Pintor Noche

by Cassandra Duffy

Barcelona is burning! The police are powerless to discover the identity of the Pintor Noche, the Night Painter, who has turned the summer of 1905 into an arsonist’s masterpiece. In desperation Inspector Esperanza seeks out Desdemona, the daughter of his legendary former mentor and predecessor Inspector Amina. Implementing the latest in forensic science, Desdemona teams up with the Inspector to hunt down the Pintor Noche before one of his fiery works of art consumes the entire city . With the help of her painter paramour, Santene, and a roguish French journalist, Yvette, Desdemona struggles to navigate the perilous worlds of the aristocracy, Sephardic gangsters, and secret societies to chase the ghost of a man who paints with fire.

Genres: Mystery

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2017

About the author

Cassandra Duffy spent most of her childhood being precocious, which stopped being entertaining or impressive when she grew into an adult, at which point she had to start being precious. After being an outcast child prodigy it was no surprise when she graduated from one of the many fine University of California schools a year early to follow her girlfriend in a cross country move.
She writes a free-lance sex advice column found in various lesbian magazines and dating websites. Her short story collections and novels can be found on her website.
Two of her greatest prides are being a true California girl and author of some truly naughty things. She is a dutiful partially-Asian daughter who is beloved by her fairly traditional Korean father who thinks having a gay daughter is just fine as long as she keeps playing coed flag football. She is a stereotypical younger sister, and an adoring aunt of a hilarious little boy. Being a modern techno-freak, gamer-girl, she spent most of her childhood dreaming of being a video game designer, but changed her mind and brought her dreams of world building and story-weaving to writing unique romance novels.
Cassandra is a gleefully monogamous girlfriend to an earthbound goddess who was once her high school bully, but has done a magnificent job of making up for all the school girl nastiness ever since. When she isn't being an avid fang girl (vampire fan girl) or tormenting people in online gaming, she lives and writes in Winter Park, Florida with her partner and soul mate Nichole and their two cats: Dragon and Josephine.

Reviews

[lov2laf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. "Pintor Noche" is a historical whodunit with an old-timey feel of old school mysteries. The story takes place in Barcelona, Spain around the turn of the twentieth century and stars a unique protagonist, Desdemona.

When Inspector Esperanza cannot identify or apprehend a serial arsonist he enlists the help of Desdemona, the daughter of an acclaimed law man and a worthy private detective in her own right. She's a strong willed lead who excels in rational thought and methodical deduction. She also has a penchant for mechanical tinkering and invention which lends her an extra air of cleverness. The fact that Desdemona is of Moroccan descent with brown skin and a woman in charge of herself at a time when women had no rights gives her intriguing advantages and disadvantages as she pursues her leads. For better or worse, Inspector Esperanza acts as her tag team partner throughout the book and they make for an interesting duo.

The tone of the book is serious but it's not grisly or dark. The plot steadily moves forward towards the climax but there's a certain lack of urgency, too. I didn't have a feeling of impending doom with life or death hanging in the balance for the majority of the book. By no means does that mean the book is boring or slow. It's important the arsonist gets caught so it makes for an interesting and entertaining story line but it's not a nail biter.

There's a romantic air to the read both because of how it's written and the fact that it takes place in Barcelona. Overall, I found the narrative to be richly descriptive and, from what I gather, well-researched. I highlighted many passages that stuck out to me as wonderfully written.

I also liked that Desdemona is already in a relationship and remains so throughout the book. Her girlfriend, Santene, acts as a calming force and counter balance to our lead. They are very much devoted to each other and their relationship has a presence, with Santene helping Desdemona and Inspector Esperanza at times, but the relationship itself is not the driving force of the plot.

I've read a handful of Duffy's books now and my impressions are all over the map. I adored "Eternal Autumn" and enjoyed "The Gunfighter and the Gearhead" but had issue with some of her other works. She's hit upon an interesting mix of genres: dystopian steampunk western, fantasy, sci-fi, and erotica. "Pintor Noche" is a new direction all together. If you think you've read Duffy already, think again. I have to say, the only way this resembles her previous works for me is that it runs along "Eternal Autumn" for being well-written, distinctly unique, and gets top ranks for the number of passages I highlighted.

I think historical or mystery fans would particularly enjoy this and I'm really curious on how Spanish readers perceive it. Overall, I thought it was well done and definitely worth the read.

4.5 stars.

[Vervada · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
I think this might be one of the extremely few books I've read in which the protagonist is already in a relationship at the beginning of the story and the book ends with the two characters still together. But don't get me wrong, I loved that! The romance between Desdemona and Santene was both tender and thrilling, and I looked forward to their interactions. Also, the writing was good and the mystery of the arsonist was interesting. All in all, I hope that Cassandra Duffy will publish more books.

[Simon Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.
Her stuff should be more well known.
I really hope there's a follow-up in the works.