Hi all:
I don’t bring you a review, strictly, today, because the author, whose work I’ve had the pleasure of reading and enjoying in the past, got in touch with me at an early stage of the book’s creation, asking for my feedback, so the final novel has seen some changes since, and I wouldn’t be able to offer a detailed account of it, but even in its early stages it was such an extraordinary book, that I had to share with you a few thoughts, and the details of it as well.
See what you think:
Alejandro’s Lie by Bob Van Laerhoven
Terreno, 1983, Latin America. After a dictatorship of ten years, the brutal junta, led by general Pelarón, seems to waver.
Alejandro Juron, guitarist of the famous poet and folk singer Victor Pérez who’s been executed by the junta, is released from the infamous prison “The Last Supper.” The underground resistance wants Alejandro to participate in its fight again. But Alejandro has changed.
Consumed with guilt by the death of his friend Victor, whom he betrayed to his tormentors, Alejandro becomes the unintended center of a web of intrigue that culminates in a catastrophic insurrection and has to choose between love and escape.
A love story, a thriller and an analysis of the mechanisms that govern a dictatorship, Alejandro’s Lie is a gripping novel about violence, betrayal, resistance, corruption, guilt and love.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09C225YJ2/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09C225YJ2/
https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B09C225YJ2/
About the Author
A fulltime Belgian/Flemish author, Laerhoven published 43 books in Holland and Belgium. Some of his literary work is published in French, English, German, Slovenian, Italian, Polish, and Russian. Four time finalist of the Hercule Poirot Prize for Best Mystery Novel of the Year with the novels “Djinn”, “The Finger of God”, “Return to Hiroshima”, and “The Firehand Files”. Winner of the Hercule Poirot Prize for “Baudelaire’s Revenge,”which also won the USA Best Book Award 2014 in the category “mystery/suspense”.
In 2018, Crime Wave Press published “Return to Hiroshima”, after “Baudelaire’s Revenge” his second novel in English translation.
His collection of short stories “Dangerous Obsessions,” first published by The Anaphora Literary Press in the USA in 2015, was hailed as “best short story collection of 2015” by the San Diego Book Review. The collection is translated in Italian, (Brazilian) Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.
In 2018, The Anaphora Literary Press published “Heart Fever,” a second collection of short stories. “Heart Fever,” written in English by the author, is a finalist in the Silver Falchion 2018 Award in the category”short stories collections”. Laerhoven is the only non-American finalist of the Awards. The quality English book site Murder, Mayhem & More chose “Return to Hiroshima” as one of the ten best international crime books of 2018. In August 2021, Next Chapter published a third novel in English: “Alejandro’s Lie,” set in a fictitious Latin American dictatorship.
https://www.amazon.com/Bob-Van-Laerhoven/e/B00JP4KO76/
Here, my thoughts about the novel, and links to the reviews of two of his other novels:
Alejandro’s Lie is a lyrical novel that will resonate with readers familiar with the history of many countries (not only South-American) that have suffered under the rule of dictatorships and corrupt governments. A gripping plot, beautifully written, filled with characters trying to remain true to themselves in impossible situations while confronting evil, which will touch the hearts of all who read it. It’s a fabulous story, full of tragedy, wonder, and magic.
You can access my review of Baudelaire’s Revenge here.
And here, my review of Return to Hiroshima.
Thanks to Bob for thinking about me and sending me an early copy of his fabulous new novel, thanks to all of you for reading, and remember to stay safe, and to keep reading, laughing, and enjoying every day of your lives. Take care!
