There Are No Happy Loves by Sergio Olguin

 

Name of Book: There are no happy loves 

Author: Sergio Olguin 

ISBN: 978-1-913394-71-4

Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press 

Part of a Series: Veronica Rosenthal Mystery (The Fragility of Bodies and The Foreign Girls are prequels) 

Type of book: 2010s, Argentina, mystery, crime, Buenos Aires, conflicts, relationships, break ups, ties to previous two books, church, drugs, body trafficking 

Year it was published: 2022 (In Argentina 2016)

Summary:

The third in Olguin’s Buenos Aires thriller series starring the gutsy, raunchy investigative reporter Veronica Rosenthal. 

Haunted by nightmares of her past, Veronica is soon involved in a new investigation. Darío, the sole survivor of a car accident that supposedly killed all his family, is convinced that his wife and child have in fact survived and that his wife has abducted their child. Then a truck searched in the port of Buenos Aires on suspicion that it is carrying drugs, is revealed to be transporting human body parts. These seemingly separate incidents prove to be tied in a shadowy web of complicity involving political and religious authorities. 

This is a dazzling thriller but also a story about the possibilities of love, in which jealousy, eroticism, humor and even elusive moments of happiness make an appearance.

Characters:

Main characters in the story are Veronica and Federico. Veronica Rosenthal is a woman of cultural Jewish background who is best described as impulsive, passionate and who loves to live life. She has a sense of fairness and will do whatever it takes to bring villain to justice. She comes from a wealthy family and has connections. She is also complicated and I liked how one of the reviewers described as having a stereotypical masculine personality. Federico used to work for Veronica's father until the events of the previous book and has always crushed and liked Veronica. He tends to be analytical, a bit cool headed and conflicted about himself as well as his feelings towards Veronica. He is also seen as the Rosenthal family's unofficial brother/son-in-law. There are plenty of secondary characters such as Dario and his quest to find his beloved toddler daughter as well as numerous corrupted high officials and Veronica's co-workers and girlfriends and even Federico's therapist makes an appearance. 

Theme:

There are always unfinished deals

Plot:

This is written in third person narrative primarily from Federico's and Veronica's points of view. I think in this one the author hits the stride, finding a perfect balance between the impetuous Veronica versus the analytical Federico. There are a few other characters, but they tend to quickly fade into background. Like the previous two novels, this one also juxtaposes wealth and crime, although this time its exploring the church corruption and how far it reaches, which is pretty heartbreaking. Because I haven't lived nor been in Argentina, I do wish in some cases the author would have added in a lot more details on how the characters jumped to the conclusions they did. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

N/A
Opinion:

Third book and there is no slackening of the pacing the story exhibits. I was seriously thrilled when I learned that the third book in Veronica Rosenthal Mysteries was going to be released this year, and my excitement was warranted, although I have a strong feeling that I should possibly re-read the first two books. In my opinion the third book definitely requires the re-read of the prequels mainly because there are multiple allusions to events or people from the last two books. (Anyone remember the train driver from the first book? One of the characters is related to him) and there are references and continuation of events from the second book, Foreign Girls as well as a limbo between Veronica and the man she sees as either a brother and/or a lover. Unlike the last two books, I think this is the more heartbreaking novel of the trilogy mainly because of the endings,  and it doesn't really feel as if the story is finished because certain threads are left untied. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)