With a murder at its heart, Roberto Bolaño's <em>The Skating Rink</em> is, among otherthings, a crime novel. Murder seems to have exerted a fascination for the endlessly talented Bolaño, who in his last interview, according to <em>TheObserver</em>, “declared, in all apparent seriousness, that what he would most liketo have been was a homicide detective.” <br /><br />Set in the seaside town of Z, north of Barcelona, <em>The Skating Rink</em> is toldin short, suspenseful chapters by three male narrators, and revolves around abeautiful figure skating champion, Nuria Martí. A ruined mansion, knife-wieldingwomen, political corruption, sex, and jealousy all appear in this atmosphericchronicle of a single summer season in a seaside town, with its vacationers,businessmen, immigrants, bureaucrats, social workers, and drifters.