This was a demanding read. The shifting diegesis and the weaving of historical facts and fiction make for a disorienting experience, at times. I found the book especially gripping, since I have been studying the history of US-Latin American relations in the 20th century for an exam this year. It was refreshing to see some of the information with which I have been grappling presented in narrative form.

I would argue that gaining a basic understanding of the events and protagonists of 1990s and 2000s Peru will serve the reader well. The book doesn't do any of that legwork for you, and it pays to know, for instance, that El Doctor is Vladimiro Montesinos, head of SIN and shady CIA asset, while El Chino is President Fujimori. This is certainly not a historian's neutral account of the events: the SIN agent, the illegitimate daughter of Toledo, the ex-Senderistas, everyone has skin in the game here. Those voices are all the more haunting for it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.