Reviews

Urgent Matters by Paula Rodríguez

charlottethebookharlot's review

4.0

A train crash in Buenos Aires, a police officer chasing a suspect and a mother and daughter on the run. Lives collide in this fast paced thriller.

Pushkin Verigo has quickly become my go to for crime fiction from around the world and I'm yet to be disappointed. Urgent Matters starts almost midway through a story so I felt like I was immediately pulled into the chase by Detective Dominguez to catch his suspect whilst simultaneously being pulled into the lives of his family and friends. A thrilling and fast paced crime novel 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

tine200's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

niatate's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

edgwareviabank's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Urgent Matters isn't quite a crime or mystery novel, or even a detective story: all the crimes that go to influence the plot are presented as context and backstory, and the book kicks off when a different type of tragedy (a train crash) has just struck
 
The story is all about the way characters live the aftermath of the crash. A wanted criminal takes the opportunity to disappear. His partner takes refuge at the house of her compulsively religious sister (who sells sex toys and works at a casino), and their teenage daughter has something to hide. An overbearing matriarch, an accomplice, and several cops at various levels of incompetence and corruption complete the cast. Competing journalists with motives and ambitions of their own try to capture everything that takes place.

The unraveling of everyone's plans, secrets, fears, and contradictions creates a somber and reflective mood, and a complex web of relationships that is very interesting to dig into. Upon reaching the end, the characters felt very familiar, and I was left with a lot of curiosity to learn how their lives would go on.

amothersmusings1's review

3.0

URGENT MATTERS” by Paula Rodríguez 

• “A train crashes in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, leaving forty-three people dead. A prayer card of Saint Expeditus, the patron saint of urgent matters, flutters above the wreckage. Hugo, a criminal on the run for murder, is on the train. He seizes his chance to sneak out of the wreckage unsuspected, abandoning his possessions and he hopes, his identity - among bodies mangled beyond all recognition. As the police descend on the scene, only grizzled Detective Domínguez sees a link between the crash and his murder case. Soon, he's on Hugo's tail. But he hasn't banked on everything from the media to Hugo's mother-in-law getting in the way……” 

Written by Paula Rodríguez and professionally translated from Spanish by Sarah Moses, this was a quick read for me, coming in at just under two hundred pages. “Urgent Matters” is a unique story and is told from several of the characters points of view, who each have very differing opinions and explanations of events. I’d describe this police procedural as being very character driven, with each character being completely unlike in nature to each other, even though they are interconnected closely and the detecting element although prominent, becoming secondary.  

As a debut novel, the author has written a fine story highlighting the disturbing police and government corruption and their hold on the media and as a vocal activist herself, she is perfectly placed to comment about social issues in modern Argentina. 

Well worth a read for the more discerning crime reader, this suspenseful and thought provoking novel is aptly titled and will appeal to many. 

“An electric Argentinian literary noir for fans of Steph Cha, K Ferrari and Claudia Pineiro” 

Thank you to Kate at Pushkin Press for inviting me on this tour and for my copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased opinion. 

saccalai's review

4.0

This was a bit out of my usual comfort zone in terms of the genre and the fact that it was a translated book, but the description intrigued me and I am so glad I decided to try it. The writing flows really well and I ended up reading most of it in one day. I did find it a bit hard to keep track of all the side characters as many were introduced quite suddenly and I wasn't always sure how they fitted into the story, however this didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book.

It was really interesting to get the different points of view of the main characters, and I enjoyed being able to see the story from all sides, particularly as they are all so different. It's amazing how a varied perspective can alter what seems to be happening. The conclusion was left very slightly vague so that while I am pretty sure I know what happens next, it is still open to interpretation or at least hope for whatever the reader might want! I will be looking out for more of Paula's books in future, hoping they will also be translated. 

https://sabrinasbooktails.blogspot.com/2022/11/urgent-matters-by-paula-rodriguez-book.html

bookaddictjax's review

medium-paced

2.0