Our book group choice for March 2008 is December Heat by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza. A sultry December evening in Rio de Janeiro. A retired policeman spends a typically alcohol-fuelled night out with his girlfriend, a prostitute.
December Heat is the second book in Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza’s acclaimed Inspector Espinosa mystery series. The story begins in Rio de Janeiro on a hot December night. A retired policeman named Viera spends the evening drinking with his girlfriend, Magali, a prostitute. When he wakes up the next morning, he has a terrible hangover and a severe memory lapse. He can’t remember anything about the previous night, not even how he got home.
Viera’s wallet is missing, and with it his police ID card. He assumes that Magali took it, but she denies it. Viera is worried that he may have done something illegal while he was drunk, and he decides to investigate.
He starts by talking to the doorman at the restaurant where he and Magali had dinner. The doorman remembers seeing Viera being helped into his car by Magali, but he doesn’t remember anything else. Viera then goes to the police station and asks for help from his old friend, Inspector Espinosa.
Espinosa is initially reluctant to help, but he eventually agrees. He assigns a young detective named Mendonca to the case. Mendonca starts by interviewing Magali, but she doesn’t have anything useful to say. He then talks to the homeless boy who witnessed Viera being helped into his car. The boy tells Mendonca that he saw a man following Viera after he left the restaurant.
Mendonca follows up on this lead and eventually tracks down the man. The man is a drug dealer named Mangueira, and he admits to following Viera. He says that he was planning to rob him, but he changed his mind when he saw that Viera was drunk.
Mendonca is about to close the case when he receives a new piece of information. A woman named Irene comes to the police station and tells Mendonca that she saw Viera being attacked on the night in question. Irene says that she was walking home from work when she saw a man punching Viera in the face. She tried to intervene, but the man ran away.
In addition to the mystery plot, December Heat also explores themes of memory, loss, and redemption. Viera is a man who is haunted by his past. He has seen too much violence and death, and he is struggling to find meaning in his life. The case gives him a chance to confront his past and to begin to rebuild his life.
Discussion Questions
- What is the significance of the title, December Heat?
- What is the role of the setting in the novel?
- How does the novel explore the themes of crime, violence, and corruption?
- What is the relationship between the protagonist, Inspector Espinosa, and the city of Rio de Janeiro?
- How does the novel depict the lives of the poor and marginalized in Rio de Janeiro?
- What is the role of women in the novel?
- How does the novel explore the concept of justice?
- What is the significance of the ending of the novel?
- What are the similarities and differences between December Heat and other crime novels?
- How does December Heat reflect the social and political realities of Brazil?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the novel?
- How does the novel compare to other works by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza?
- Who would you recommend this novel to?
- What are the implications of the novel for our own society?
- What are your thoughts on the novel overall?