There Are No Happy Loves

In Olguín’s engrossing third crime novel featuring Buenos Aires investigative journalist Verónica Rosenthal (after 2021’s The Foreign Girls), Darío, the lone survivor of a multiple-car accident, is sure that his daughter and wife survived the crash and that his wife has abducted their daughter. Verónica, who looks into Darío’s case, finds it strange that he’s evasive about the fact that the girl was adopted. Meanwhile, a police raid led by Verónica’s former love interest, prosecutor Federico Córdova, seizes a van that turns out to contain not drugs, as expected, but human body parts and infant corpses. With the aid of a former nun, Verónica later unearths a sinister operation involving the Catholic Church and illegal adoptions. Verónica’s and Federico’s conflicted feelings toward each other distract at times from the strong plot, but this is a quibble. Though this entry isn’t as emotionally powerful as Verónica’s previous outings, series fans will be well satisfied. (Sept.)