In my opinion the book has a very different kind of vibe which is not easy to place. It takes you to dark places in your mind and compels you to think. The two characters Zeca and Casimir are brilliantly entwined. Also, it has a powerful touch of horror with some psycho elements. The characters are very unusual one which you would not able to find easily in other books. If you are a fan of dark psychopath horror books, then you cannot miss this one. The book has been originally written in Portuguese and translated to English.

I would like to give the book 4 stars. Thanks to the author, Mauricio Limeira for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

- Sucharita Biswas

The Adversary by Maurício Limeira is a riveting crime thriller with snatches of dark themes in it. The novel is staged against Rio de Janeiro. It was originally written in Portuguese but is translated in English for global reach. The protagonist of the novel is Zeca, a journalist. He is seeking revenge for the killers of his girlfriend Natalia, who was assaulted and killed by a gang in a restaurant.

Her death made Zeca depressive and he cursed himself for not able to protect her. Thus, to dole out the justice to himself and to his dead girlfriend, he seeks the services of a professional killer. He wants that killer to find and identify the people who attacked in a group on them. And from here begins his precarious journey. For that purpose he stumbles across Casimir – a way renowned professional killer.

From the initial research of Zeca, it comes out that Casimir has blood lust and he presides in the shadow of some black or occult magic. He was invincible in his profession, as many believed. Even Zeca too was afraid of him initially.

Casimir’s connection to dark forces makes this novel a sort of supernatural read. But how is he connected and what he wanted from Zeca for the evil, it’s something stupendous that comes out upon reading the novel completely.

It’s a good one time read. Since this is a translated copy, so nothing much can be said about the writing and language usage. Yet the intensity in the story was quite evident throughout. Much part of the novel is spent around on-the-run life of the protagonist, and when he comes in touch with the villain Casimir (he turns out by the end) some strange introverted cogitation begins. The novel could have been a bit shorter, otherwise it’s a fine read.

Kevin Mallik