Betty Boo

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By Claudia Piñeiro & Miranda France

Publisher Description

The Times (London):
“Not for nothing is Claudia Piñeiro Argentina’s most popular crime writer. Betty Boo is original, witty and hugely entertaining; it mixes murder with love, political power and journalism. Delightful characters include a morose veteran hack and a young trainee known only as Crime Boy. Iscar falls in love and the homicide count has moved up the ladder of Argentine politicians."

Booklist:
"Those willing to take the time to enjoy the style and the unusual denouement will find themselves wondering why more crime authors don’t take the kinds of risks Piñeiro does."

Publishers Weekly:
"At the start of this thought-provoking mystery from Piñeiro (A Crack in the Wall), maid Gladys Verela arrives at the Maravillosa Country Club, where industrialist Pedro Chazaretta has a house on the grounds. In the living room, Gladys spots Chazaretta sitting in a chair, apparently asleep, but in fact his throat has been slit. In Piñeiro’s artful hands, each of her investigators learns as much about himself or herself as about the murder on the way to the surprising, perfectly executed ending."

Book Riot:
"Piñeiro is AWESOME. Her books are dark, have buckets of atmosphere, and they all feel entirely different even though she revisits some of the same issues again and again. She deals with the culture and social structure within gated communities; shows how walling ourselves in seems safer, but actually promotes fear and claustrophobia; she deals with gender roles and prejudice and economic class and long-held secrets that fester."

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8 Reviews

4.0

Rain

Created 9 months ago

“The authors writing style which is lengthy paragraphs containing a variety of thoughts,and dialogue without the of quotation marks—is hard at first, but you get used to it. Continue reading - it is worth the effort. This is a top favourite for 2017. I was very sad when the story ended. I didn't want it to, and I hope the author does another book with the two main characters.”

Books By Bindu

Created over 2 years ago

“‘Betty Boo’ is an Argentinian ‘whodunit’ that is a slow burn of a novel that creeps along until it has got its hooks well and truly into the reader. It isn’t until about 50% into the book that the action picks up and some solving gets done but the book before then is all about building the characters and settings and I enjoy this type of book immensely. It can take awhile to get a feel for the book as the spoken dialogue runs into each characters response with no line breaks etc. However, once you realise this and go with it, it turns out to feel quite natural. The reader feels as if they are in the room where the action is taking place! This book is more about the characters than the crime. I loved every character that was on was the ‘team’ - Brera, Crime Boy, and of course Betty Boo! I particularly enjoyed the section which delved into the historical background of the eponymous Betty Boo and it was fascinating, especially for me as I am obsessed with flappers! I also thought the vulnerability of Nurit was extremely well portrayed - I couldn't imagine how an author would feel receiving a negative review of a book it would be devastating. I also loved the passage when she is taking stock over how her body looks in her 50s - a very frank look at how we look at ourselves as we grow older. Brilliant! This was the first time I thought I had read this author but no I when I was reading a bit about them I realised that I had just read ‘Elena Knows’ which was on the longlisr for the International Book Prize this year. They are completely different stylistically writing wise and it has made me understand how talented a writer she is! Completely different but equally as good. Let me know if you pick this one up!”

Nouf M

Created about 6 years ago

“An adult crime novel. Interesting protagonist, and it's not all about the mystery. The long sentences and minimal punctuation reminds me of Gamal El-Ghitani's writing style.”

Yuliya Mihalik

Created over 6 years ago

Hoda Fadl

Created over 6 years ago

About Claudia Piñeiro

Author: Piñeiro, after working as a professional accountant, became a journalist, playwright and television scriptwriter and in 1992 won the prestigious Pléyade journalism award. She has more recently turned to fiction; All Yours (finalist for the 2003 Planeta Prize) was her debut novel. Other titles include Elena Sabe, Un ladrón entre nosotros (winner of the Norma-Fundalectura Youth Literature Prize) and Thursday Night Widows.

Translator: Miranda France wrote Bad Times in Buenos Aires which in essay form won the Shiva Naipaul Memorial Prize in The Spectator magazine. A book by the same title was published in 1998 and met with great critical acclaim. The New York Times described it as 'a remarkable achievement' and the Sunday Times as 'an outstanding book'. She has also written the novel That Summer at Hill Farm.