Roberto to the Dark Tower Came

March 26, 2018
A successful South American journalist makes his way into the deepest heart of darkness in this unrelentingly grim thriller from Epperson (The Kind One). The book opens in an unnamed South American country with Roberto receiving a disturbing message that, because of his recent exposés of violence, he will die if he doesn’t leave the country in 10 days. He decides to leave his paper, The Hour, and move to Saint Lucia to be with his girlfriend Caroline. However, when he’s offered the opportunity to document war crimes by a friend who works at the American Embassy, he can’t refuse. Roberto and his friend, the troubled, talented photographer, Daniel, head to El Encanto, an estate deep in the jungle that looks like something out of a fairy tale. El Encanto was the target of a vicious paramilitary group called the Black Jaguars, who have been killing civilians. During their journey, Roberto, Daniel, and their guides discover that getting to the truth about the mass civilian slaughter may require unimaginable
sacrifice. Epperson immerses readers in a dense jungle seething with treacherous flora and fauna and murderous men, punctuating terror with startling moments of beauty. Though the novel features vivid sensory detail, the strong violence will not be for everyone.

April 15, 2018

South American journalist Roberto has been chronicling the massacres in jungle villages and the complicity of the ruling government in many deaths. For his honesty, he is warned that he must leave the country within ten days or be killed. Taking the threat seriously, he says goodbye to his family and friends and prepares to head to Santa Lucia where his girlfriend is living. He gets rid of his apartment and car, then suddenly he is offered the scoop of a lifetime and returns to the jungle to write his last great story before the end of the ten days. Epperson (The Kind One; Sailor) is no stranger to blood and violence in his works. His graphic depiction of the unmitigated brutality of the militias in the jungle is heart-stopping. While readers can't help admiring Roberto's investigative persistence, they will probably be shouting, "Get out before the ten days are up!" VERDICT This page-turning novel, which proceeds to tell the story of Roberto's life day by day, will be enjoyed by readers who like their fiction dark.--Andrea Kempf, formerly with Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS

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