When the light goes out

When the Lights Go Out is a book that subtly teases us with the details of its captivating plot, but without revealing what's yet to come. All of this allows the story to unfold slowly and in a very intriguing way.

Artur Veiga learns of alleged disappearances of homeless people, so the detective begins his own investigation to prove the facts, as there is no concrete evidence of the crimes.

However, unaware of a larger plan behind the series of disappearances, Artur finds himself faced with a case more complex than he imagined, challenging him to a laborious search. This set of facts takes him into an unimaginable reality that survives on the margins of everyday life.

In this crime novel, while the detective seeks to uncover the truth, a criminal aims to expose it, driven by the very mechanisms of the society that created him. Within it, social norms limit happiness, demonize individual desires, and seek to suppress free will, using the discourse of declining values to solidify the mold of a repressed and tamed society.

When the Lights Go Out throws us into the tangle of human needs. The book opens our eyes to the desire to be seen for who we truly are and not fall into the trap of judgments based solely on stereotypes constructed by society. Undoubtedly, a tragic and true story.

"As in David Fincher's best serial killer thrillers, each character hides behind a succession of masks, some psychological, others physical, which are gradually lifted. They are people searching for a point of balance that keeps them going, like actors who must take the stage somewhat reluctantly, somewhat tired of the falseness and artificiality of everyday life in the great, nameless metropolis that, although quite universal, is at the same time replete with the specificities of Brazilian reality." - Samir Machado de Machado