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Hot Sur by [Laura Restrepo, Ernesto Mestre-Reed]

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Laura Restrepo

Hot Sur Kindle Edition

by Laura Restrepo (Author), Ernesto Mestre-Reed (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

242 ratings

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From revered Colombian writer Laura Restrepo comes the smart, thrilling story of a young woman trying to outrun a nightmare.

María Paz is a young Latin American woman who, like many others, has come to America chasing a dream. When she is accused of murdering her husband and sentenced to life behind bars, she must struggle to keep hope alive as she works to prove her innocence. But the dangers of prison are not her only obstacles: gaining freedom would mean facing an even greater horror lying in wait outside the prison gates, one that will stop at nothing to get her back. Can María Paz survive this double threat in a land where danger and desperation are always one step behind, and safety and happiness seem just out of reach?

Print length

450 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Amazon Crossing
Publication date

October 1, 2015
File size

2155 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

María Paz, the heroine of Hot Sur, is marginalized. Falsely accused and victimized by the law and by those closest to her, she is alone in the world. But her spirit is stronger than any court order: she is resilient in the face of the horrors of prison life, able to survive and even thrive as an immigrant and a convict. Her story is slippery and uncertain. We learn the details from the perspective of each main character, building suspense and making the book impossible to put down.

I’ve been a fan of Laura Restrepo’s novels for years. Her characters are at once relatable and completely unfamiliar. They radiate humanity but not through familiar psychological explanations; their actions indicate complex motives, and they win our trust through their unpredictable circumstances and instinctive reactions. Known for her award-winning literary fiction, Restrepo brings lyrical and visual qualities to crime writing. Hot Sur gave me a new love for the genre, like hearing Johnny Cash cover a hit pop song—rich and rewarding, illuminating the true darkness buried deep within. I’ve never been closer to a serial killer and his prey, and there is nothing scarier than being forced to witness and understand both sides of a crime. I was consumed by this book, so emotionally engaged in María’s plight that I shared wholly in the catharsis of redemption as she emerged from the margins, swaying even the American justice system with the power of her truth.

This intense and beautiful novel has raised the bar on the serial killer thriller. Keep the lights on.

- Gabriella Page-Fort, Editor

About the Author

Laura Restrepo was born in Bogotá, Colombia. She has written numerous bestselling and prize-winning novels, including Leopard in the Sun, The Angel of Galilea, and Delirium. Her books have been published in over twenty languages.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00P1NO3HM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Crossing (October 1, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2155 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 450 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #724,171 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,825 in Women's Detective Fiction
- #2,831 in Serial Killers
- #4,030 in Hard-Boiled Mysteries (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
242 ratings

About the author

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Laura Restrepo

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Laura Restrepo was born in Bogotá, Colombia. She has written numerous bestselling and prize-winning novels, including Leopard in the Sun, The Angel of Galilea, and Delirium. Her books have been published in over twenty languages.

Customer reviews

5 star		20%
4 star		21%
3 star		15%
2 star		19%
1 star		25%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Immigrants on a sad search for the American dream

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2015

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This Kindle First selection for September has the advantage of being placed in the right category. It is correctly labeled as literary suspense, which lets readers know that they can expect a character driven theme that provides an insightful look into the human condition. The style of Hot Sur met my expectation but the power and quality of the writing was a surprise and I have just spent three days immersed in the lives and subculture of fascinating characters.

This tale is told from the point of view of a writer pulling information together for a book. The source material comes from interviews with one character, a manuscript by another and a notebook from a third. The tale is detailed and complex but the author manages to keep it flowing and to hold the reader’s attention by creating characters and situations that ring true.

There is mystery, suspense and horror in this tale but it is the slow unfolding of the story with anecdotal digressions that gives depth to the characters. The story centers around Maria Paz, whose mother leaves Colombia and her daughters to go ahead and find a better life for them in American. Her daughters follow and the readers get to see the difficulties of poor immigrants compounded by their illegal status and fear of authorities and deportation. It is a timely topic and presented very well. There are many layers to the story including religious fanaticism and the resulting mayhem caused by it. It is not an easy book to put down until one reaches the satisfying conclusion.

77 people found this helpful

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blazie

Quality literature from Kindle First

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2015

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Hot Sur is a superbly crafted novel with a complex plot, rich, fascinating characters and a thought-provoking view of life in America.I don't write many reviews but feel compelled to review this book because it has received a number of poor reviews. If you are going to read this book, and I highly recommend that you do, then do not expect a light weight, mindless quick read. Expect instead to be taken on a journey through the minds of several characters, to see life as they see it, to feel what they are feeling. The story will unfold slowly through many pages that describe the details of their lives.
There will be readers who find that this book is beyond their level of reading comprehension, or is not the quick entertainment they want. I would hope that those readers would realize that their disappointment is not due to any fault of the book. And I ask these people, if you went to a fancy French restaurant, would you give it a bad review if the restaurant failed to slap a greasy paper wrapped burger in front you in 30 seconds or less?
Thank you, Kindle First, for offering this book.

12 people found this helpful

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This is a book you have to slog through

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2015

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This was my Kindle First selection for September and I have to say, I kind of wish I had picked another book. I'm sure part of the issue is it's translated into English, but still, this book is a ponderous read until the final third. The author gets sidetracked so often - she might start out with a character talking about seeing someone the day before but then she'll veer off and describe what the character had for dinner and how that made her think of her mother and then there is a long story about the mother that has nothing to do with the plot. It's kind of a murder mystery but you get so bogged down in narrative that you really don't care. I slogged through until the narrative got tighter - almost like the last third was written by someone else. I didn't really like any of the characters. It was OK so I gave it 3 stars but honestly, I can't much recommend this book unless you love detail ad nauseum. Me, I like a tighter narrative. And the bummer is that I chose this book for diversity reasons and felt that the culture part was almost an afterthought.

3 people found this helpful

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Jaime B.

Slow moving and poorly edited.

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2015

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I consider myself an avid and advanced reader. I completed 4 years of grad school and read some boring textbooks, but I found this hard to get through. Three was one paragraph that didn't break for over three plus pages.
The plot takes a very long time to build, and I really don't relate to or appreciate the heroine. She is naive, stupid, reckless and weak. I would not recommended this for any light reading. The plot is of a junky murder mystery/criminal mind nature but the editing and slow pace didn't make it enjoyable for me.

4 people found this helpful

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MMK

HOT SUR - Kindle 1st Selection for September. For fans of TV show like Orange is the New Black backstories of inmates

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2015

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HOT SUR - Kindle 1st Selection for September. For fans of TV like Orange is the New Black backstories of inmates. Usually I wait until there are a few reviews in from the Kindle First Selections, but I read the description on this one on the bottom of the list, and it sounded like an episode from the Netflix Series of Orange is the New Black, so I picked this one right away. Its a story told from 3 POV characters: one a son's journal, one a
manuscript for a prisoner's story, and another of the father of the son who wrote the journal. Talks a lot about our prison system, immigrants in the US, their struggles to come to America for a better life, how they are thought of and treated: "the American Dream", and the reality once they get here, how they struggle to survive. It starts out in a small town in the mountains of New York, 10 minutes from a women's prison in the middle of a forest, (like a medieval castle), with the deranged murder of a dog food delivery guy, and it goes from there. I love these kinds of stories because we always see a prisoner that deserves to be punished and the key thrown away. But what got them to this point that they commit this act which they end up in prison? And then what if they are innocent? Why did they commit this atrocious crime, or did they actually do it, or was it a cover up for something much larger? Part horror, part mystery, and part possible romance. . . Great writing and descriptions.

13 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

M. Dowden

Quite An Enjoyable Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2015

Verified Purchase

I will readily admit that I don’t think this book will be for everyone as some will find it too long winded and thus get bored, and indeed in some ways it does jump around a bit, being full of ideas some of which never really go that far.

We start off thirty years in the past and then come up to the present day. The story is told in a multiple narrative form as we have interviews with one character and diaries and written memoirs from others. In the main this story takes place in the US and involves immigrants, some being American born with their parents from abroad, and others migrating, being allowed to stay legally, or being illegally in the country. As such we see a dark side of life, one where the American Dream never comes to fruition.

With a psychopath, and a woman in prison for something she seemingly never did we see how their stories intertwine and involve others. Looking at religion and fanaticism this does diverge onto other subjects at times, which does make you think more about certain things, but ultimately comes back to the main gist of the tale. In some places this is a disturbing tale whereas in others more of a traditional type story, but despite its wandering at times this does make for quite a compelling read that I did find rather enjoyable.

6 people found this helpful

It drove me bananas

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

I bought this from First Read selection and it sounded promising as I enjoy a good thriller, murder mystery. I have only just got round to reading this, or trying to. The first chapter/prologue was intriguing - some kind of initiation ceremony. The next part not so. It was an interview with the father of the murdered character. It rambled, it reminded me of an annoying neighbour/old aunt who starts talking about one thing, digresses, rambles on to another topic before coming back to the original subject before digressing again. I try very hard not to stop reading a book once I've started it, in fact I have only given up on one three chapters before the end because it was ludicrous. I gave this one a go but gave up less than a quarter of the way through because I like to enjoy a book but this one drove me to distraction. I hasten to add this is purely a personal opinion and others may find it better once they get further into the book.

A. Smith

Different!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2015

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Not really sure what rating to give this book. It is well written but I am wondering if the spelling mistakes and many typos were the fault of the translator or the final proof-reader as there are many superfluous words.
Also not too sure if I liked the style of writing as many long passages were just narrative, with little or no dialogue. The characters had life and were believable although there were times when the narrative of various characters strayed from the main point they were trying to make. (A little like Ronnie Corbetts sketches when he rambled from one subject to another without actually getting to the point of the story - except this was certainly not a comedy!)
It is a tale of angst, sorrow, death, betrayal, love, crime, cruelty all taking place in various settings, including inside a women's prison in USA. There were times when I wondered if I would get to the end of the tale as it took twists and turns that weren't expected but it shows what a good writer Laura Restrepo is in that I definitely had to finish it. I hope she gets a better proof-reader for her next book as her work is definitely worth a better standard from the publisher.

Tremse

A slow burner but a compelling read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2015

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Although I was intrigued from the first page it wasn't until a couple of chapters in that the characters really came alive. Told from a number of different viewpoints the story slowly but surely wove into a bigger picture - a tale of damaged childhood, religion, sex, corruption, desire - it's all in there and becomes a compelling read.

This author was new to me but I enjoyed the attention to detail and the way the characters slowly became so familiar to the reader over the course of the book that by the end it felt more like a book about real events than a novel. A slow burner yes, but stick with it, it's worth the journey.

One person found this helpful

annnei

Good intriguing read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2015

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I was not sure about this book at first as it was not my style of reading but I persevered with it and enjoyed it. Each chapter has you on the edge of your seat and it is a long and complex storyline. At times it was quite grotesque but I like the way the author took the story with many twists and turns. I would recommend this book only to those who like ritualistic murder stories.