Synopses & Reviews
The third English language case for Mexico City independent detective Hector Belascoaran Shayne, No Happy Ending, is Paco Ignacio Taibo II at his subversive, darkly comic best. First, Hector discovers the body of a dead actor, dressed like a Roman in full breastplate and regalia, propped up on the toilet in his office. Shortly thereafter, he receives a threatening letter and a snapshot of another murdered corpse. As Hector investigates the killings, he discovers that both share a connection to a dead stuntman named Zorak who apparently perished while training a government-backed paramilitary group. Once again, the one-eyed anarchist detective finds himself up against the very institutions which persecute the downtrodden and oppress the masses. In typical Taibo fashion, Hector appears destined to lose: the ending to this remarkable absurdist tale shows his bullet-ridden body lying face down in the gutter during a rainstorm.
Synopsis
Praise for No Happy Ending... "The real enchantment of Mr. Taibo's storytelling art lies in the 'wild and melancholy' tango of life he sees everywhere." -New York Times review of Some Clouds "This existential tale shows off Taibo's ruminative and melancholy detective at his rawest and most surprising." -Publishers Weekly First, Dectective Hector Belascoaran Shayne discovers the body of a dead actor, dressed like a Roman in full breastplate and regalia, and propped up on the toilet in his office. Shortly thereafter, he receives a threatening letter and a snapshot of another murdered corpse. As Hector investigates the killings, he discovers that both share a connection to a dead stuntman named Zorak who apparently perished while training a government-backed paramilitary group. Once again, the one-eyed anarchist detective finds himself up against the very institutions that persecute the downtrodden and oppress the masses. In typical Taibo fashion, Hector appears destined to lose.... Paco Ignacio Taibo II has lived in Mexico City since 1958 when his family fled from Spain to escape the fascist dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Considered the founder of the neopolitical genre in Latin America, his novels featuring Mexican private investigator Hector Belascoaran Shayne are among his most popular works.