When Espinosa walks down the streets, I can picture certain streets in my city that have ethnic flair. This lack of description is certainly not a deleterious factor, but it is an odd one.
Written by "distinguished academic" Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza, the novel indeed reflects the academic mind in its studied logic and understated contemplative thinking demonstrated by Espinosa. In fact, the critic from Amazon likened Garcia-Roza's style to Hitchcock in the use of that subtle yet maddening building of suspense. The danger just oozes out from the pages, yet we never see it. The story ends with the guilty person evading punishment--for now. For we know Insp. Espinosa is on the case.
The story revolves around the murder, execution-style, of three ordinary, unobtrusive police officers, followed by the murder of two of their three mistresses. The third eludes murder by hiding and seeking Espinosa's help. (Perhaps the acquisition of mistresses with no one, not even the wives, blinking is a characteristic of Brazilian culture. This does not seem to be common in my city!)
Then the title character adds a new element to the investigation: she saw one of the mistresses being thrown out of her tenth floor apartment, which is just across the way from her tenth floor apartment. She also adds an element to Espinosa's life--she seduces him. Again, it is presented so matter of fact. To my surprise, all three women in the story kiss him fully on the mouth as if this is a normal greeting. The women include his longstanding lover with neither interested in marriage, Serena, the title character who witnesses this key murder from her window in the Copacabana neighborhood, and the last mistress, who tries to elude the assassin.
When I finished the book, I wasn't sure whether or not I would recommend it, but after writing this review, I see just how interesting the novel is and how it does reflect another culture and a police chief's way of solving a crime. It also shows, apparently, a different attitude toward capture of a criminal, especially one who killed police officers: all in due time. For those who find description an impediment to the forward progress of a crime story, this book was written for you.
Note: The book jacket shown above differs from mine, which depicts inside the window of the title and looking across the beach to that hill. The picture on my copy is much more subtle and effective.
 Great Mystery March 11, 2005
A Reader (Leonardtown, MD USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. It has all the components one wants in a mystery: interesting and well developed characters, exotic setting, and a plot that is a surprise without any contrivance or lack of credibility. The narrative is very well written and involves both suspense and crime detection. It also delves into personal relationships and soul searching. Overall it's an excellent mystery.
Murder and Dames, it Doesn't Get Better than this July 30, 2006
Coleen Deuel (San Leandro, CA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Three cops have been killed in Rio de Janeiro, all by a single bullet, all had mistresses, all seemed to be mediocre cops. Then the killer goes after the mistresses. Detective Espinosa, chief of Rio's 12th district has no leads, no clues, but he believes somebody is trying to send somebody a message with these killings. The killer dispatches two of the mistresses, but accidently killed the wrong woman when he went after Celeste Cardoso, mistress number three. Not wanting to meet the fate of the others, Celeste, Espinosa's only lead, vanishes.
As the case moves forward Detective Espinosa winds up getting involved with not only Celeste, but also with Serena Rodes, who witnessed the killer as he tossed the woman he mistook for Celeste out a window. Did I forget to mention Espinosa's sweetie Irene. Yes, I guess I did. Will Espinosa two time Irene and fall in bed with Celeste or Serrena? Will he find the killer before he kills Celeste? For that matter will he find the killer before he kills anyone again? Will he figure out the message the killer is trying to send and will he learn who he was trying to send it to? All questions that beg you to read this tightly writing Brazilian mystery noir. This book is dark and good and it reads as if it was originally written in English, that's how good the translation is in this, Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza's fourth Detective Espinosa mystery.
terrific police procedural November 14, 2004
Harriet Klausner
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The third assassination has shaken up the Rio de Janeiro police force because they are the targets of this brazen serial killer who shoots his victims from close range but so far has selected bottom of the barrel officers as targets. The killer twists his pattern when he next murders the two mistresses of the dead cops; he went for three but tossed the wrong woman out the window leaving one mistress alive who perhaps can identify this culprit that is if she can be found.
12th Precinct Inspector Espinosa heads the investigation that seems to be going nowhere. However, unlike his superiors who insist on he concentrate on the serial killer, Espinosa searches for the vanished mistress Celeste Cardoso not only in the hope she can provide information leading to the capture of the murderer but also to keep her safe. He also finds a witness step forward as the married Serena Rodes insists she saw the killer toss the victim out the window. Though trying to remain faithful to his Irene and stop the low keyed but deadly killing machine, Espinosa is sidetracked on both counts as the two women he vows to protect seem to compete on who can get him in bed first.
WINDOW IN COPACABANA is a terrific police procedural serial killer thriller as unique a tale as a reader will find and not just because of the location. The story line is action-packed as Espinosa works on the case in his crusty take no prisoners manner while finding the women quite the distracter (will he or will he not is the question). Luis Alfredo Garcia-Roza paints a fantastic who-done-it in a world filled with dishonesty and avarice.
Harriet Klausner
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