Urgent Matters by Paula Rodriguez

Book Summary

The Yankees are more astute when it comes to matters like these. They say "not guilty". They don't say "innocent". Because as far as innocence goes, no one can make that claim.

A train crashes in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, leaving forty-three people dead. A prayer card of Saint Expeditus, the patron saint of urgent matters, flutters above the wreckage.

Hugo, a criminal on the run for murder, is on the train. He seizes his chance to sneak out of the wreckage unsuspected, abandoning his possessions - and, he hopes, his identity - among bodies mangled beyond recognition.

As the police descend on the scene, only grizzled Detective Domínguez sees a link between the crash and his murder case. Soon, he's on Hugo's tail. But he hasn't banked on everything from the media to his mother-in-law getting in the way.

This was a bit out of my usual comfort zone in terms of the genre and the fact that it was a translated book, but the description intrigued me and I am so glad I decided to try it. The writing flows really well and I ended up reading most of it in one day. I did find it a bit hard to keep track of all the side characters as many were introduced quite suddenly and I wasn't always sure how they fitted into the story, however this didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book.

It was really interesting to get the different points of view of the main characters, and I enjoyed being able to see the story from all sides, particularly as they are all so different. It's amazing how a varied perspective can alter what seems to be happening. The conclusion was left very slightly vague so that while I am pretty sure I know what happens next, it is still open to interpretation or at least hope for whatever the reader might want! I will be looking out for more of Paula's books in future, hoping they will also be translated.

Author Bio

Paula Rodríguez is a journalist, editor, writer, comedian, ghostwriter and feminist activist. She has worked for twenty-five years in magazine print journalism. Urgent Matters is her first novel. Paula lives in Buenos Aires.

Translator Bio

Sarah Moses is a writer and translator of French and Spanish. She co-translated Die, My Love by Ariana Harwicz, which was longlisted for the International Booker Prize, among other awards. Her translation of Agustina Bazterrica's Tender is the Flesh was published by Pushkin Press in 2020.

To start with, my apologies in advance to any Argentinians out there who might be horrified at my attempts here. I tried to find out a bit more about the Mate that they are always drinking in the book and found that the flavour resembles green tea and is often mixed with fruit juice, usually lime. So I've made a cocktail which uses both of those. My Urgent Matters cocktail is more of a Mate-inspired drink rather than any attempt to actually recreate it. 

Into a cocktail shaker, add 60ml rum, 60ml cold green tea, 30ml lime juice and a dash of sugar syrup. Shake with ice and pour into a glass full of ice. I think it turned out pretty well!