Death Going Down

Maria Angelica Bosco is frequently referred to as the Argentine Agatha Christie and, having read Death Going Down, one of her most famous novels, I can certainly appreciate the comparison. I think Christie's fans would enjoy this plotline, unravelling the clues in order to work out just why Frida Eidinger was discovered in an elevator in the middle of the night - dead. Unfortunately I am not particularly enthusiastic about Christie's novels and what leaves me cold about her mystery stories are the same aspects that have now underwhelmed me here.

Death Going Down is set in Buenos Aires, yet other than a smattering of Spanish street names I felt this story could have taken place anywhere. I didn't get a sense of Buenos Aires or even Argentina from Bosco's descriptions. Readers are given an idea of various apartment interiors within a single block, but that's it.

Bosco shares Christie's class snobbery too. When our detectives write up a list of who should be considered a suspect, only the apartment owners and their families warrant suspicion. The maids and caretakers are excluded. Not that I am suggesting maids and caretakers should automatically be considered prime suspects (although I did watch a lot of Scooby Doo episodes in my youth) but to completely disregard them seemed harsh! (It also reminded me of attitudes in Flesh And Bone And Water by Luisa Sauma.) I would have liked stronger characterisation too although I accept that with such a large cast this probably would have doubled the length of Death Going Down. Allusions were frequently made to characters' pasts and especially their wartime escapes from various European countries, yet we weren't told their back stories. I want to know!