This is the second book about Inspector Hector Salgado and I think it was better than the first. You do need to read the first book or this one won't make any sense as the happenings in the first book are mentioned often in this book. I think I had a better understanding of Inspector Salgado as well.

Inspector Salgado is called in when a young woman commits suicide. Coincidentally another man in the company has also committed suicide just a few months before. A picture with these two people along with several others is found and the only thing they have in common is that they work for the same company. The Inspector does not believe these two deaths are coincides and begins an investigation into both. Parallel to this story is the continuing investigation of Inspector Salgado's ex-wife. There is a cliffhanger in this story, a big one. Normally I hate cliffhangers but in this case I think it fits since the one storyline is so neatly tied up. However I really hope Mr. Hill does not make us wait too long for the next book. ( )

This is the second book about Inspector Hector Salgado and I think it was better than the first. You do need to read the first book or this one won't make any sense as the happenings in the first book are mentioned often in this book. I think I had a better understanding of Inspector Salgado as well.

Inspector Salgado is called in when a young woman commits suicide. Coincidentally another man in the company has also committed suicide just a few months before. A picture with these two people along with several others is found and the only thing they have in common is that they work for the same company. The Inspector does not believe these two deaths are coincides and begins an investigation into both. Parallel to this story is the continuing investigation of Inspector Salgado's ex-wife. There is a cliffhanger in this story, a big one. Normally I hate cliffhangers but in this case I think it fits since the one storyline is so neatly tied up. However I really hope Mr. Hill does not make us wait too long for the next book. ( )

This is the second book about Inspector Hector Salgado and I think it was better than the first. You do need to read the first book or this one won't make any sense as the happenings in the first book are mentioned often in this book. I think I had a better understanding of Inspector Salgado as well.

Inspector Salgado is called in when a young woman commits suicide. Coincidentally another man in the company has also committed suicide just a few months before. A picture with these two people along with several others is found and the only thing they have in common is that they work for the same company. The Inspector does not believe these two deaths are coincides and begins an investigation into both. Parallel to this story is the continuing investigation of Inspector Salgado's ex-wife. There is a cliffhanger in this story, a big one. Normally I hate cliffhangers but in this case I think it fits since the one storyline is so neatly tied up. However I really hope Mr. Hill does not make us wait too long for the next book. ( )

This is the second book about Inspector Hector Salgado and I think it was better than the first. You do need to read the first book or this one won't make any sense as the happenings in the first book are mentioned often in this book. I think I had a better understanding of Inspector Salgado as well.

Inspector Salgado is called in when a young woman commits suicide. Coincidentally another man in the company has also committed suicide just a few months before. A picture with these two people along with several others is found and the only thing they have in common is that they work for the same company. The Inspector does not believe these two deaths are coincides and begins an investigation into both. Parallel to this story is the continuing investigation of Inspector Salgado's ex-wife. There is a cliffhanger in this story, a big one. Normally I hate cliffhangers but in this case I think it fits since the one storyline is so neatly tied up. However I really hope Mr. Hill does not make us wait too long for the next book. ( )

This is the second book about Inspector Hector Salgado and I think it was better than the first. You do need to read the first book or this one won't make any sense as the happenings in the first book are mentioned often in this book. I think I had a better understanding of Inspector Salgado as well.

Inspector Salgado is called in when a young woman commits suicide. Coincidentally another man in the company has also committed suicide just a few months before. A picture with these two people along with several others is found and the only thing they have in common is that they work for the same company. The Inspector does not believe these two deaths are coincides and begins an investigation into both. Parallel to this story is the continuing investigation of Inspector Salgado's ex-wife. There is a cliffhanger in this story, a big one. Normally I hate cliffhangers but in this case I think it fits since the one storyline is so neatly tied up. However I really hope Mr. Hill does not make us wait too long for the next book. ( )

I received this uncorrected galley from librarything.

For the most of this novel I was set on a 4 Star rating. The pacing seemed to taper off in the middle and I didn't feel like I was getting invested in the characters. As I got toward the end the pacing picked up, which was making me reconsider the rating a little. What really changed the rating was the fact that I started investing emotions in some of the characters and I saw the significance of the overwhelming number of perspectives. The kicker was that he stumped me on the mystery. I did not see that coming at all. That's a rarity for me. I usually know halfway in and I was still confused until it was revealed. If I could give this more than 5 Stars I would. All of my complaints melted away, and I was genuinely excited about finishing it.

This was my first experience with the author. I have not read the first in the series as they can be read as stand alone novels. Once I finished I immediately got on my library webpage and put The Summer of Dead Toys on hold. I look forward to reading it. I will absolutely recommend this novel. ( )

Suicides are not uncommon. Suicide by throwing yourself in front of a train is not that uncommon either. But this time something is off - there is no reason for that particular young woman to do that; there had been no indications. And when Selgado is called to the scene, he does not understand why he is there - a suicide is a suicide after all. Except when it is not.

This is how this novel starts - and if you had not read the first book in the series (as I had not) you need to play catch up fast - the backstory is mentioned but in a way that hints of expectation of knowing it. The seemingly easy crime turns into a big mess very fast and things take off.

As much as I enjoyed the mystery part of the story (for it is done in the old fashioned way that only European authors seem to risk anymore and I love), it is the setting of Barcelona and Spain that makes the book a pleasure to read. In some series even if they are set in a new place, the place remains generic. Here Spain shines.

I suspect I will pick up some more of the series - I enjoyed it enough for that. ( )

I received my copy of The Good Suicides through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. No other compensation was provided, and no one influenced my opinion of the book.

I had my doubts about requesting this one -- all the cover images are so ugly and off-putting. But I'm glad I overcame that squeamishness, because the book inside those covers turned out to be one of my favorites so far this year. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good, suspenseful whodunit. I haven't read the first Inspector Salgado book, and I think reading them in order might be a good idea -- at times, I was a little lost when I came upon references to that first work. And the separate mystery concerning the disappearance of Salgado's wife is rather intricate and tends to slow things down a bit. But it certainly didn't spoil my enjoyment of this second installment. Four stars. ( )

Early Review

This was a suprisingly good book - it was hard to guess what the actual outcome was going to be throught the entire text, even at the very end. It would have been better if I had read the first book as well, but it seems to stand on its own fairly well. I will certainly try to find the next book when it comes out. ( )

I met Inspector Hector Salgado last year, through Summer of Dead Toys. Our meeting was cordial, as two strangers often are when they first are introduced. His line of work is complex, dangerous; his intelligence strong, perceptive; his temper volatile. And by the end of things, his personal life was in an even deeper turmoil than at the start. I was hooked, but our relationship could not progress -- until I got a copy of The Good Suicides.

The Good Suicides is the second Salgado book by Antonio Hill (the first was translated by the author himself, who, when he is not writing novels, is a translator of English Language fiction into Spanish. I do not know which was the original language of this work,) When I closed the covers of the first book, I was hopeful that this could become a series rich with characters and depth as some of my favorites in this genre. Certainly there were enough interesting interactions between characters, enough realism, enough trueness in the relationships. Salgado, himself, seemed to be that intelligent, flawed central character, that draws me right in. But would it all continue to capture my reader's eye, mind, and heart? To put it simply, yes.

Barcelona skipped over autumn, and into winter with this book. On Reyes Night (which I looked up and I think is Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos, the night of the Three Kings' Parade/ Twelfth Night) a young woman throws herself from a train platform into the path of an oncoming train. Gristly, gruesome, and puzzling, as she has no motive. Also puzzling, because of a message found on her mobile phone "never forget", and a picture of three dead dogs hanging in a tree. As the investigation continues, it is discovered that a colleague of hers at work, who was on a retreat with her, also killed himself, and his family. Is there a connection between the suicides?

The secondary story line follows the disappearance of Salgado's wife, which occurred at the end of the first book. This, too, is an interesting arc, especially as it gives the opportunity for the reader to get to know Agent Leire Castro, also from the first book, a bit more. Also of interest to me were the several discussions by the characters of what makes a "good suicide".

And, once again, though certain questions are wrapped up at the end, Hill stirs the pot with more mystery to be chased down in another book. That will be my third date with Salgado. I'm pretty sure he won't stand me up.

Tags: an-author-i-read, blogging-for-books, made-me-look-something-up, not-a-cozy-mystery-more-a-thriller, part-start-of-a-series, read, taught-me-something, will-look-for-more-by-this-author

Many thanks to Blogging for Books, and to the publisher, for sending me a copy of The Good Suicide. ( )

I have never read The Summer of Dead Toys book one of the Inspector Hector Salgado books. However I have seen it around and thought about checking it out. Thus when I saw this book and read the premise of it, I thought ok now is the time to finally check this author out. I do have to say that I did like this author. I think Ms. Hill does have a good talent for writing and telling a good story. I did like this book. What I did not like was that even though the chapters and sections were quick reading, the overall story itself was kind of lacking in drama and had a lot of conversation and thus it made for a slow moving story. After a while I did find myself sort of skimming the rest of the book. The ending was fine. ( )

The Good Suicides, Antonio Hill
Crown Publishers
978-0-770-43590-5
$26, 352 pgs

“He’d always found it strange that the Church condemned them irrevocably. There was no justification that might absolve those who killed themselves. There were no good or bad suicides. The same punishment was inflicted on them all, without exception and without taking their previous path into account. Taking one’s life was the ultimate sin. But if we don’t even have that, what is left to us? Héctor said to himself…”

SPOILER ALERT - continue at your own risk. So everyone’s read my review of The Summer of Dead Toys which was posted Saturday, July 5th, yes? Excellent. If you haven’t read that one yet then you really should because there will be a couple of spoilers in this review of the sequel, or more precisely the second in a series.

Okay, The Good Suicides by Antonio Hill, translated from the Spanish by Laura McGloughlin, picks up the story of Inspector Héctor Salgado of the Mossos, Catalonia’s police force, approximately five months later. Ruth is still missing and there have been no clues as to what has happened to her so it seems as if she has simply vanished, ceased to exist in this dimension. Salgado is trying to function as a single father to Guillermo, still seeing his therapist, and attempting to adjust to his new partner, Agent Roger Fort. But don’t worry – Agent Castro is still here, just on maternity leave. See? I told you there were spoilers – go read the first book. Please and thank you.

The Good Suicides opens with just that, except probably not good: the suicide of a young woman on the tracks of the Barcelona underground metro. Agent Fort calls Inspector Salgado to the scene in the middle of the night and Salgado doesn’t understand why he’s there. It’s quite obviously a simple suicide. Right? Maybe not, some details nag, such as: Why does CCTV show the woman looking behind her as if she’s being pursued? And why is the woman’s cell phone reset to factory specs? In fact, there’s only one email containing a single line of text – NEVER FORGET. Curious, yes, but beyond frightening when the attachment turns out to be a photo of a tree festooned with the rigid bodies of three dead dogs. This suicide turns out not to be the first suicide and is quickly followed by a third and a fourth. All four have one thing in common – they all worked for the same company.

One of the things I appreciate about this new series is that it’s really rather old-fashioned. The stories are contemporary but the narrative structure and style recall Agatha Christie. In this age of no-detail-spared slasher flicks and derivative crime fiction that depends on the salacious misogynistic porn of abused and murdered women, it is a relief, and I am grateful, to have the gore merely implied. For example, the only reference to what must have happened to a body when run over by a train: “…he tried not to see the black plastic bags scattered over the track.” Very effective without shoving blood and guts in your face, yes?

The ensemble cast is back and they stay firmly and believably in character. This is the second thing I appreciate about Antonio Hill’s novels: his characters. This man writes very good women, which is regrettably rare, and every supporting player, protagonists and antagonists alike, is fully-fledged and complete, even the nut jobs. Unhealthy personalities interact in unpredictable ways but never in unrealistic ways.

In my review of The Summer of Dead Toys I told y’all that the subplot was unusual in that it wasn’t superfluous but actually necessary. That same subplot, tied to Ruth’s disappearance, continues throughout The Good Suicides. Agent Castro is bored to tears on maternity leave, waiting on the child to decide it’s time to say hello, so she begins to investigate Ruth’s case, to start over with fresh eyes. The bomb of a plot twist dropped on the last page, in fact the LAST SENTENCE, assures us that there will be a third Inspector Héctor Salgado novel. And Mr. Hill should be scribbling just as fast as he can. ( )

THE GOOD SUICIDES

By Antonio Hill

The email arrived with only two words written on the page NEVER FORGET accompanied with an attachment once opened the shocking appearance of three dogs hanging rigidly from a tree. ….And so begins the second novel of the Hector Salgado detective thrillers. The first installment entitled THE SUMMER OF DEAD TOYS introduced the detective investigating a case woven into the world of dark voodoo _targeting Salgado’s wife Ruth.
Translated from the Spanish bestsellers, Mr. Hill has created a world of dark souls seeking even darker answers to almost unfathomable deaths.

What made a quiet, young woman who minded her own business, never discussed her personal life at work suddenly kill herself by stepping in front of a subway train? That email is found on her computer along with the opened attachment. Her boss at a pharmaceutical company swears he knows of no reason why she would take her own live in such a morbid way but Inspector Salgado fears other wise. Tracing her past movements he discovers that the young woman Sara Mahler recently attended a company retreat. Coincidently, the estate which hosted the retreat is in close proximity to where the photo of the hanging dogs was taken.

Ingeniously, what follows is not only a trail of lies of sins that reach to realms not expected by those involved but to add insult to injury Inspector Salgado’s wife Ruth is missing. Assigned by chance to investigate the disappearance is a very pregnant detective challenged by her future motherhood limitations and her loyalty to the inspector.

Sometimes a but confusing with the introduction of new characters but the reader will forgive the author once the reason for their involvements in the various story lines is revealed.

Jim Munchel
http://www.nostranger2fiction.com ( )

This is the second book in the Inspector Salgado series. I have not read the first book in this series, The Summer of Dead Toys. I will be looking for this book so that I can get to know the characters better.

Hector Salgado is back to solve another crime. Are the deaths of some Alemany cosmetics employees suicide or murder? You have Sara who is seen in the train station by some people and they say that she jumped. One of the kids takes the ladies cell phone and when the picture is discovered they return it to the police. The picture is of dogs hanging on trees.

I was drawn in to the story from the beginning. Why did Sara kill herself? What happened to Inspector Salgado's wife Ruth? These are the mysteries that drew me into the Good Suicides. The ending was very surprising and kept me guessing until the very end. ( )

Disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Héctor Salgado is a police inspector from Argentina who lives and works in Barcelona, and this particular novel takes place six months after the disappearance of his estranged wife Ruth and the end of a particularly violent case that was featured in the first novel, The Summer of Dead Toys. Besides the case of Salgado's wife's disappearance, the novel focuses on the apparent suicides of several people who work for Alemany Cosmetics. That investigation slows the book down, I think, and I think it comes down to the fact that I didn't particularly feel invested in their stories.

My copy of the novel calls it a thriller, but only the first and last sections of the book feel thriller-esque in terms of pacing and reveals. I'm not sure what the marketing or book-categorization logic was for calling this a thriller (police procedural is not so catchy, perhaps?). It's a good police procedural, with the caveat that the Alemany Cosmetics investigation led by Salgado is just part of the story. The other and stronger part of the book is Leire Castro's unofficial investigation into Ruth's disappearance. Castro is an interesting character: she is a young, female detective young and about to give birth. She stands in contrast to the divorced and depressed Salgado, and what she eventually uncovers makes the story very powerful.

I was a very big fan of the first book in this series, The Summer of Dead Toys, and this book, the second in a proposed trilogy, was a solid entry but not as outstanding as the first novel.
Other reviews appear in EuroCrime (Laura), The Game's Afoot (Jose Ignacio), and crimepieces (Sarah).

This is the author's second book, after The Summer Of Dead Toys, and the second in the series. And it is a series that I think must be read in order or you will be more than a little confused..as I was. The first book introduces us to the characters that return in The Good Suicides and starts one or more storylines that continue in Th Good Suicides. So without reading the first one you have more than a litle catching up to do. And it also introduces you to the author's style of writing, introducing some facts which at first we don't understand and make no sense, only to be explained as the story unfolds. And the story in this book is very good.
Two employees of a small cosmetic company have killed themselves..one killing his wife and child first...and we know something sinister is lurking, something sinister that haunts a small group who months ago shared a company outing. Finding out what is going on is a great ride. ( )

In Barcelona a group of executives go away on a weekend retreat only to return with a bond for life. They return to work and not long after people begin to die by suicide. It is Inspector Hector Salgado who catches the case and so begins a mystery which will catch the reader off guard in the end. The Inspector and many of the other characters are not perfect. In fact, all seem to have problems as they go about their daily lives, yet we tend to like them. We are drawn into the environment around them without realising it.

The second in the series, THE GOOD SUICIDES, has elements from the first, yet is written as an independent story in and of itself. New readers easily follow along. To me, the writing style is more literary as opposed to most of the mysteries I've read in the past. Although it involves the murder mystery to solve, it is able to get the reader thinking about death and the impact it has on those around them. It asks us what would we do if we faced the loss of our possessions? Are they more important than the life we do not know? ( )

I was not able to get into this book. I saw that there were lots of great reviews on the internet, but it probably just not my type of book. I had a hard time keeping the characters straight and stopped in the middle. ( )

This book tells an original story, but is a slow moving mystery, not a thriller in spite of its title. It begins with an apparent murder/suicide committed by an employee of a Barcelona cosmetics company. A second suicide by a colleague of the presumed murderer causes Inspector Héctor Salgado and the rest of the police department to focus their investigation on the secrets of a small group of executives at the company. This case comprises the majority of the book, however a concurrent investigation involves the disappearance of Salgado's ex-wife. I didn't realize that this book was the second in a series, but it appears that this disappearance occurred in the first book and will carry on into the third. I do not know how much context I missed by not reading the first book, but I didn't really care about this case until the final chapters.

I don't think the author is really interested in an accurate portrayal of police procedure. Unless the Barcelona police are really lax, I can't believe they would tell a victim's roommate to search the victim's room for clues or that the police would ask some unrelated psychologist to identify an organization rather than using a police database (or just Google the name). In general, there is a certain randomness to their investigation.

Fortunately, more time is spent with the suspects than with the police. The suspects are a pretty unpleasant crew, but are more entertaining than the police. However, I am sorry that I had to read about the disturbing and repellant teenaged daughter of one of the suspects. The author seems to have mined a clinical psychology text and created a character based on each chapter - and there are a lot of characters.

My conclusion about this book is that the primary case is an interesting story but takes too long to progress, while the secondary case is frustrating and goes nowhere. It's not a bad read but I wasn't entranced.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. ( )

This book is a slow read, but a good one. The title confusing but once you get into the story, all is made clear. Being set in Barcelona Spain, there is a exotic feel to the story. Then there is also the other story about the missing wife of the investigater that will keep you guessing until the end. Pick it up and you will not be able to put it down. ...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED... ( )

Pleasant enough, but I found myself uninvolved with any of the myriad of characters. Ultimately up satisfying for me, I'm afraid. ( )

I won this book from librarything.com. Within months of a company team building trip, three employees die in apparent suicides. But questions begin to arise - were they really suicides or murders. Unique plot and interesting cast of characters. Highly recommend for thriller readers. ( )

I found this book to be fascinating, with intelligent writing that kept me reading on into the night. I am picking up The Summer of Dead Toys next! ( )

I found The Good Suicides to be a pretty compelling read, but I do wish I'd read the first novel in the series. (The book isn't marked as being part of a series, and probably should be, as it covers two mysteries--one of which began in the previous novel, and appears will be carried into another. I didn't understand why the unresolved mystery was woven into the book until I found out about the first book--and even then, I found it a bit irritating.)

The characters on the investigative side seem interesting, but we don't get to spend enough time with them. Those on the criminal side, well--supposedly they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and made some (ahem) questionable choices, but there seems to be a larger message about the douchey-ness of the corporate world.

The series is worth checking out for fans of mysteries not set in the U.S., the U.K., or somewhere Scandinavian, but do start with the first book. ( )

Three apparent suicides within months of each other, All employees if the same cosmetics company. We all know there are no coincidences in detective stories. Hector Salgado is the detective determined to find out what's going on.
At the same time there is an investigation into Hector's ex wife's disappearance.
There is suspense, even pacing and characters drawn with enough detail that we know who to like, who to have empathy with and who to be suspicious of.
An ending that needs a sequel. All in all a very good book.
I will definitely have to read the first book to fill in some blanks in this one. ( )