Book Review: The Night Watchman

This is Richard Zimler’s first attempt at a crime novel, set in the present.

Chief Inspector Henrique Monroe of the Lisbon Police Department tells the story — the seen-it-all-before tough veneer of the senior cop hiding his sensitive, compassionate side. Monroe is an oddity. Born in Colorado on a remote ranch to a Porutugese mother and an American father, his command of the Portuguese language tends to falter when he is under pressure, as does his sense of identity. He is known for highly eccentric behaviour at the crime scene, but he also has a reputation for brilliant crime solving: he is quite simply the best.