Atacama Red

A Pablo Nelson Mystery

De: William Graham

Narrado por: Dan Carroll

Set in the mysterious and other-worldly landscape of Chile's Atacama Desert, this fast-paced and captivating mystery novel revolves around Pablo Nelson - an American by birth but with Chilean roots - who has resigned from being a detective in a small town in Vermont to open a hotel in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. But soon after starting his new life, he finds himself drawn in to helping a Chilean detective solve a series of gruesome murders occurring in a remote desert village. In the process of the investigations, Nelson must confront his greatest fears and doubts about himself.

©2017 William Graham (P)2017 William Graham

ATAMACA RED

This is a great little mystery. Pablo Nelson is an ex detective. He moves to a small town. He starts helping another detective to try and solve some murders. I enjoyed this book. I liked how Nelson and Morell worked together. I wish it had of been longer And more books about Pablo. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. Dan Carroll does a good job narrating this book.

Fantastic listened – why all the negative reviews?

Atacama: a Pablo Nelson mystery

William Graham weaves a masterful plot with wonderful characters in a beautiful setting (excepting the descriptions of victims final "resting places.")

Pablo Nelson feels irrevocably damaged after failing to find a missing boy. He decides that he needs a fresh start and follows his mother's roots to Chile. Once he arrives, he buys a small hotel and goes through the motions of life.

Each character that checks into Pablo's hotel adds another layer to the mystery (cue up "Hotel California" *wink*.) Then as the plot thickens those layers are peeled away from a different angle and deeper.

Will the mystery of the murders wet Pablo's interest in life as a detective once again or will he find defeat in another unsolvable case? Will he find the desire to live on a more personal level? A combination of both or neither?

I thoroughly enjoyed it – the entire, too short, 2 1/2 hours.

*I received this book for my unbiased review.

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Too Tough a Task

If you could sum up Atacama Red in three words, what would they be?

Needed more time. This is a two and one half hour audio book, from a one hundred and nineteen page book. The author had to introduce characters, establish explanations for their actions, introduce a mystery with multiple bodies and include the "chase". There is an exotic location, a reasonably likeable protagonist. The work just wasn't long enough to accomplish all of the elements of a good mystery. Some of the motivations and actions by the characters seem to be just thrown out there and not reasonable.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Telegraphed. Which is what I meant that the work needed to be longer for that aspect to develop.

What about Dan Carroll’s performance did you like?

Dan Carroll has a pleasant voice. Easily understood.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Please stand back from the geyser!

Any additional comments?

I appreciate the opportunity to listen to and review this work.

I would like to see the work lengthened and developed a bit more. It's on the right track!

A review copy was gifted to me at no charge. In return, I am happy to provide an honest review. Also at no charge.

Pablo Nelson finds you cant always leave it behind

Atacama Red by William Graham was a pretty good listen. Pablo Nelson as he resigned from a detective job in Vermont feeling burned out and ready for a change. He decides to open a hotel in a small town in Chili with the hope of getting away from his old life. Fate has other things in store for him as finds himself helping Chilean detectives as they investigate some gruesome murders.
This is a good story not a great story but it is a relaxing listen and the twists and turns will keep you involved until the end.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher

the story does have some good ideas

Pablo Nelson is a small town detective who retires after failing to uncover the brutal murder of a child.  Haunted by his failure, he moves to his deceased mother’s home town of Atacama in the Chilean desert.  A series of mysterious murders draw him out of his self-imposed exile to help the local detective.

The bodies pile up as the mystery deepens.  Everything points to drug lords and their strange connection to a local observatory and two astronomers who may not be who they seem.  But Pablo doesn’t buy it and digs deeper, each time finding more reasons to be suspicious of the obvious.

The setting in the Chilean desert is intriguing and the landscape is described with compelling detail.  Unfortunately, the characters feel unrealistic and forced.  An astronomer dealing drugs?  A Chilean detective immediately sharing her findings with an inn-keeper from America?  The listener wants to like this mystery but the connections seem too far-fetched to stay involved.  Many mystery lovers want to try to guess who-done-it. This one just doesn’t give you that opportunity.

Dan Carroll performs the story.  While he has a good voice and is pleasant to listen to, he has a strange way of dragging a sentence and pausing before the last word.  He sometimes stumbles over words and pronounces the many Spanish words poorly.  A native speaker would have been a better choice for this performance.  As with all audiobooks, listen to a sample first to see if Mr. Carroll’s performance is right for you.

While the story does have some good ideas, there is little left to the imagination.  There are so many mystery novels.  This one doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre but may be a pleasant listen for some.  See if the sample gets your attention before you commit.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

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