An Argentinian writer gets a call from a former secretary (Luciana), ten years after working with her for a single month. She's desperate to see him. He remembers her. That beginning pulled me in. The tension in this book from the very beginning had me turning pages.

Readers learn of the brief, but alluring relationship between the writer and Luciana, as well as her abandonment of him when she returned to the distinguished older writer Kloster. Luciana returns to the writer with an incredible story - Kloster is killing off all those close to her, slowly, decisively, but not inexplicably. Luciana relays her story. A brief flirtation turned sexual harassment case against Kloster leads Kloster's wife to divorce him. Kloster loses his child. Luciana believes this is the motivation for his revenge. It has taken years. Years of fear that have driven Luciana to the brink of madness.

The writer intervenes. Here, Martinez builds more tension into the story with the writer's admittance that he never should have taken that step or if only he could have foreseen...language that foreshadows the evil ahead. He meets with Kloster and hears another side to the story. Back and forth the story bounces all the while building to some deadly ending.

And then, it just falls kind of flat. Although the suspense built throughout the story around these 3 characters, it goes a very different direction toward the end. And I have to say it wasn't as satisfying as the other possibilities I was working through in my mind.

A well-written book, full of tense, foreboding language and an intriguing premise, but a less than satisfying ending.