THE BOOKS
In July of 2010 while I was on vacation in Paraty, on the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, I suffered what you might call an epiphany: as I was walking along the seashore, in front of the Santa Rita church in the Historical Center, I saw right in front of me the crime scene from my first book. When my vacation ended I returned to São Paulo still intrigued by the force of that experience. Weeks later I dreamed of the title: Requiem for a Killer. Disquieted because I couldn’t get that scene out of my mind, I returned to Paraty to speak with professionals of the Civil Police and the Fire Department about the scene that I had imagined. With my impressions confirmed, I went back to São Paulo, created Inspector Joaquim Dornelas, and began to write the book, with no idea whatsoever of where it would go. 
Requiem for a Killer
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Pages: 224
Price: R$8,01 (digital - english edition)
It seemed to be a morning just like any other in little Palmyra, a historical city on the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro. On his way to work Inspector Joaquim Dornelas is startled by an unusual commotion in the street. In the Historical Center, in front of the Church of Santa Teresa and the Old Jailhouse, a crowd has gathered to look at the corpse of a man stuck in the dry mud of the channel.
Nobody knows how the body got there. There are no signs of it being dragged, nor of a boat, violence, wounds, nothing. Just a band-aid stuck to the inside of the left arm. Abandoned by his wife and with his children far away, Inspector Dornelas, a very humane sort who loves cachaça sugar cane rum and porridge made with baby cereal, becomes involved body and soul in the case in search of redemption.
With no warning, the dead man’s sister and a powerful local councilman show up separately to provide key information that will give this case a magnitude way beyond what Dornelas could imagine. Little by little a complex web of interests is revealed involving politics, drug trafficking, prostitution and a local association of fishermen. Using his keen intuition, his background and his understanding of the forces that affect human nature Inspector Dornelas is able to move skillfully through the tangled web of facts and interpretations that the plot uncovers. What at first appears to be just another investigation in the inspector’s career becomes a journey to personal metamorphosis.
Death at the Book Festival
Pages: 272
Price: R$7,73 (digital - english edition)
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A new Inspector Joaquim Dornelas adventure
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The Palmyra International Book Festival, one of the most charming literary events in the world, is about to begin. At this tenth edition of the Festival, and with the city jam-packed, Inspector Joaquim Dornelas is split between feeling happy and worried. To him, the more people and celebrating there was meant the greater the chance for trouble.
​And of course the unexpected happens, moments before the inaugural show. Dornelas is faced with a scene that puts him and his team in a state of high alert. A crime is committed in the middle of the night. Pressured by his boss and by the press in this new and delectable adventure, Dornelas finds himself involved in a complex network of facts and intrigue that attempt to detour the investigation and confuse the police.
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Excited with his friends-with-benefits relationship with Dulce Neves, with his shots of cachaça rum, with his ability to be a father from a distance, and with his baby cereal porridge, Inspector Joaquim Dornelas once again uses his keen intuition and incredible police instincts to solve yet another complicated crime.