Customer Reviews

Water-Blue Eyes (Eurocrime)

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Gagged and tied to his own bed, it was clear that the victim, jazz saxophonist Luis Reigosa, had died in excruciating pain. Far less clear to Inspector Leo Caldas, as he looked about the crime scene, was how the man had been killed. The skin of the victim's stomach and thighs was one blackened bruise while the man's testicles "were the size of raisins." No, for the cause of death the inspector would have to wait for the autopsy report. Meanwhile, he noted the framed poster copy of Hopper's painting Hotel Room on the wall, a philosophy book by Hegel and a mystery by Andrea Camilleri on the nightstand, and bookshelves packed with crime novels. Such "an undignified death for a musician with an interest in philosophy", the Caldas thought, while another detective pointed out that anyone should see that the victim's artistic tastes tagged him as " 'a friend of Dorothy's.' "

Domingo Villar's tautly drawn police procedural, "Water-blue Eyes" (expertly translated by Martin Schifino) takes place in the municipality of Vigo in Galicia on the Atlantic coast of northwest Spain. The setting itself is brilliantly presented with the crime scene placed in a gated community on the island of Toralla. The mixture of city streets and coastal beaches with their varied attractions adds its own allure to this excellent series debut which introduces Inspector Leo Caldas, who is definitely one of the most intriguing new detectives to appear on the crime fiction scene in recent years. The Inspector is well known to the fictional public of Vigo as the radio star of "Patrol on the Air," a public relations effort that allows citizens to phone in to the show and speak directly with the police. In addition, Caldas has been assigned to ride herd on Rafael Estévez, an impetuous officer transferred to Vigo from Zaragoza as punishment for unknown sins. Outside of his official persona, Caldas has a somewhat fractured private life. His girlfriend, Alba, has apparently just walked out, but he has a good relationship with his father, who lives on his vineyard outside of the city and believes city dwellers "slip into moral decline when they lack the time to enjoy a glass of wine in the shade."

Villar has produced a stunningly good mystery with an investigation that reaches from the gay bars in Vigo's urban core to its secluded estates along the coast. In just 167 pages, "Water-blue Eyes" captures the pulse of this Galician region with grit, humor, and a well-tuned ear for dialogue. Winner of both the Brigada 21 Prize for Best First Crime Novel and the Sintagma Prize, I highly recommend this mystery gem and definitely plan to buy the next Inspector Caldas title, "Death on a Galician Shore".