Alex Segura

Alex Segura is a novelist and comic book writer. He is the author of the Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery novels, all via Polis Books.

Segura's new novel is Blackout.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. His reply:

I just finished up Michelle McNamara's excellent true crime book, I'll Be Gone in the Dark. It really stuck with me. I waited a bit to read it because it was getting so much buzz and all over the place that I wanted to experience it on my own, if that makes sense. She does the thing that I think is so essential to great true crime - she makes you care. She doesn't just list the bodies, or get too graphic in her depiction of the crimes, she tells you about the people and the lives they lived, and she also makes you care about her own journey, and how the case of the Golden State Killer affected her. As most people know, she died suddenly before being able to complete the book, but the team that got it over the finish line did a strong job of sticking to her vision and not mucking with the tone of the book, deferring to Michelle's own writing whenever possible and keeping the voice of the story intact. An inevitable true crime classic.

In terms of fiction, I've very much enjoyed Christine Mangan's Tangerine, set in Tangier before the country gained its independence. It tells the story of two reunited friends and the trauma that separated them, while also showcasing how troublesome the reunion ends up being. Shades of Patricia Highsmith, Margaret Millar and the greats of Gothic literature all converge to tell a compelling domestic suspense story that also echoes current masters like Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins. I planned on reading this eventually, but it moved up my pile because I had the pleasure of interviewing Mangan for an upcoming piece.

Additionally, I've spent some time in Havana, Cuba, revisiting the exploits of aspiring writer/disgruntled cop Mario Conde. The first book in Leonardo Padura Fuentes's series, Havana Red, has all the elements of superb crime fiction - a compelling setting, a flawed protagonist and a creeping insight into a world most of us are not familiar with. I write about a Cuban-American PI who lives in Miami, so this felt very much like the other side of the coin, and I'm eager to continue with the books and learn more about Cuba through Padura's eyes.

Visit Alex Segura's website.

The Page 69 Test: Blackout.

--Marshal Zeringue