A new novel from the International Booker-shortlisted author of Elena Knows
Ines is released from prison having served 15 years for the murder of her husband’s lover and is trying to start a new life. She and Manca, another ex-prisoner, set up a firm called FFF that’s part pest control and part private investigations. Ines saw her daughter Laura only once in prison and is unaware she’s a grandmother.
One of Ines’s new clients, Senora Bonar, asks Ines to help her kill her own husband’s lover in exchange for thousands of dollars. This money will pay for Manca’s private medical treatment which she can’t afford - if she waits months under Argentina’s public medical system, her condition will worsen.
The main plot of Time of the Flies is a typical crime or thriller narrative. The novel is told from multiple female perspectives and explores the patriarchy, feminism and familial tensions. Intermittent interludes in the style of a Greek chorus are found throughout commenting on the events and women’s lives in modern times.
I enjoyed Time of the Flies, especially in the first few chapters as the characters are introduced and the suspense of Ines’s response to Bonar’s request is developed. I’m not sure that the number of Greek chorus interludes worked for me nor did the detailed descriptions of flies as I felt both distracted from the main plot.
It’s a sparky, interesting and well-written book though and I'm grateful to @charcopress for my review copy.
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