December heat - Luiz Alfredo Garcia Roza

A sultry December evening in Rio de Janeiro. A retired policeman spends a typically alcohol-fuelled night out with his girlfriend, a prostitute. When he wakes up the next morning, his wallet and car keys are missing, his lover has been murdered, and he can remember nothing of the previous night. Inspector Espinosa, veteran detective and friend of the ex-cop, is called in to investigate. It seems like an open-and-shut case, but Espinosa is convinced there's more here than meets the eye, and when three more people are murdered, he realises he has been following all the wrong

tracks . . .

Espinosa, sensitive and reflective, is not the typical sleuth. Running beneath this compelling crime narrative is a story of loneliness - the street children of Rio struggle through their muted day-to-day existence and a lonely detective is on a personal quest for love and fulfilment.