“With every year that goes by, I feel more relaxed doing what I do. Choosing who deserves to die is still what takes the most time. The actual execution, however, seems to get easier with each one. The danger is getting careless. The bus driver’s death last year was perfect; nobody saw it or suspected that I was on the bus. I could feel him dying when his blood came gushing out on my hand. I need to control myself. The pleasure of destroying a useless life can cause me to stop being rational, and that could be my downfall.”
****

Always in August, when cold rain numbs desires, someone dies without explanation. The dread spreads and drives away tourists. Everyone wants to help: the retired police chief who has been delegated, the lawyer who admires Machado de Assis, the Old Atheist drunk, the Frenchwomen couple in the restaurant, the Czech who photographs doors and windows and even the woman who sells churros, but the secret is saved. Only one person is able to decipher the clues that can lead to the killer.

Marcelo Antinori is a Brazilian author currently living in Washington, DC. He has traveled all over the world overseeing social and economic projects. His experiences with different people and cultures are what allows him to create such unique and exotic characters.

Antinori is the author of The Last Flight of the Condor, The Hungarian Who Left Without Warning, Nine Stories of the Glass Mermaid, and The Bride of Paraty. He writes in English,
Spanish, and Portuguese.