History Corner: Blood Makes Noise by GREGORY WIDEN

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from Media Connect, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it And now for a strange but true story, made fiction....

Synopsis: On a summer’s night in 1955, CIA agent Michael Suslov is summoned to a secret vault in the heart of Buenos Aires. His mission: transport the corpse of Eva Peron to a new hiding place in the wake of her husband’s fall from power. But before Michael can comply, everything goes tragically, horribly wrong…Sixteen years later, Michael Suslov is a ghost of a man, an ex-government agent living off the radar—and the only soul alive who knows where Evita is buried. When an old friend from Argentine Military Intelligence appeals to him for help bringing the body home, Michael agrees, hoping this final mission will quiet the demons from his past. But he’s not the only one on a recovery mission: two rogue CIA agents are tracking him, desperate to unearth Evita before Michael does—and to claim the secret millions they believe she took to her grave

Ok- I have to set the mood better- and there is only ONE way- the indomitable Patti LuPone...



Yes, she was robbed of the part of Evita...period....but that's another story....

Onward to the book....

Review: At it's heart, this book is about honor, and a promise kept. Which should come as no surprise, as the author wrote the screenplay for The Highlander, which is based on...honor. It's like going back in a time machine and watching how myths, propaganda and the cold war evolved in a small country, removed from the US, yet influenced by it. The fact that it is based on a true story of how Evita's body was preserved like Lenin's, and whisked out of the country for safety and then brought back, is weirder than fiction. The author does and excellent job in setting the mood of the 'spy days' and the Argentine civil unrest, and the story reaches roller coaster peaks before bringing you back down for more twists and turns. It almost felt like the first quarter of the book was the set up, the second quarter the beginning and the last half a roller coaster ride. Like any good movie! I don't think a movie could do this one justice, it is just too nuanced and subtle. It can be a little slow in the build up at the beginning, but if you stay with it, you have an excellent historical based thriller of a read!  


About the Author:  A native of Laguna Beach, California, Gregory Widen is a former firefighter, NPR station host, and mountain-rescue team member. While a film student at UCLA, he penned the script for what would become the movie Highlander, starring Sean Connery. Among his other screenplays are Backdraft and The Prophecy, and his television writing includes scripts for Tales from the Crypt and Rescue 77. A committed traveler, his explorations have taken him to war-torn Somalia, Uzbekistan, Namibia, the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the arctic island of Svalbard, Indonesia, and Argentina. He lives in Los Angeles, where he is at work on a film for Universal Pictures.