Normally, the prosecutor's office took care of cases of "drunken fights or domestic abuse, at the most some rape," but a case comes up in which a man is found dead in a most horrendous manner and lands on Chacaltana's desk. Punctilious and pedantic by nature, he knows every law, is familiar with every procedure and spends his days writing reports. Leaving behind a bad marriage, he jumps into his work with gusto. For most people, this would have been a step backward, or perhaps a demotion, but for Chacaltana, it's a return to his boyhood home. Like many other works of translated crime fiction, there's more than just a mystery at the heart of this book - most notably, there's the question of an uncertain future for Peru and its people.įélix Chacaltana Saldívar (Chalcatana) the main character of this novel, had requested and received a transfer to Ayacucho (which means "Place of the dead") from Lima in his role as a prosecutor. The year is 2000, when the official line is that "terrorism was eradicated and contines to be eradicated at the present time, " referring to the ongoing series of wars between the military and the Sendero Luminoso, or Shining Path. It is a novel steeped in violence and death, often gruesome in detail, and takes place largely in the city of Ayacucho, Peru. Red April is a mix of political thriller, whodunit and a commentary on the misuse of power in a nation teeming with corruption. "This place is doomed to be bathed in blood and fire forever"
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