Silvia Moreno-Garcia seems to be on a mission to prove that she can write in any register. She has delivered some great science-fiction (The Daughter of Doctor Moreau), gothic (Mexican Gothic), fantasy (The Beautiful Ones) and horror (Silver Nitrate and The Bewitching). But some of her best books have been her historical novels – Velvet was the Night and The Seventh Veil of Salome. Her latest book The Intrigue is an historical noir, set in Mexico in 1943 and centring around a not particularly good conman trying to score in a small coastal town.
The Intrigue opens on Ulises (not his real name) down on his luck in Mexico City. Ulises is the son of a successful con artist and has followed his father into the trade of conning wealthy women out of their money. Ulises does this mainly through the mail, praying on lonely women who are looking for companionship. With a last throw of the dice he heads to a town called Puerto Ahogado in Veracruz to romance a woman called Perla who runs a boarding house. But soon Inés, Perla’s niece, who works in the boarding house, is onto him and seeks to be part of the plan so she can escape from her hated aunt. The only problem is that Ulises is not a particularly good conman, Inés is pushing him to be a little more violent, and it turns out that Perla is not so easily fooled and moreover has dark secrets of her own.
As with many of her books, Moreno-Garcia draws her inspiration from Mexican story telling traditions. In this case the traditions of the costumbrista – authors who focus on the customs, habits and idiosyncrasies of the lower and middle classes – and of course the telenovela (soap opera). She also notes that the 1940s is when Mexican detective and crime fiction emerged including the creation of the first Latin American woman detective by an author called María Elvira Bermúdez. It is also the “golden age” of noir cinema.
All of this is just inspiration for an engaging and twisted noir tale of con artists, seduction, strivers, manipulators and revenge plays. Moreno-Garcia once again delivers a main cast of complex, likeably unlikeable characters and a plot that zigs just when readers think it is going to zag. And being a costumbrista plenty of atmospheric detail that brings both Mexico City and the little town of Puerto Ahogado to life. The Intrigue is yet another great read from a constantly surprising and versatile author.
The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
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I’ve just ordered this book!