Brief

Raul is an old man approaching death and being haunted by past secrets when he decides to confess to Andrea, a nurse that is taking care of him, that he raped a child. It is revealed later that Andrea is, herself, the young boy Raul raped, and gets him to confess his crime in front of Andrea's family.

What We Liked

This title is original because the plot is surprising, it deals with themes that are taboo in society, and it is also shocking and engaging. Not only the protagonist is transgender, but this fact is also essential for the narrative.

Film: It would also be a great adaptation for a Film because the plot is engaging and well-tied up from the beginning to the end. Also, protagonist is engaging and characters are complex. Scenes may be visually shocking but are contextualised in order to educate people on how sexual predators may act.

TV: It would be a great adaptation for TV because the protagonist slowly reveals her real identity and new pieces of information are put together.
Even though at first possibilities of Andrea being the child Raul abused don't seem feasible, the puzzle gets solved in a skilful manner by the author.

Key points: Transgender protagonist; pertinent theme; surprising narrative; revenge plot with twists; evil and complex villain.

Synopsis

Andrea is a loving nurse that came back from Europe after the death of her husband, Piero.
She became part of Giovanni's family after taking care of Lucia, Giovanni's late wife, until her last days. She is then referred to take care of Raul, a friend of the family. The man is also mentally disturbed because he hides a secret, and confesses it to Andrea seeking relief for his guilty conscience. When his wife, Carolina, overhears the secret - that he sexually abused a child - she decides to leave him to die alone. However, Andrea stays taking care of him and states that she will hear his story as long as she is able to record his confessions. Raul then talks about his life as an orphan and the various sexual abuses he endured early in his life. Andrea manipulates him to confess his crimes and also tortures him by controlling the drugs he would or wouldn't take. She also discovers a file in Raul's computer filled with child pornography.

We are then transported to the sad childhood of Piccolo, the boy Raul abused. The boy was continuously emotionally and physically abused by his father, colleagues, especially Clayton, brother Luigi and his teacher, Raul. Piccolo is led to believe he was the one causing the abuses, and only had the support of his mom, unable to protect him from everyone. Piccolo disappears when he was 14 and never comes back. Back to Raul's last days and Andrea getting his confession, his son Felipe, with whom Andrea falls in love, begins to suspect there is a secret between his father and Andrea.

After collecting evidences of the crime, Andrea gathers both families in order to reveal not only the crime to everyone, but her real identity as Piccolo. Andrea then reveals her truth and the folder in Raul's computer, which contained images of children being abused by Luigi and Clayton, revealing a net of child abusers, that were readily arrested. Giovanni, in his deathbed, finally accepts Andrea as his daughter.

About The Author

Alexandre Braoios started writing fiction in 2013 and in 2014 his short story ‘My Corpses’ was already an award winner by Curitiba Bookstores. In the year of 2020, won the Lygia Fagundes Teles award. The short story “An Endless Tale” won the Crime Thriller, Suspense and Horror Brazilian Writer’s Association (ABERST) as best horror short story. His first novel, “Boy’s Thing” was first published in 2016.