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Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Pages: 325
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: 14th July 2026
Blurb from Goodreads:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night comes a sizzling noir about desire, danger, and greed, in which seduction is the ultimate con.
Handsome
con artist Ulises has long charmed lonely women via letters to steal
their money, but money is hard to come by in 1940s Mexico. Ulises knows
his looks won't last forever, and he's desperate to get his hands on a real fortune.
He thinks he's
found it when he captivates his newest correspondent, Perla, the owner
of a small-town boardinghouse in picturesque Veracruz. But when he meets
her, he finds something he didn't expect. The woman has a niece, Inés, who is as observant as she is desperate to escape her aunt’s household.
When Inés discovers Ulises' true intentions, she wants in on the scheme. They’ll convince her aunt that Ulises is a great catch, Perla will marry him, and her money will vanish. Easy, fast and clean.
But
Perla is not the desperate, silly spinster Ulises imagines. She harbors
secrets. And although Ulises does not believe in true romance, Inés is
more alluring than he bargained on. Suddenly, a simple plan may become perilously complicated.
Venture into the streets of a small town where the patina of convention and good manners conceals a cauldron of avarice and lust.
Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop
My Review:
*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey*
Ulises is a con artist down on his luck. After a con that went wrong, Ulises is running out of money. Using his tried and tested technique of charming, lonely women through love letters, Ulises decides to pay one of his marks a visit.
Perla is the owner of a boardinghouse in a small town. Never married, Perla spent her youth caring for her parents.
Perla has a niece, Inés, who was born out of wedlock to Perla's younger and now deceased sister. Inés longs to escape the small town and doesn't turn Ulises in when she discovers his scheme. Instead, Inés offers to help Ulises steal Perla's money.
Having read several of the author's previous books and enjoyed them, I was looking forward to reading this new one.
Inés and Ulises were interesting protagonists. They were both morally grey characters. I empathised more with Inés and hoped her situation would improve.
The setting of Mexico in the 1940s was interesting, especially a small town where everyone knew everyone else.
The plot was good overall and held my attention, but the pacing was a little off and not that much actually happened. I also found the events a bit predictable.
I'm a little disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read.
