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    Blood Makes Noise
    Blood Makes Noise
    Blood Makes Noise
    Audiobook10 hours

    Blood Makes Noise

    Written by Gregory Widen

    Narrated by David de Vries

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    On a summer's night in 1955, CIA officer Michael Suslov is summoned to a secret vault in the heart of Buenos Aires. His mission: transport the corpse of Eva Peron to a safe hiding place in the wake of her husband’s fall from power. But before Michael can comply, everything goes tragically, horribly wrong…

    Fifteen years later, Suslov is a ghost of man living off the radar—and the only soul alive that knows where Eva Peron is buried. When a shadow from his past appears and asks him for help in bringing the body home, as part of a peace deal to end the civil war tearing Argentina apart, Michael agrees, hoping this last mission will quiet the demons from his former life. But Michael Suslov isn't the only one on a recovery mission, others are desperate to unearth Eva Peron first—and lay claim to the shattering secret she took to the grave…

    Based on a little-known yet fascinating true story, Blood Makes Noise is both a riveting thriller and an examination of the power of the dead over the lives of the living.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateApr 30, 2013
    ISBN9781469290416
    Blood Makes Noise
    Author

    Gregory Widen

    A native of Laguna Beach, California, Gregory Widen is a former firefighter, NPR station host, and mountain-rescue team member. While a film student at UCLA, he penned the script for what would become the movie Highlander, starring Sean Connery. Among his other screenplays are Backdraft and The Prophecy, and his television writing includes scripts for Tales from the Crypt and Rescue 77. A committed traveler, his explorations have taken him to war-torn Somalia, Uzbekistan, Namibia, the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the arctic island of Svalbard, Indonesia, and Argentina. He lives in Los Angeles, where he is at work on a film for Universal Pictures.

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    Reviews for Blood Makes Noise

    4/5

    13 ratings6 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Synopsis/blurb....On a summer’s night in 1955, CIA agent Michael Suslov is summoned to a secret vault in the heart of Buenos Aires. His mission: transport the corpse of Eva Peron to a new hiding place in the wake of her husband’s fall from power. But before Michael can comply, everything goes tragically, horribly wrong… Sixteen years later, Michael Suslov is a ghost of a man, an ex-government agent living off the radar—and the only soul alive who knows where Evita is buried. When an old friend from Argentine Military Intelligence appeals to him for help bringing the body home, Michael agrees, hoping this final mission will quiet the demons from his past. But he’s not the only one on a recovery mission: two rogue CIA agents are tracking him, desperate to unearth Evita before Michael does—and to claim the secret millions they believe she took to her grave. Based on a little-known yet fascinating true story, Blood Makes Noise is a brilliant examination of the power of the dead over the lives of the living.This book is the author’s first novel. Gregory Widen, a former fire-fighter and now a screenwriter and director has many films and projects on his cv. Highlander (1986) and Backdraft (1991) are the two I am most familiar with. Argentinean history wasn’t something that I was taught much (any, actually) of in school and my first awareness of this nation would have been as a young football-mad teenager, thrilled by the exploits of Mario Kempes and amazed at the passion and unity displayed by the supporters during their triumphant hosting of the 1978 World Cup. The previous debuting of the famous musical in 1976, Evita - based on the life and death of Eva Peron would have passed my twelve year old self by, quite easily. Fast forward to 1982 in England and Thatcher’s Falklands War brought Argentina back into my consciousness. Suffice to say, I began reading this book fairly ignorant of Evita and the shadow she cast over Argentina both when she was alive and for many years after her death (and for all I know of the country, still does today). As a captivating tale, steeped in fact and historical detail, I probably enjoyed it much more because of my lack of previous knowledge.Blending fact and fiction, Widen has created a captivating narrative involving a sympathetic and at times pitiful CIA agent, Michael Suslov. Suslov, married and a father-to-be is the eye and ear in Buenos Aires of the OSS/fledgling CIA. Isolated at work, Suslov shares an office with the FBI, which at this period under J. Edgar Hoover was deeply mistrustful of its younger, rival US intelligence agency. Shorn of support from his own “team”, Suslov is drawn closer to the enigmatic Hector, an Argentinean intelligence officer. Hector with dog-cane stick and his limp, whilst physically frail, is sharp enough mentally to stay on the right side of trouble in his home town. Seemingly impervious to the winds of change in Argentina, untroubled with Peron in power, similarly at ease with Peron in exile in Spain and a succession of fragile governments holding sway.Evita; popular in life amongst the millions of Argentinean poor who loved Her like no other public figure was despised and feared by the rich. Her death in 1952 from cancer, in Her early 30’s, failed to rid the country of Her influence and Her memory was increasingly a de-stabilising influence on the establishment in the years following Her death. The subsequent attempts to stifle the Peronistas, led to the audacious plan to dis-interr Her remains and remove Her from the political landscape. Suslov’s involvement with Hector in the plan, whilst ultimately successful, leads to the fracture of his family life in horrendous circumstances. Suslov buries Eva in secret, in Italy and departs the scene to the US and an existence in a shambolic pill-addled nightmare.*Widen often refers to Eva as “Her” in his narrative, recognising the breadth of shadow she casts over all the characters in his compelling narrative. Whilst she is the central, iconic figure within the book, Widen doesn’t shy away from airing some of the less flattering postulations on Peron. Namely, she stole millions from her people and country during her life, which she secreted in Switzerland and that she was to put it mildly, a bit of a loose woman, prior to taking up with Juan Peron......fact? conjecture? Who knows, though it does add layers to the tapestry that Widen paints. With the passing of the years and the on-set of the 70’s, Hector resurfaces. Argentina is still a country in turmoil, but the time might be right to bring Eva home. Suslov having survived one nightmare has a shot at redemption. With his life empty of meaning, Michael re-ignites his relationship with Argentina’s dead ex-First Lady. Unfortunately for Suslov he isn’t the only one obsessed with Evita and the millions she banked. An explosive finale ensues with a chase across Europe. Fact, fiction, history, power, corruption, intrigue, family, loss, obsession.....all play out in a fascinating novel. If I have one criticism it would be that at 442 pages long, it was a bit too short! Not often you’ll hear me carping about something of this length being too brief. The reality was, I was enjoying it too much to want it to finish.5 from 5I was fortunate to receive a copy of the book from Rachel Kinnard at Media Connect, New York – many thanks!
    • 5/5
      Great book written by the guy who wrote the story for the movie "Highlander," oddly, among other movies and TV episodes. The characters are fascinating, well-developed, and convincing; the history and events of the book are vivid. Couldn't put it down.
    • 3/5
      “No one had ever spoken to the great unwashed as an equal, held them to their breast, cooed to them like lovers, whispered hatred for those they hated: the rich; the privileged; the whole pointless, pathetic history of their nation." - Gregory Widen's Evita in "Blood Makes Noise"Evita maintains a special place in popular culture. Already an amazing icon in South America, Andrew Lloyd Weber raised her profile to an unaware but willing world-wide audience. It's arguable that Madonna took it even further and certainly introduced Argentina's former First Lady to a new generation of pseudo historical/pop cultural fans.Novelist and screenplay writer Gregory Widen, builds on the foundation of the Evita mystique to create an interesting, but uneven, thriller surrounding the disappearance of Evita's body following her death and her husband's exile. Widen points out in his author's note, “Of all the strange things presented in this novel, perhaps the strangest of all is how much of it actually happened."A bit hokey and evocative of a dime-store novel lineage, "Blood Makes Noise" is at times melodramatic and often without a sniff of subtlety, but its not specifically charmless. Widen's testosterone-leaden tone and prose is both exhilarating and annoying. In its' second half, the novel becomes mawkish, and the plot loses its way from what was originally a solid series of plot elements.“Evita. In life she’d shattered the pointless cycles of Argentine politics, flung open the gates of history to the great ignored, and ruled them as their pampa Cinderella. This bastard of a cow baron’s toady, the kept daughter of a kept mother of a kept town, rocketed into history on the shoulders of a dream-crazy mob that sang of her, named stars after her, and on her death, at a still-beautiful thirty-three, choked and paralyzed a country with grief.”While the story's centerpiece is Her body, the plot focuses on Michael Suslov, best described by Widen himself, "twenty-four years old and fresh from spook camp and the frat-boy world view, was sent south, the first new blood in these parts since the consolidation in ’47. The first of the new CIA. And they hated him on sight. Ignored him, fucked with him, and every moment of every day for four years reminded Michael that he worked not for Buenos Aires station but for them.”Suslov was born in La Boca, one of the poorest sections of Buenos Aires, and naturally had a disturbing and fairly traumatic upbringing. In 1951, he and his emotional baggage have returned to Argentina in the service of a 'new' cold war CIA. He's met Evita a time or two and he's moderately swept up by the passion she's introduced to a country he's not excited to be in.“That every nation is given one light, one shining instant, and She was ours. Before Her, after Her, we are just immigrant chaos at the bottom of the world."At its best, "Blood Makes Noise" paints an interesting portrayal of obsessive personalities, spiraling in a never-redemptive spiral of anger, violence and dismay. Widen writes descriptively, if a bit cinematic in its visuals. Often it's over the top, but not terribly inconsistent with the tone of the plot. At its worst, the story is rushed, the plot points barely connected. And this is it's downfall.
    • 4/5
      If you're looking for a good thriller or interested in CIA history or Latin American history, this will be a gripping read for you. I'll admit I'm not an expert on the CIA or Latin American, however, though the course of the story I learned more about both. (There's a lot more to Evita Peron than the movie starring Madonna...her entire body was preserved, creating a relic for her people).

      The plot, based on true events, follows a CIA agent named Michael. Ultimately, he plays a vital role in moving Evita’s preserved body. Jumping ahead years later, when Michael’s past is more complicated, he is the only one who knows where Evita’s body is located. A race to reach her is created.

      To me, the book started slowly. However, it did get better as it went along. Gregory Widen is also a screenwriter, and it was apparent to me while reading this book. I felt that the scenes were mostly carried by dialogue and actions. Compared to what I'm familiar with, there weren't tons of details and vivid descriptions. Not necessarily a bad thing. It just sometimes left me wondering and wanting more information about the characters.

      All-in-all, I think it would transition into a great movie.
    • 3/5
      Despite that much of this happened, the book never feels like more than a lame Hollywood thriller.

      That is all.
    • 4/5
      When I first started reading this I was a bit frustrated with all the FBI, CIA maneuvering but the more I read the more I realized he was setting the scene. This is really how confusing it was after Peron was ousted, and different dictators were taking center stage. Reminded me a bit of Rum Diaries, with the confusion of the newspaper men being ousted from Cuba, and it did set the stage. I have long been fascinated by Evita, she had such a short life and was loved by so many. This book is more about the different factions coming to power and the need for different parties to have possession of her body. We do learn quite a bit about Evita, in flashback and memories of the main players in this story.The writing is fluid, the pace quick and the facts and the history all make the atmosphere of the novel seem genuine. There is quite a bit of chasing around, many killings, which is not really my cup of tea but luckily there is an author's note included in the back of the book and when I read, "Of all the strange things presented in this novel, perhaps the strangest of all is how much of it actually happened." So this novel is actually a tiny slice of history, but big in the country of Argentina.