Although I finished this book, it was not really one for me - the curse of literary fiction strikes again! I got it originally as it was billed as a thriller, but it is far too character-driven to be a thriller. Even when a kidnapping is involved, there is no tension at all and it was hard to become invested in the characters.

Perhaps the exceptions were the children - the kidnapped boy and Barbara were unwilling participants in what was happening so I was able to feel some sympathy for them.

Despite the book being set in Brazil, I felt that after reading I still had no real sense of the country, although the atmosphere of corruption and the struggle of ordinary people did come out more fully than some of the other elements.