Smaller and Smaller Circles by E H Batagan

Smaller and Smaller Circles

E H Batagan

It is refreshing to find a lead character in a crime novel who isn't a morose detective or a tenacious journalist. Father Gus Saenz, and his friend Father Jerome Lucero, are engaging characters and I loved the back and forth of their dialogue, which offers some relief in an otherwise harrowing story. Along with its atmospheric location, social commentary and window into the mind of a serial killer, this is a thriller with a difference.

Extract
Through consulting with various branches of the police and other law enforcement agencies, Saenz has gained an intimate knowledge of their investigative methods and techniques, as well as their frustrating inadequacy. Over the past few years he has formed a theory about murder in the Philippines that would prove highly controversial if he ever went public with it.
Parallels
  • Manila Noir by Jessica Hagedorn
  • Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey